For many professional cyclists, being picked by their trade team to race in the Tour de France is a massive career milestone. Completing the three-week stage race in itself is a massive achievement, even for the last-placed rider, the lanterne rouge.
The stressful physical demands and risky nature of racing don’t allow a long career in professional cycling. The average career length of professional cyclists is around 10 to 12 years. Many cyclists start their professional careers in their early 20s and end before their mid 30’s.
There are exceptions, such as Alejandro Valverde, who is in his 21st year of professional cycling in 2022, and Chris Horner, who did 23 years as a professional cyclist before retiring in 2019.
When it comes to racing and competing in the Tour de France, nine cyclists throughout history competed and finished in 15 or more editions.
French cyclist, Sylvain Chavanel has the most Tour de France appearances with 18. He rode in consecutive years from 2001 to 2018 and finished 16 of them except for 2007 and 2012.
Behind Sylvain Chavanel, three cyclists were active from the mid-90s to mid-2010s that rode the Tour de France 17 times.
- Stuart O’Grady rode 17 times from 1997 to 2013 and finished 15 times, except in 2000 and 2007.
- Jens Voigt rode 17 times from 1998 to 2014 and finished 14 times, except in 2003, 2005, and 2009.
- George Hincapie rode 17 times from 1996 to 2012 and finished 13 times, except in 1996, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The only active rider with more than 10 Tour de France appearances is Mark Cavendish (14 started, 7 finished). Mark Cavendish will retire from professional cycling at the end of the 2023 season.
Mark Cavendish holds the joint record for the most Tour de France stage wins with Eddy Merckx at 34 wins.
| Rider | Starts | Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| Sylvain Chavanel | 18 (2001 to 2018) | 16 (2001 to 2006, 2008 to 2011, 2013 to 2018) |
| Stuart O’Grady | 17 (1997 to 2013) | 15 (1997 to 1999, 2001 to 2006, 2008 to 2013) |
| Jens Voigt | 17 (1998 to 2014) | 14 (1998 to 2002, 2004, 2006 to 2008, 2010 to 2014) |
| George Hincapie | 17 (1996 to 2012) | 13 (1997 to 2003, 2007 to 2012)[n 1] |
| Joop Zoetemelk | 16 (1970 to 1973, 1975 to 1986) | 16 (1970 to 1973, 1975 to 1986) |
| Haimar Zubeldia | 16 (2001 to 2009, 2011 to 2017) | 15 (2001 to 2003, 2005 to 2009, 2011 to 2017) |
| Lucien Van Impe | 15 (1969 to 1981, 1983, 1985) | 15 (1969 to 1981, 1983, 1985) |
| Viatcheslav Ekimov | 15 (1990 to 1998, 2000 to 2004, 2006) | 15 (1990 to 1998, 2000 to 2004, 2006) |
| Thomas Voeckler | 15 (2003 to 2017) | 15 (2003 to 2017) |
| Guy Nulens | 15 (1980 to 1994) | 13 (1981 to 1982, 1984 to 1994) |
| Christophe Moreau | 15 (1996 to 2010) | 11 (1996 to 1997, 1999 to 2000, 2003 to 2007, 2009 to 2010) |
| André Darrigade | 14 (1953 to 1966) | 13 (1953 to 1962, 1964 to 1966) |
| Erik Zabel | 14 (1994 to 2004, 2006 to 2008) | 13 (1995 to 2004, 2006 to 2008) |
| Sean Kelly | 14 (1978 to 1985, 1987 to 1992) | 12 (1978 to 1985, 1988 to 1990, 1992) |
| Raymond Poulidor | 14 (1962 to 1976) | 11 (1962 to 1965, 1967, 1969 to 1972, 1974 to 1976) |
| Alejandro Valverde | 14 (2005 to 2008, 2012 to 2021) | 10 (2007 to 2008, 2012 to 2016, 2018 to 2020) |
| Jules Deloffre | 14 (1908 to 1914, 1920 to 1928) | 7 (1909 to 1914, 1921) |
| Mark Cavendish | 14 (2007 to 2018, 2021, 2023) | 7 (2009 to 2013, 2015, 2021) |
| Jérôme Pineau | 13 (2002 to 2014) | 13 (2002 to 2014) |
| Jean Dotto | 13 (1951 to 1963) | 10 (1951 to 1952, 1954, 1956 to 1957, 1959 to 1963) |
| Jean-Pierre Genet | 13 (1964 to 1976) | 10 (1964 to 1965, 1967 to 1971, 1973 to 1974, 1976) |
| Phil Anderson | 13 (1981 to 1988, 1989 to 1994) | 13 (1981 to 1988, 1989 to 1994) |
| Joaquim Agostinho | 13 (1969 to 1975, 1977 to 1981, 1983) | 12 (1969 to 1975, 1977 to 1980, 1983) |
| Gerrie Knetemann | 13 (1974 to 1982, 1984, 1986 to 1988) | 11 (1974 to 1975, 1977 to 1982, 1984, 1986 to 1987) |
| Henk Lubberding | 13 (1977 to 1989) | 11 (1977 to 1985, 1987, 1989) |
| Lance Armstrong | 13 (1993 to 1996, 1999 to 2005, 2009 to 2010) | 10 (1995, 1999 to 2005, 2009 to 2010) |
| François Mahé | 13 (1953 to 1965) | 9 (1953 to 1955, 1957, 1959 to 1960, 1962 to 1963, 1965) |
| Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle | 13 (1979 to 1983, 1985 to 1988, 1990 to 1993) | 9 (1979, 1981 to 1983, 1985, 1987 to 1988, 1990 to 1991) |
| Marc Wauters | 13 (1992 to 1997, 1999 to 2005) | 8 (1993 to 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002 to 2005) |
| Didier Rous | 13 (1994 to 2006) | 7 (1995, 1997, 2000 to 2001, 2003, 2005 to 2006) |
Alex Lee is the founder and editor-at-large of Mr. Mamil. Coming from a professional engineering background, he breaks down technical cycling nuances into an easy-to-understand and digestible format here.
He has been riding road bikes actively for the past 12 years and started racing competitively in the senior category during the summer recently.