The Tour de France of 2003 started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,350 km, proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages.

In the centenary year of the race the route recreated, in part, that of 1903. There was a special Centenaire Classement prize for the best-placed in each of the six stage finishes which match the 1903 tour - Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes and Paris. It was won by Stuart O'Grady.

Of the 198 riders the favorite was again Lance Armstrong, aiming for a record equalling fifth win. Before the race, it was believed that his main rivals would include Iban Mayo, Aitor Gonzalez , Tyler Hamilton, Ivan Basso, Gilberto Simoni and Jan Ullrich, but Armstrong was odds-on favorite.

The Tour proved to be one more hotly contested than the previous years, but in the end it was indeed Armstrong who won. Tyler Hamilton and Levi Leipheimer were involved in a crash early in the Tour. Leipheimer dropped out, Hamilton continued and got fourth place in the end while riding with what was believed to be a broken collarbone.

In the Alps, Gilberto Simoni and Stefano Garzelli, first and second in the Giro d'Italia earlier the same year, could not keep up with Lance Armstrong and the other favorites. The same held for last year's number 4, Santiago Botero. Joseba Beloki could, but then crashed and had to leave the Tour. Armstrong was in yellow, but Jan Ullrich won the first time trial, one minute ahead of Armstrong, and Alexandre Vinokourov and he were both within very short distance from Armstrong.

Armstrong did however withstand the attacks in the end, and took his fifth Tour de France in row, thereby equalling the record of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin. Before him, only Induráin had won in five consecutive years.

Results

General classification:

1.  Lance Armstrong     83:41:12
2.  Jan Ullrich           +01:01
3.  Alexandre Vinokourov  +04:14
4.  Tyler Hamilton        +06:17
5.  Haimar Zubeldia       +06:51
6.  Iban Mayo             +07:06
7.  Ivan Basso            +10:12
8.  Christophe Moreau     +12:28
9.  Carlos Sastre         +18:49
10. Francisco Mancebo     +19:15

Points classification:

1. Baden Cooke            216
2. Robbie McEwen          214
3. Erik Zabel             188
4. Thor Hushovd           173
5. Luca Paolini           156

Mountains classification:

1. Richard Virenque       324
2. Laurent Dufaux         187
3. Lance Armstrong        168
4. Christophe Moreau      137
5. Juan Miguel Mercado    136

Team classification:

1. CSC                   248:18:18
2. Ibanesto.com           +0:21:46
3. Euskaltel-Euskadi      +0:44:59
4. US Postal-Berry Floor  +0:45:53
5. Bianchi                +1:12:40

Combativity:

Alexandre Vinokourov

Youth classification:

1. Denis Menchov (Russia)     84:00:56
2. Mikel Astarloza (Spain)      +42:29
3. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp.)  +1:02:48
4. Sylvain Chavanel (France)  +1:05:17
5. Andy Flickinger (France)   +1:09:09

Centenaire classification:

1. Stuart O'Grady (Australia)
2. Thor Hushovd (Norway)
3. Fabrizio Guidi (Italy)
4. Luca Paolini (Italy)
5. Gerrit Glomser (Austria)

Individual Stage winners:

Prologue: Brad McGee
Stage 1:  Alessandro Petacchi
Stage 2:  Baden Cooke
Stage 3:  Alessandro Petacchi
Stage 4:  US Postal Service
Stage 5:  Alessandro Petacchi
Stage 6:  Alessandro Petacchi
Stage 7:  Richard Virenque
Stage 8:  Iban Mayo
Stage 9:  Alexandre Vinokourov
Stage 10: Jakob Piil
Stage 11: Juan Antonio Flecha
Stage 12: Jan Ullrich
Stage 13: Carlos Sastre
Stage 14: Gilberto Simoni
Stage 15: Lance Armstrong
Stage 16: Tyler Hamilton
Stage 17: Servais Knaven
Stage 18: Pablo Lastras
Stage 19: David Millar
Stage 20: Jean-Patrick Nazon

• Detailed results Prologue to Stage 9
• Detailed results Stage 10 to Stage 20
• List of teams in the 2003 Tour de France

External link

• For more information, visit the official 2003 Tour de France website.