Tour de France - Five Fact Friday
- The heaviest rider ever in the Tour de France was Magnus Backstedt at 95 kgs or 209.5 lbs. The lightest was Leonardo Piepoli at 57 kgs or 125.7lbs.
- The 1903 Tour de France had only 6 stages. The 1937 Tour de France had 37 stages. The 2010 Tour de France will have 20 stages.
- The Tour de France has its own traveling bank. The only bank open in France on Bastille Day (July 14th).
- The United States may have riders who have won the TDF in recent years, but they have not always been prominant: France 38 wins, Belgium 18, Spain 11, United States 10.
- In 1967, British rider Tom Simpson died mid-race after taking amphetamines, prompting the event to adopt drug-testing.
