Stupid Facts - Tour de France

• Lance Armstrong (United States) holds the record as the only rider to have won the Tour seven times (consecutively 1999–2005); he retired after the 2005 Tour.

• The tallest rider was Johan van Summeren at 1.98 meters or 6' 5.5".

• The shortest was Samuel Dumoulin at 1.58 meters or 5' 2".

• The heaviest rider was Magnus Backstedt at 95 kgs or 209.5 lbs.

• The lightest was Leonardo Piepoli at 57 kgs or 125.7lbs.

• Chris Horner and Laurent Lefevre shared the lowest resting heart rate, 35 beats per minute.

• The "average" rider in 2005 was 1.79 meters (5' 10.5") tall, weighed 71 kgs (156.5 lbs), and had a resting heart rate of 50 beats per minute.

• Youngest winner was Henri Cornet, 19 years 50 weeks in 1904.

• Oldest winner was Lambot, 36 years four months in 1922.

• Number of pedal strokes taken per rider for the three weeks: 324,000 (at 60 rpm); 486,000 (at 90 rpm)

• Calories burned by a rider in the course of the Tour: 123,900 (based on 5900-per day average at 21 days of racing).

• The course and total distance travelled changes every year.

• 4 racers have died while competing in Le Tour de France.