Tour de France 2011 review: Talking points →

Tour de France 2011 review: In numbers

July 26, 2011 2 Comments

Like many other great sporting events, the Tour de France can boast an overwhelming wealth of statistics concerning its riders, stages and general history, all of which help tell the story of each year’s race. Here are a few of the key numbers which help define the last three weeks of consistently exciting racing, and put the achievements of the race’s many heroes into context.

The basics

3,430.5 – Total race distance (in kilometres).

167 – Number of finishers, out of 198 starters.

86:12:22 – Aggregate time of the winner, Cadel Evans.

39.8 – In kph, Evans’ average speed.

The battle for the yellow jersey

Evans' final margin of victory reflected the close nature of the race

1:34 – Cadel Evans‘ winning margin over Andy Schleck – only the second time in the last six years the Tour has been decided by one minute or more.

5 – Wearers of the yellow jersey in this year’s race (Philippe Gilbert, Thor Hushovd, Thomas Voeckler, Andy Schleck, Cadel Evans).

1 – Number of days on which Evans wore the yellow jersey – the final stage in Paris.

1 – Stages won by Evans (stage four).

10 – Days spent by Thomas Voeckler in the yellow jersey, the same number he managed in 2004.

3 – Andy Schleck was overall runner-up for the third year running. He has yet to win the Tour.

12 – Evans‘ win made Australia the 12th country to produce a Tour winner – but the first from the southern hemisphere.

6 – Alberto Contador‘s fifth-place finish ended his run of winning the last six Grand Tours he has entered, including his last three Tours de France.

5 – Number of French riders who finished in the top 15.

The race for the other jerseys

Rojas finished second in the green jersey competition despite not winning a stage

3 – Only three men wore the green jersey this year (Philippe Gilbert, Rojas, Cavendish).

7 – By contrast, seven men wore the polka dot jersey for leading the mountains classification (Gilbert, Evans, Johnny Hoogerland, Tejay Van Garderen, Samuel Sánchez, Jérémy Roy and Jelle Vanendert).

6 – Six riders wore the white jersey as the leader of the youth (under-25s) classification (Geraint Thomas, Robert Gesink, Arnold Jeannesson, Rigoberto Urán, Rein Taaramae, Pierre Rolland).

0 – Stage wins for José Joaquín Rojas, who finished as runner-up in the green jersey competition to Mark Cavendish.

Stage winners

White jersey winner Rolland was this year's only French stage winner

1 – Stages won by French riders at this year’s Tour, after winning six last year. Pierre Rolland won stage 19 at Alpe d’Huez.

5 – Number of stages won by Mark Cavendish, taking his total in the past four years to 20.

3 – Three men were multiple stage winners this year: Cavendish (five), Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen (two each).

1 – Tyler Farrar won stage three, becoming the first American rider to win a Tour stage on the 4th of July.

3 – Cavendish won stage 11 in Lavaur. It is the third consecutive year in which he has won the 11th stage at the Tour.

2 – Cavendish is one of only two men to have won four or more stages in four consecutive years at the Tour. The other is Eddy Merckx.

11 – Only 11 of the 22 competing teams won stages. HTC-Highroad recorded six, more than any other team.

4 – Stage wins by the two Norwegian riders in the race – two each by Thor Hushovd and Edvald Boasson Hagen.

3 – Cavendish‘s victory in Paris marked the third consecutive time he has won the final stage on the Champs-Élysées. He was already the only man in Tour history to achieve this feat two years in a row.

And finally …

3:57:43 – Time gap between Cadel Evans and last-placed finisher Fabio Sabatini, the lanterne rouge.

(Some statistics courtesy of Opta Sports and Infostrada.)

Links: Tour de France official website, Steephill.tv

Race review

Stage-by-stage

Talking points

Race analysis

Is the new green jersey points system working?

Week 1 winners & losers

Who will win the polka dot jersey?

Week 2 winners & losers