Tour de France Trivia
- First TTT - the first team time trial was in 1927.
- National Teams - National teams were introduced in 1930, prior to that, major bike manufacturers sponsored the teams. Teams have of course returned to being commercially sponsored.
- Fan threatens rider - in 1950, Italian rider Gino Bartali was punched to the ground and threatened with a dagger on the Col d'Aspin. He got up to win the stage, and then withdrew, with all his teammates, claiming their lives were in danger.
- Punched by a fan - In 1975 Eddy Merckx was on the climb up the Puy-de-Dome when a French spectator punched him in the stomach. A few days later, Merckx crashed and fractured his cheek bone, but did not abandon the race. In the end, he lost the the Tour by less than 3 minutes to Bernard Thevenet.
- The Maillot Jaune (yellow jersey of the rider in the lead) was introduced in 1919 simply to help spectators recognize who was currently winning the race.
