title: The Tour de France: an updated physiological review.
abstract: From its initial inception in 1903 as a race premised on a publicity stunt to sell newspapers, the Tour de France had grown and evolved over time to become one of the most difficult and heralded sporting events in the world. Though sporting science and the Tour paralleled each other, it was not until the midlate 1980s, and especially the midlate 1990s (with the use of heart-rate monitors) that the 2 began to unify and grow together. The purpose of this brief review is to summarize what is currently known of the physiological demands of the Tour de France, as well as of the main physiological profile of Tour de France competitors.
authors.affiliation: Sports Faculty, Pablo di Olavide University, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santalla
authors.forename: Conrad P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Earnest
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marroyo
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D054874:Athletic Performance; D001642:Bicycling; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D053580:Muscle Strength; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010807:Physical Endurance; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance; D055815:Young Adult