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2003 Tour de France
The 2003 Tour de France was one of the most dramatic editions of the modern era, made even more significant by the celebration of the race’s centenary (1903–2003). It was the 90th edition of the Tour, beginning in Paris on July 5 and finishing on the Champs-Élysées on July 27. At the time, Lance Armstrong was declared the winner by just 1 minute 1 second over Jan Ullrich, with Alexandre Vinokourov third at 4:14. Armstrong’s results were later annulled as part of the sanctions stemming from his doping case, and the 2003 Tour is now officially recorded with no overall winner. Baden Cooke won the green points jersey, Richard Virenque captured the mountains classification for the sixth time, Denis Menchov won the young rider classification, and Team CSC took the team competition.
The race was unusually open from the beginning. Bradley McGee won the prologue in Paris, while Alessandro Petacchi dominated the early sprint stages with four victories during the first week. The general classification began to take shape in the Alps, where Richard Virenque won Stage 7 to Morzine and Iban Mayo produced a superb climbing performance the following day to win atop L’Alpe-d’Huez. Armstrong moved into the yellow jersey after that stage, but unlike in several of his previous Tours, he never established a comfortable advantage.
One of the race’s most memorable and frightening moments came on Bastille Day, during Stage 9 to Gap. Joseba Beloki, then sitting second overall, crashed heavily on the descent toward Gap after losing control on a section of road made unusually slick by the extreme heat. Armstrong, directly behind him, was forced off the road and famously rode across a field before rejoining the course. Beloki suffered serious injuries, including fractures to his femur, elbow and wrist, and was forced to abandon. Alexandre Vinokourov won the stage and moved himself firmly into contention for the overall victory.
The race tightened dramatically in the long individual time trial from Gaillac to Cap’Découverte on Stage 12. Jan Ullrich produced one of the outstanding performances of the Tour, beating Armstrong by 1 minute 36 seconds and reducing his deficit in the general classification to only 34 seconds. The following day, on the mountain finish at Plateau de Bonascre above Ax-les-Thermes, Carlos Sastre won the stage while Ullrich again gained time on Armstrong. By the time the Tour reached the decisive Pyrenean stages, Ullrich had moved to within just 15 seconds of the yellow jersey, while Vinokourov remained only 18 seconds behind.
Everything came to a head on Stage 15 to Luz-Ardiden, one of the defining stages of the 2003 Tour. After crossing the Col d’Aspin and Tourmalet, the leading contenders arrived together at the base of the final climb. Armstrong attacked with Iban Mayo, but with roughly nine kilometers remaining his handlebar caught a spectator’s bag and both riders crashed. Ullrich avoided the accident and initially continued before the leading group slowed, allowing Armstrong and Mayo to regain contact. Armstrong then attacked again, this time riding clear to win the stage. Ullrich finished third, and Armstrong increased his lead sufficiently to give himself some breathing room heading into the final days.
The Tour was still not completely settled. In the penultimate individual time trial to Nantes, Ullrich had one final opportunity to overturn the deficit, but the stage was held in wet conditions, and he crashed on a slippery roundabout. David Millar won the stage, while Ullrich’s hopes of taking the yellow jersey effectively ended. Armstrong was originally credited with victory by just 1 minute 1 second over Ullrich, the narrowest margin of the seven Tours he was initially recorded as winning. Those results were subsequently annulled, and the 2003 Tour now has no official winner.
Beyond the racing, the 2003 Tour was designed as a celebration of one hundred years of Tour de France history. The route, imagery and presentation repeatedly referenced the original 1903 race, linking the modern spectacle back to Maurice Garin and the six-stage inaugural Tour. A century after that first extraordinary experiment, the Tour had become one of the largest annual sporting events in the world, and the 2003 edition delivered a race worthy of the anniversary: close, unpredictable, spectacular and filled with moments that remain among the most recognizable in Tour history.
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