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The Tour de France was conceived by Henri Desgranges in 1903 as a publicity stunt to increase the circulation of his newspaper "L'Auto", and to compete with rival publication Le Velo, which had previously organized two long distance cycling races that brought tremendous readership to their publication.

In an effort to out do rival Le Velo's 700 mile Paris-Brest-Paris race, Desgranges, editor of "L'Auto", and a former cycling champ, designed the first Tour de France to have six stages stretched over a three week period with each stage averaging 250 miles in length. By stretching the race over a three weeks, the newspaper had time to cover each stage of the race in detail. The publicity stunt was a huge success for "L'Auto", and the Tour de France has been held annually since 1903, interrupted only by World War I and World War II.

As years progressed, Desgranges proceeded to design tour routes with increasing difficulty in an effort to challenge the racers. Desgranges has been quoted as saying "the perfect tour is one in which only one rider finishes." A true test to men's strength, stamina, and endurance, the Tour de France is considered the most famous and prestigious road bicycle race in the world.

This years race, the 94th Tour de France, began Saturday July 7th, and will run through Sunday, July 29th 2007. The race had 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,547 kilometres. Last years winner was America's Floyd Landis from Murietta CA. More Info on Floyd Landis

The 20 stages have the following profiles:
11 flat stages
1 medium mountain stages
6 mountain stages
2 individual time-trial stages

Learn More about this Amazing Race
Le Tour de France (Official Web Site)