Le Tour de France begins today

Said to be the world's most demanding athletic event, Le Tour de France cycling marathon typically has 21 days of racing and covers 3,200 km (2,000 miles). The first Tour was in 1903. The shortest was the next year at 2,420 km (1,500 miles), the longest in 1926 at 5,745 km (3,570 miles). The poster above was for the 1925 Tour.

The three weeks usually include two rest days, sometimes used to transport riders from a finish in one town to the start in another. The race alternates between clockwise and anticlockwise circuits of France. The first anticlockwise circuit was in 1913. As can be seen in the poster the Tour originally ran around the perimeter of France, but nowadays it comprises separate sections, sometimes crossing the national borders, and always with flat terrain races and very strenuous hill climbs!  The official website