The Tour de France is an almighty undertaking. This year’s edition packs in 3,404km over 21 stages, with accumulated elevation in excess of 56,000 metres. For every rider, just getting selected for the start requires them to be in peak physical condition, but winning the biggest race of all demands an even more finely turned body. So what exactly does it take, in terms of talent and training, to be a GC contender?
The basic description of a Tour winner won’t shock anyone: almost always European, typically aged between 24 and 34; usually with a height between 175 and 185cm (5ft 9in and 6ft 1in), and low body weight of between 60 and 66kg. But there have been exceptions: two-time champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was only 21 when he claimed his first title in 2020 – 98 years after the race’s oldest winner, 36-year-old Firmin Lambot, in 1922. The race’s first ever winner in 1903, Maurice Garin, was a petite 162cm (5ft 4in), while 2012 winner Bradley Wiggins was 190cm (6ft 3in). On the scales, five-time winner Miguel Indurain was 80kg, some 28kg heavier than his Spanish compatriot Luis Ocana who won
