Tour de l’Avenir

Tour de l’Avenir (English: Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle stage race that began in 1961. It was conceived as a race similar to the Tour de France, covering much of the same course but designed for amateurs and semi-professionals, known as independents. Notable winners such as Felice Gimondi, Joop Zoetemelk, Greg LeMond, Miguel Induráin, Laurent Fignon, Egan Bernal, and Tadej Pogačar, have gone on to win a combined 16 Tours de France, along with 10 additional podium finishes.

The race was created by Jacques Marchand, editor of L’Équipe, to attract teams from the Soviet Union and other communist countries, where professional riders were not eligible for the Tour de France.

Through 1967, the event took place earlier on the same day as Tour de France stages, sharing the latter part of the route. In 1968, it moved to September and adopted a separate course. Over the years, the race underwent several name changes: it became the Grand Prix de l’Avenir in 1970, the Trophée Peugeot de l’Avenir from 1972 to 1979, and the Tour de la Communauté Européenne from 1986 to 1990.

Initially restricted to amateurs from 1961 to 1980, the event opened to professionals in 1981. After 1992, eligibility was limited to riders under 25. Since 2007, the age bracket has been further refined to include riders aged 18 to 22. The race is part of the UCI Nations Cup and features national teams rather than trade teams.