IN NUMBERS: Tour de France

As the Tour enters its final weekend (10.45am, ITV4/Eurosport; tomorrow, 3pm, ITV), we take a look at some numbers relating to the world’s most famous bicycle race…

1903 The year the first Tour was held, from July 1 to 19; the Italianborn Maurice Garin was the inaugural winner. This year is the 105th staging of the race.

5 The record number of times that Jacques Anquetil (above, France), Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Bernard Hinault (France) and Miguel Indurain (Spain) have won the race.

4 The number of cyclists who have died during the Tour, including Britain’s

Tom Simpson, whose heart failed as he ascended Mont Ventoux in 1967.

3,351 The distance, in kilometres, the riders will have covered when they reach Paris tomorrow. The Tour has 21 days’ racing, with two compulsory rest days, and a total distance of 3,500km must not be exceeded on any Tour.

2012 The year Bradley Wiggins (below) became the first British rider to win the Tour. Fellow Brit Chris Froome has since won the coveted title four times.

176 The number of cyclists who entered this year’s event, with 22 teams of eight riders each.

500 The number of hotels booked along the route for riders and support staff.

250 The number of towns that apply each year to host a stage of the Tour.