Tour de France Trivia - Firsts
Since the first event in 1903 (see history), and the first winner Frenchman Maurice Garin (see winners list), there have been many more Tour de France FIRSTS.
road cycling raceList of Firsts
- The FIRST time a rider was awarded the win but disqualified at a later date was in 1904 when the leader was found to have caught a train for part of the event.
- The FIRST Tour that left French territory was in 1906, when the race went into the German territory Alsace-Lorraine.
- The FIRST cyclist to have died during the Tour de France was in 1910 when French racer Adolphe Helière drowned at the French Riviera during a rest day.
- The FIRST appearance of the "broom wagon," was in 1910. It's the vehicle that follows the riders to pick up those who drop out, which became a permanent fixture in future Tours.
- The FIRST time the yellow jersey was awarded was in 1919 (previously a yellow armband was used). The FIRST rider to wear the yellow jersey was Eugène Christophe.
- The FIRST live radio broadcast of the race was in 1929.
- The FIRST time the mountains classification prize was awarded was in 1934. The FIRST time a jersey was awarded to the leader of the mountains classification was in 1975 when the organizers decided to award a white jersey with red dots to the leader.
- The FIRST time trial was held in 1934, between La Roche-sur-Yon and Nantes (80 km).
- The FIRST live TV broadcast was the finish at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 25 July 1948.
- The FIRST time a sprinters points classification was introduced was in the 1953 Tour de France, and was FIRST won by Fritz Schär.
- The FIRST time the Tour started outside France was in 1954: in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- The FIRST time a launch ramp, a sloping start pad for riders, was first used for the time trial was in 1965.
- The FIRST prologue was held in 1967.
- The FIRST time a young rider classification was added to the Tour de France in the 1975 edition, with Francesco Moser the FIRST winner.
- The FIRST time the race finish has been on the Champs-Élysées in Paris was in 1975
- The FIRST time a non-European cyclist was leader of the general classification was when Ausralian Phil Anderson wore the yellow jersey for one day.
- The FIRST winners of any Tour classifications from outside cycling's Continental Europe was in 1982 when classifications were won by Sean Kelly of Ireland (points) and Phil Anderson of Australia (young rider)
- The FIRST time a women's event was held was in 1984 (and continued until 2009)
- The FIRST non-European winner was Greg LeMond of the USA in 1986.
- The FIRST time the Tour de France was won without winning any individual stages was by Greg LeMond in 1990.
- The FIRST rider to win five times in consecutive years was Miguel Induráin of Spain, his first of the five wins was in 1991.
- The FIRST African-based trade team to compete in the tour was MTN-Qhubeka in 2015 (though an Algerian-Moroccan squad rode in the 1950 Tour de France when only national and regional teams were allowed to enter)
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