A rundown of Tour de France records as millions prepare for most-attended sporting event

Millions of people will be getting ready to line the streets this weekend for the Tour de France.

The annual bike race, which kicks off on Saturday (5 July) in Lille, holds the record for largest attendance at a sporting event with an estimated 12 million spectators each year grabbing a spot along the route over the three weeks it lasts.

And on TV, it has a massive global audience of around 3.5 billion!

Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) is the favourite to win the yellow jersey this year, and of course the €500,000 ($590,618; £428,850) cash prize.

Pogačar cemented his status as favourite to top the podium with his victory at last month’s Critérium du Dauphiné.

If he does win, it’ll be his fourth victory, with him previously taking the title in 2020, 2021 and 2024.

It would also mark his overall 100^th competition win.

In celebration of this year’s race, here are some other fun Tour de France facts for you…

Oldest ever winner

We hate to break it to you, but if you’re older than 36 it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever win the Tour de France. Sorry.

The oldest Tour de France winner ever was Firmin Lambot (Belgium), who was aged 36 years 4 months when he won all the way back in 1922.

It’s a young man’s game!

Youngest ever winner

Right at the other end of the age scale is Henri Cornet (France), who became the youngest Tour de France winner in 1904.

He was aged 19 years 355 days.

Most wins

Four people share the record for most Tour de France wins with five victories each.

Jacques Anquetil (France) won in 1957 and every year between 1961-4, Eddy Merckx (Belgium) won from 1969-72 and in 1974, Bernard Hinault (France) finished first from 1978-9, 1981-2 and in 1985, and Miguel Indurain (Spain) won every year from 1991-5.

So even if Pogačar does win this time, he’ll need one more to join the list of record holders, or two more to claim the title for himself.

Header image: Shutterstock