L'Étape du Tour
L'Étape du Tour de France is an organised mass participation cyclosportive that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, it takes place each July, normally on a Tour rest day. From 2025, a L'Étape du Tour will also take place alongside Tour de France Femmes.
Most often the stage chosen for L'Étape du Tour is the queen stage of the Tour de France, which normally is a high mountain stage in either the Pyrenees or French Alps. 15,000 entries are being sold by the organizers, with many participants travelling from foreign countries to compete. The event takes place on roads closed by the police to other traffic, with refreshment stops, mechanical assistance, and medical support provided along the route.
International versions of L'Étape, marketed under the name Étape by Tour de France series, are held annually in various countries around the world to give local riders a Tour de France-like experience. Events are currently being staged in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the USA.
All male winners
- 1993 – Christophe Rinero. Rinero went on to finish 4th at the 1998 Tour de France.
- 1994 – Igor Pavlov. This edition was poorly coordinated and a number of incidents including cows standing in the middle of the road on the Tourmalet were reported.
- 1995 – Thierry Bourguignon. There was tragedy in this event as young cyclist Sylvain Chaigneau died on the descent of the Croix De Fer.
- 1996 – Frédéric Bessy. Bessy went on to ride in the professional peloton and won the 2004 GP Lugano in Switzerland. He retired in 2007.
- 1997 – Patrick Bruet. The man who finished second, Grzegorz Gwiazdowski, arrived late and set off ten minutes behind everyone else and he technically was the real time winner
- 1998 – Joe Doran, an Australian cyclist racing in France. For security reasons the organisers held two qualifying heats on 3 and 10 May.
- 1999 – Cyril Bastière. There were no qualifying heats this time and the police helped with organization which made the race much safer.
- 2000 – Igor Pavlov. Pavlov recorded his second win at the Étape. Some very well known cyclists rode the event including Greg LeMond, Éric Boyer, Bruno Cornillet, Atle Kvålsvoll, François Lemarchand, Ronan Pensec and Jérôme Simon. The race finished on Mont Ventoux
- 2001 – Igor Pavlov. Pavlov got a back to back victory and his third victory at the Étape.
- 2002 – Laurent Marcon. Astonishingly, there was a high rate of finishers. 7,108 finished from 7,500 starters. Nearly 95% of people finished.
- 2003 – Loic Herbreteau. Really hot temperatures made some of the climbs unbearable. Spanish cycling legends, Miguel Induráin and Abraham Olano, both competed.
- 2004 – Jean-Christophe Currit. It was the longest route ever. French cycling legend Raymond Poulidor started the race. Abraham Olano competed for the second year in succession.
- 2005 – Laurent Marcon. Marcon took his second victory at the Étape. 8500 people entered the Étape.
- 2006 – Blaise Sonnery. Sonnery went on to ride for Ag2r–La Mondiale He rode for them until 2009.
- 2007 – Nicolas Fritsch. Fritsch was a former professional peloton rider and he rode for Marc Madiot on the Française Des Jeux team. Olano and LeMond competed in the event once more.
- 2008 – Laurent Four. It was extremely cloudy which prevented the riders from seeing the sights of the race.
- 2009 – Dimitri Champion. Dimitri Champion was racing for Bretagne–Schuller at the time and he was also the French national road race champion. It was an extremely hot day with many riders having to dismount on Mont Ventoux because of the heat.
- 2010 – Jean-Christophe Currit. Currit took his second Étape victory. The race finished on the Col Du Tourmalet. 10,000 people entered the race.
- 2011 – There was a change in 2011 and a two-day race occurred rather than just the one day.
- *Stage one Jean-Christophe Currit. Currit took the first stage which went over the Col Du Galibier and finished at the Alpe d'Huez.
- *Stage two Lilian Jégou Jégou was a former professional peloton rider who retired the previous at Bretagne–Schuller. He had previously ridden for Française des Jeux for a number of years. Heavy rain meant poor conditions and only 2094 people crossed the line at the end.
- 2012 – Once more a two-day event
- *Stage one Robin Cattet. A day of high climbing with a lack of preparation hindered many participants.
- *Stage two Nicolas Roux. As it was Bastille day it was a day of celebration. Frenchmen Nicolas Roux took the victory. Rain meant the sights of the Pyrenees couldn't be seen.
- 2013 – Nicolas Roux. Back to the original one day format. Roux took a second Étape win. Climbed up to Annecy Semnoz for the win. 11,475 started which is the best ever participation. Over 10,000 finished.
- 2014 – Loic Herbreteau. Eleven years after his first Étape victory, Herbreteau struck again beating Peter Pouly by nearly four minutes. Former winner Lilian Jégou was sixth and Nicolas Roux, 2013 winner, finished sixteenth. Former professional rider Julien Belgy finished 44th. 2008 Winner Laurent Four finished 133rd
- 2015 – Jérémy Bescond. Former Cofidis rider Bescond won the race. Former winner Lillian Jegou finished 74th.
- 2016 – French rider Tao Quéméré won this year's race.
- 2017 – This years edition was won by Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen.
- 2018 – French rider Victor Lafay took the victory. He went on to win the 8th stage of the 2021 Giro d'Italia.
- 2019 – Cédrick Dubois claimed this year's victory.
- 2022 – Stefan Kirchmair from Austria took the victory in the 2022 edition.
- 2023 – Artus Jaladeau from France won this year's race.
- 2024 – French rider Damien Jeanjean took the victory.
Recent Étapes du Tour
2007
rode this Étape along with his son, after being inspired by his son riding it previously. LeMond said "I had the time of my life", despite getting "650th place" and being "impressed that I even finished". "I decided that day that nobody's going to keep me from cycling, not Trek, not Armstrong, not Verbuggen, not anybody.".British comedian Hugh Dennis also rode this Étape.