00:00 The Tour de France was originally created to sell newspapers and was influenced by the Dreyfus Affair in late 19th-century France.

02:30 In 1903, Le Auto launched the first Tour de France as a way to increase newspaper sales, and the race was successful in doubling the circulation of the newspaper.

04:21 In just the second race of the Tour de France, the event was plagued with scandal, including cheating, crowd interference, and sabotage, resulting in the disqualification of the top four finishers and a new winner being declared.

06:05 Over the years, the Tour de France evolved with the addition of mountain stages, the allowance of teammates, the introduction of multiple gears and the ability to exchange bicycles, and the establishment of traditions such as the yellow jersey for the race leader and the green jersey for the points leader.

07:54 Drug use and doping have been prevalent in the Tour de France since its inception, with cyclists using substances like amphetamines, alcohol, cocaine, chloroform, and pills to endure the grueling race.

09:53 Doping and drug use have been ongoing issues in the Tour de France since its inception, with substances ranging from alcohol and strict 9 to opioids being used by cyclists, including Lance Armstrong who had his seven wins vacated due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

11:46 The Tour de France has had several winners who had their titles taken away due to doping, and while the sport has cleaned up considerably, cycling in the 1990s and 2000s was considered one of the dirtiest sports; additionally, the amount of energy expended by cyclists during the race is incredibly high, with the potential for top athletes to lose a significant amount of body fat over the course of the race.