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Records to beat at the Tour de France

A look at the records to beat at the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday.

AFP
La Roche-sur-Yon 06 July, 2018 14:13 IST

Chris Froome will be vying to join an elite club with another Tour de France title.   -  AFP

AFP
La Roche-sur-Yon 06 July, 2018 14:13 IST

These are records to beat at the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday.

  • Most wins at a single Tour de France: Eight by Charles Pelissier (1930), Eddy Merckx (1970, 1974) and Freddy Maertens (1976)
  • Greatest number of stage victories: 34 by Merckx
  • Greatest number of yellow jersey wearers: Eight in 1958 and 1987
  • Most days in yellow: 97 by Eddy Merckx
  • Greatest number of Tour de France wins: Five by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. Lance Armstrong won seven but was later stripped of them.
  • Most top three finishes: Eight by Raymond Poulidor (three second places and five third places) in 14 competitions between 1962-1976
  • Greatest win margin (since 1947): 28min 17sec by Fausto Coppi in 1952
  • Smallest win margin: 8sec (Greg LeMond over Laurent Fignon in 1989)
  • Greatest number of green jersey wins: Six by Erik Zabel
  • Greatest number of polka dot jersey wins: Seven by Richard Virenque
  • Longest solo break: 253km by Albert Bourlon in 1947
  • Biggest time gap on a stage win: 22min 50sec by Jose Luis Viejo in 1976
  • Fastest time-trial average speed: 55.446km/h by Rohan Dennis in 2015 over 13.8km
  • Fastest team time-trial: 57.841km/h by Orica in 2013 over 25km
  • Fastest average speed for a stage win: 50.355 km/h by Mario Cipollini in 1999 over 194.5 km
  • Fastest average speed of an entire Tour de France: 41.654 km/h by Lance Armstrong in 2005, later downgraded
  • Oldest winner: Firmin Lambot (36 years, four months and nine days) in 1922
  • Youngest winner: Henri Cornet (19 years, 11 months and 20 days) in 1904
  • Oldest stage winner: Pino Cerami (41 years 3 months and 3 days) in 1963
  • Youngest stage winner: Fabio Battesini (19 years, four months and 13 days) in 1931
  • Most Tour de France participations: 17 by George Hincapie (between 1996-2012), Stuart O'Grady (1997-2013), Jens Voigt (1998-2014) and Sylvain Chavanel (2001-2017).