The Bee launched its 2009 Tour of California page today. If you're a hard-core bike racing fan, the Internet is chock full of historical information about major tours and their winners. The CyclingRevealed web site, for example, offers a 100 year timeline (1900-1999) containing detailed information on significant races held every year. A results page gives the name of the race, distance and individual winner. Click on the race and you'll get additional details: average speed, the number of starters and finishers, as well as second and third place cyclists.
The official Tour de France site provides a complete list of winners, 1903-2008. In addition there's a page of interesting historical statistics about the race. A couple tidbits. Who wore the yellow jersey the most days? (No, it's not Lance Armstrong with 83 days, but Eddy Merkx of Belgium with 111 days.) After Paris, which city hosted the Tour the most times? (Bourdeaux.)
Of course, you'll also want to check out the Amgen Tour of California pages, which includes a large archive of data on the three previous races.
Incidentally, the National Bicyle Dealers Association has reported that sales of bicycles, parts and assessories were a $6 billion industry in 2007, a year in which 18.2 million units were sold. Check out other market data in the NBDA Industry Overview 2007.
