The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race, primarily held in France. It is the most prestigious of the three Grand Tours, along with the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. The Tour de France was established in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L'Auto. Except for interruptions during the two World Wars, it has been held annually since.
The modern Tour de France consists of 21 day-long stages over a 23- or 24-day period, covering approximately 3,500 kilometers. The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France each year. It includes time trials and passage through the Pyrenees and Alps mountain chains. The cyclist with the shortest overall accumulated race times is declared the winner. The leader of the race wears a yellow jersey, which was introduced in 1919. Tadej Pogačar won the 2025 Tour de France.