Only Paris outranks the capital of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the ranking of Tour loyalty and it could almost compete with the French capital as the race’s capital of sprinting if you look back down the list of the 80 finishes it has hosted since 1903. Many of the greatest exponents of this art, including Van Looy, Darrigade, Godefroot, Maertens, van Poppel, Zabel and, on the last visit in 2010, Cavendish, have tasted success either at the Lescure velodrome or on the city’s quayside. However, the record holder for stage victories in the city is Eddy Merckx, who won here four times, including three victories in time trials.
- Stage town for the 81st time
- Prefecture of Gironde (33)
- Population: 261,000 (Bordelais and Bordelaises), 815,000 within the 28 communes comprising the Bordeaux metropolis
