History of the Tour de France by numbers

Eddy Merckx (Image credit: Getty Images)

Jump to:

Yellow jersey
Green jersey
Polka dot jersey
White jersey
Stages

The world’s most famous road race - the Tour de France - has a rich history, and its fabled past is synonymous with the greatest names in the sport.

But who are the figures that have written themselves into the record books of this most emblematic of events? Who’s the fastest winner? The oldest winner? The youngest winner? Which country has basked in yellow more than any other? Who’s the climber that stands head and shoulders above all the others?

We’ve got all the answers and more right here in our history of the Tour de France by numbers, and alongside it is a gallery of some of the race's biggest names. With the start of the latest edition on June 29 upon us, will any of the current generation force their way into some of these categories?

Tour de France yellow jersey records

Most Tour de France overall wins

The coolest, and one of the greatest - Jacques Anquetil (Image credit: Getty Images)

5: Jacques Anquetil (Fra) – 1957, 1961-64
5: Eddy Merckx (Bel) – 1969-72, 1974
5: Bernard Hinault (Fra) – 1978-79, 1981-82, 1985
5: Miguel Indurain (Spa) – 1991-95
4: Chris Froome (GBr) - 2013, 2015-17

Tour de France victories by nation

Chris Froome (Team Sky) wears the yellow jersey on the start line in Bourg-de-Péage — Chris Froome (Team Sky) owns four of Great Britain's six Tour de France victories (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

France: 36
Belgium: 18
Spain: 12
Italy: 10
Great Britain: 6
Luxembourg: 5
Denmark, USA, Slovenia: 3
Netherlands and Switzerland: 2
Colombia, Ireland, Germany, Australia: 1

Smallest Tour de France winning margins (since 1947)

Greg LeMond — LeMond versus Fignon, the closest in history (Image credit: Getty Images)

8 seconds: 1989 - Greg LeMond (USA) beats Laurent Fignon (Fra)
23 seconds: 2007 – Alberto Contador (Spa) beats Cadel Evans (Aus)
32 seconds: 2006 – Oscar Pereiro (Spa) over Andreas Klöden (Ger) after Floyd Landis was disqualified.
38 seconds: 1968 – Jan Janssen (Ned) beats Herman Van Springel (Bel)

Largest Tour de France winning margins (since 1947)

The great Fausto Coppi trouncing the opposition (Image credit: Getty Images)

0:28:17: 1952 – Fausto Coppi (Ita) beats Constant Ockers (Bel)
0:26:16: 1948 – Gino Bartali (Ita) beats Alberic Schotte (Bel)
0:22:00: 1951 – Hugo Koblet (Sui) beats Raphael Geminiani (Fra)

Most days in Tour de France yellow jersey

Eddy Merckx (Bel): 96
Bernard Hinault (Fra): 75
Miguel Indurain (Spa): 60
Chris Froome (GBr): 59
Jacques Anquetil (Fra): 50
Tadej Pogačar (Slo): 40

Highest average speed of Tour de France winner

42.102kph: Jonas Vingegaard (Den) - 2022
41.808kph: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) - 2024
41.654kph: (winner DSQ, no winner declared) - 2005
41.431kph: Jonas Vingegaard (Den) - 2023

Get unlimited access to all of our coverage of the Tour de France - including journalists reporting, breaking news and analysis on the ground from every stage of the race as it happens and more. Find out more.

Oldest Tour de France winners

36: Firmin Lambot (Bel) – 1922
34: Henri Pelissier (Fra) – 1923
34: Gino Bartali (Ita) - 1948
34: Cadel Evans (Aus) – 2011

Youngest Tour de France winners

19: Henri Cornet – 1904
21: Tadej Pogačar - 2020
22: Francois Faber – 1909
22: Egan Bernal - 2019

Most Tour de France starts

Sylvain Chavanel: 18
Stuart O'Grady, Jens Voigt, George Hincapie: 17
Joop Zoetemelk, Haimar Zubeldia: 16

Tour de France green jersey statistics

Most Tour de France green jersey victories

Peter Sagan of Slovakia riding for Tinkoff-Saxo celebrates his green jersey on the podium during the 2015 Tour of France (Image credit: Getty Images)

7: Peter Sagan (Slo) – 2012-16, 2018-2019
6: Erik Zabel (Ger) – 1996-2001
4: Sean Kelly (Ire) – 1982-83, 1985, 1989
3: Jan Janssen (Hol) – 1964-65, 1967
3: Eddy Merckx (Bel) – 1969, 1971-72
3: Freddy Maertens (Bel) – 1976, 1978, 1981
3: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Uzb) – 1991, 1993-94
3: Robbie McEwen (Aus) – 2002, 2004, 2006

Tour de France green jersey winners by nation

Belgium: 21
France: 9
Germany: 8
Slovakia: 7
Ireland and Australia: 5
Netherlands: 4
Italy, Uzbekistan, Great Britain, Switzerland and Norway: 2
Soviet Union, Spain, Eritrea: 1

Most days in Tour de France green jersey

Peter Sagan: 130
Erik Zabel: 89
Freddy Maertens: 71
Sean Kelly: 68
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov: 54
André Darrigade: 51

Tour de France green jersey worn in all stages

André Darrigade (1959)
Freddy Maertens (1976, 1978)
Eric Vanderaerden (1986)
Peter Sagan (2019)
Wout van Aert (2022)

Polka Dot jersey records

Most Tour de France polka dot jersey (mountains classification) wins

7: Richard Virenque (Fra) – 1994-97, 1999, 2003-04
6: Federico Bahamontes (Spa) – 1954, 1958-59, 1962-64
6: Lucien Van Impe (Bel) – 1971-72, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983

Tour de France polka-dot jersey winners by nation

France: 23
Spain: 18
Italy: 13
Belgium: 11
Colombia: 5
Denmark: 3
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Great Britain, Poland, Slovenia: 2
Switzerland, Ecuador: 1

Most days in Tour de France polka dot jersey

Richard Virenque: 96
Lucien Van Impe: 74
Federico Bahamontes: 77
Julio Jimenez: 43
Eddy Merckx: 40
Domingo Perurena: 30
Gino Bartali: 30
Claudio Chiappucci, Michael Rasmussen, Félicien Vervaecke: 27
Luis Herrera: 26

Double Tour de France overall and polka dot jersey winners

Gino Bartali: 1938
Sylvère Maes: 1939
Gino Bartali: 1948
Fausto Coppi: 1949
Fausto Coppi: 1952
Federico Bahamontes: 1959
Eddy Merckx: 1969
Eddy Merckx: 1970
Carlos Sastre: 2008
Chris Froome: 2015
Tadej Pogačar: 2020
Tadej Pogačar: 2021
Jonas Vingegaard: 2022

Tour de France white jersey records

Most Tour de France white jersey victories

Tadej Pogacar on the podium with the best young riders white jersey in the 2023 Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

4: Tadej Pogacar (Slo) - 2020-2023
3: Andy Schleck (Lux) – 2008-2010
3: Jan Ullrich (Ger) – 1996-98
2: Marco Pantani (Ita) – 1994-95

Tour de France white jersey winners by nation

France: 8
Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Colombia: 5
Germany, Slovenia: 4
USA, Luxembourg: 3
Russia, Great Britain: 2
Australia, Mexico, Ukraine, Belgium: 1

Most Tour de France white jersey victories

Tadej Pogacar — White jersey times four for Tadej (Image credit: Getty Images)

4: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) - 2020-2023
3: Andy Schleck (Lux) – 2008-2010
3: Jan Ullrich (Ger) – 1996-98
2: Marco Pantani (Ita) – 1994-95

Tour de France stage records

Most Tour de France stage victories

34: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
34: Mark Cavendish (GBr)
28: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
25: Andre Leducq (Fra)
22: Andre Darrigade (Fra)
20: Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
17: Tadej Pogačar (Slo)

Most Tour de France time trial victories

Washing day for Tour legend and all-time TT winner Bernard Hinault (Image credit: Getty Images)

20: Bernard Hinault (Fra)
16: Eddy Merckx (Bel)
11: Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

Most stage wins in one Tour de France

8: Charles Pelissier (Fra) – 1930
8: Eddy Merckx (Bel) – 1970, 1974
8: Freddy Maertens (Bel) – 1976

Fastest non-time trial Tour de France stages

1999 - Stage 4: Laval - Blois, 194.5km - 50.36kph - Mario Cipollini
2003 - Stage 18: Bordeaux - Saint-Maixent-l'Ecole, 202.5km - 49.94kph - Pablo Lastras
1993 - Stage 6: Évreux - Amiens, 158km - 49.42kph - Johan Bruyneel
2022 - Stage 6: Binche - Longwy, 219.9km - 49.376kph - Tadej Pogačar
2023 - Stage 19: Moirans-en-Montagne - Poligny, 172.8km - 49.13kph - Matej Mohorič
2024 - Stage 13: Agen - Pau, 165.3km - 48.8421kph - Jasper Philipsen

Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.