When Bradley Wiggins crossed the finishing line on the Champs-Élysées in Paris Sunday afternoon he became the first British rider to win Le Tour de France. The Englishman is one of the oldest first-time winners of the Tour. In all the 99 editions of Le Tour only 9 riders have been older than Bradley Wiggins’ 32 years 85 days when they won their first tour.
But modern cycling with its technology, team tactics, media attention and price money is hard to compare with the riders of yore who rode grueling 600 km stages on heavy machines with no gearing. Therefore it is only fair to limit the frame of reference to the era of Modern Cycling which by some accounts can be dated to 1965.
The average age for first-time winners of the Tour de France since 1965 is 27 years 274 days. The diagram below shows the evolution of the age of first-time winners in the modern age of cycling.
Only three other riders in the modern era have been older than Bradley Wiggins when they won their first tour. In that light it’s a bit odd that this year’s Tour will be remembered for the many young riders who made their entrance on the sports’ biggest stage.
Cycling is a young man's sport, again!
While the Tour has seen a lot of new faces this year -with the age to dominate and fight for podium spots in the decade to come- the average age of the Top 10 remains fundamentally stable over time.
The average age for riders who finished in the Top 10 of this year’s Tour was remarkably similar to the average age of Top 10 finishers ten years ago when Lance Armstrong won his fourth of seven consecutive victories. In 2002 the average age was 28 years and 311 days, while this year it was less than a month lower at 28 years and 283 days. The major difference between ten years ago and today is in the age difference.
At 30 years 314 days Lance Armstrong was the elderly statesman in 2002, while the youngest rider in the Top 10 was Francisco Mancebo at 26 years 141 days. Only 4 years 173 days separated them.
This year defending champion Cadel Evans was the oldest in the Top 10 at 35 years 158 days, with French revelation, Thibaut Pinot, showing huge potential at only 22 years 55 days. So the age disparity in the Top 10 of this year’s tour is a monumental 13 years 104 days. So in other words, age disparity of the Top 10 has almost tripled in the last ten years.
What accounts for this huge difference? Is it because the Tour has become better at fighting doping? Or is it because this year was the first year of a new generation of riders with the old guard still not ready to hang up their cleats?
