Tour de France

The Tour de France is an Annual Multiple Stage Bicycle Race primarily held in France,while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries.

The race was first organized in 1903 to increase paper sales for the Magazine L' Auto;it is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation

Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year.

The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 miles)

All of the stages are timed to the finish; after finishing the riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times.The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don the coveted Yellow Jersey

The race alternates between clockwise and anticlockwise circuits of France

The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each.