History of the tour de france

This is a summary of an article from the time magazine.

The tour de France is one of the most grueling test of human endurance. It kicks off July 5 and is stretched over 21 stages within three weeks.

The race was the brainchild of Henri Desgrange, a Parisian magazine editor who wanted to boost circulation on 1903. The popularity of the race grew fast and the competition turned also fiercer. The adoption of drugs were an effective performance booster until the death of British rider Tom Simpson after taking amphetamines, which prompted the event to adopt drug-testing. This became since then another highlight of the race.