February 01, 2022

Tour de France winners: The full history

Only one rider can win the Tour de France each year, making it one of the most select groups in cycling. Ahead of the 2023 edition, we take a look at some of the youngest, oldest and most successful winners

The 2023 Tour de France will be the 110th edition of the race. With so much history, the race has helped some of the world’s best riders to transition from talented contender to a Grand Tour winner.

Nowadays, each of the 23 teams that will take to the Tour de France start line are allowed to bring eight riders, meaning 184 riders will begin in Bilbao for the Grand Départ, but only one rider will arrive in Paris wearing the distinguished yellow jersey.

We take a look back at some of the former Tour de France winners and those who set benchmarks in the race’s history.

Most Tour de France wins

Miguel Indurain celebrates his fifth Tour de France (Image credit: Mike Powell/ALLSPORT/Getty Images)

There are four riders that share the crown of most Tour de France titles. Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain all won the Tour de France on five occasions.

Anquetil won his first title in 1957 and had won his fifth by 1964, whereas Merckx won four in a row between 1969 and 1972, before adding his fifth title in ‘74. Hinault is the most recent French winner of the Tour de France, and he won his fifth yellow jersey in 1985. France won nine of the eleven editions of the Tour de France between 1975 and 1985, but have since gone over 35 years without seeing a yellow jersey.

Miguel Indurain is the only rider to have won the Tour de France for five consecutive seasons, a feat he achieved between 1991 and 1995. Chris Froome is the only active rider who could challenge for five titles as he currently have four Tour titles to his name. However, he isn't in this year's edition.

Lance Armstrong had held the record with seven Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005, but he was stripped of all accolades over this period after he was found guilty of doping in 2012.

5 wins - Jacques Anquetil (1957 - 1964), Eddy Merckx (1969 - 1974), Bernard Hinault (1978 - 1985) and Miguel Indurain (1991 - 1995)
4 wins - Chris Froome (2013 - 2017)
3 wins - Philippe Thys (1913 - 1920), Louison Bobet (1953 - 55), Greg LeMond (1986 - 1990)

Youngest Tour de France winners

Henri Cornet, the youngest winner of the Tour de France (Image credit: Branger/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)

One of the recent trends that can be observed in professional cycling is the increased level of opportunity and confidence given to young riders. This means that some of the youngest Tour de France champions in history have won the race in the previous couple of years. Egan Bernal became the third youngest rider to win the Tour de France in 2019 — he was aged just 22 years old and 196 days.

Tadej Pogačar became the second only rider to win the Tour de France aged under 22 — he was crowned champion just one day prior to his 22nd birthday.

However, Henri Cornet remains the youngest rider to win the Tour de France. He won the yellow jersey in 1904 by a margin of more than two hours, which was just the second edition of the race. Originally, Cornet was fifth to finish, but the race was riddled with various scandals. After numerous disqualifications, Cornet was handed victory.

1904 - Henri Cornet, 19 years and 352 days
2020 - Tadej Pogačar, 21 years and 365 days
1909 - François Faber, 22 years and 187 days
2019 - Egan Bernal, 22 years and 196 days
1910 - Octave Lapize, 22 years and 280 days

Oldest Tour de France winners

Cadel Evans on the way to winning the 2011 Tour de France (Image credit: Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)

Some of the oldest Tour de France victors came in the race's early years too. Firmin Lambot is the only rider to win the Tour de France aged over 35 years old. The Belgian rider won his second Tour de France title at 36 years old and 130 days in his eighth Tour de France start.

The following year, Henri Pélissier won the Tour at the age of 34 years and 180 days. He remains the second oldest rider to win the Tour. The oldest rider to triumph at the Tour de France in the modern-day is Cadel Evans, who won in 2011 at the age of 34 years and 160 days, making him the third oldest rider to win the maillot jaune.