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Tour de France Winning Bikes by Year, 1903 to 2022

Written by : Mr Mamil
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Over the course of 109 editions (up to 2022), the Tour de France has been won by 36 different bike brands. Many of these brands are unknown to cycling fans today. Only a handful of brands, such as Colnago, Pinarello, Specialized, and Trek are synonymous with the fans today.

The road bike industry has undergone massive change and innovation in the past 20 years with the introduction of new technologies such as electronic shifting, carbon fiber frames, disc brakes, and tubeless tires.

This article will go back in history and explore the bike brands that have won the Tour de France.

Pinarello – 15 wins

Egan Bernal’s Pinarello Dogma F12

Pinarello has a long history in cycling, dating back to 19534, when it was founded by Giovanni Pinarello in Treviso, Italy. With 15 Tour de France wins, Pinarello is by far the most successful bike brand at the La Grande Boucle.

Pinarello’s dominance can be summed up in two eras; the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s. Miguel Indurain won four consecutive Tour de France from 1992 to 1995, followed by Bjarne Riis (1996) and Jan Ullrich (1997). Team Sky (Ineos-Grenadiers) won seven Tour de France with Bradley Wiggins (2012), Chris Froome (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), Geraint Thomas (2018), and Egan Bernal (2019).

Today, Pinarello’s top-of-the-line bike is the Pinarello Dogma F.

More reading : Pinarello Road Bike Line Up Explained

L’Auto – 10 wins

Front Page of L’Auto Newspaper

L’Auto is not a bike brand, but the French newspaper that started the Tour de France in 1903.

From 1930 to 1939, Henri Desgrange, who was the newspaper required all riders to paint their bikes’ downtube with L’Auto as part of the marketing campaign and publicity stunt to increase the profile of the race.

During that period, riders competed based on national teams, so there wasn’t any commercial conflict of interest.

Peugeot – 10 wins

Bernard Thévenet at the 1977 Tour de France

Today, most of us know Peugeot as the French automotive brand. Peugeot started making bicycles way back in 1882 and won their first Tour de France with Louis Trousselier in 1905 and their last win came in 1977 with Bernard Thévenet.

In the past 50 years, the bicycle arm of Peugeot has gone through various ownership. Today it’s part of Cycleuope which owns owner bike brands such as Bianchi and Gitane Unknown to many, Peugeot actually has a complete bike line up from road to mountain, city, kids, and electric bikes.

Gitane – 9 wins

Laurent Fignon’s rode the Gitane to win the 1983 Tour de France

Gitane is a French brand that was synonymous with racing from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. All nine of Gitane’s Tour de France wins occurred during this period with legendary French riders such as Bernard Hinault (4), Jacques Anquetil (2), Laurent Fignon (2), and Belgian Lucien Van Impe (1).

Today, Gitane is part of Cycleuope, which also owns Bianchi and Peugeot bike brands. Gitane produces mostly city and mountain bikes today. They don’t have much presence outside of France.

Trek – 9 wins

Alberto Contador at the 2009 Tour de France

Founded in 1976, Trek is one of the leading bike brands today with its own mens’ and womens’ World Tour team.

Trek’s first Tour de France win was in 1999 by Lance Armstrong. For the next seven years until 2005, Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France, helping to raise Trek’s profile in the United States and worldwide. In 2012, all seven of Lance’s Tour de France wins were nulled.

The other two Tour de France wins occurred with Alberto Contador in 2007 and 2009.

Trek offers the riders three types of road bikes; Emonda (lightweight), Madone (aero) and Domane (endurance), and the Speed Concept (TT).

More reading : Trek Road Bikes Line Up Explained

Alcyon – 7 wins

Alcyon Tour de France Poster

Alcyon was a French bicycle, motorcycle, and automotive brand that was active from 1903 to 1954. They sponsored their own cycling team from 1905 to 1959, under different names such as Alcyon-Dunlop, Alcyon-Soly, Alcyon-Armor, and Alcyon-Leroux

Their first Tour de France win was in 1909 with François Faber, a Luxembourgian rider. Their last win was in 1929 with Belgian, Maurice De Waele. From 1930 onwards, the Tour de France organizers required the teams to paint their bikes’ downtube with L’Auto, which is the newspaper that started the Tour de France.

Eddy Merckx – 5 wins

Eddy Merckx’s 1974 Tour de France Winning Bike

Eddy Merckx is no stranger to cycling fans. He’s widely known as the most successful cyclist of all time, winning the Tour de France (5 times), Giro d’ Italia (5 times), and 34 Tour de France stages.

The Eddy Merckx brand was only started in 1980 after he retired. Eddy Merckx was riding bikes built by Masi and Kessels with his name painted on the downtube for his five Tour de France wins.

In 2008, Eddy Merckx sold all his shares in the company to Sobradis, a Belgian holding company. In 2017, another Belgian company, Race Productions, which also owns Ridley Bikes, took over Eddy Merckx after struggling with sales for the past decade.

Automoto – 4 wins

Automoto Tour de France Poster

Automoto was a French bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer that started in 1902. It was the dominant bike brand in the mid-1920s, with four consecutive Tour de France wins from 1923 to 1923 with three different riders.

In 1930, it was bought by Peugeot and sadly discontinued in 1962.

Bianchi – 3 wins

Marco Pantani’s 1998 Tour de France Winning Bike

Bianchi is the oldest bicycle manufacturing company today. It was founded in Italy back in 1885 by Edoardo Bianchi who was a 21-year-old medical instrument maker.

All of Bianchi’s three Tour de France wins were achieved by Italian riders. Fausto Coppi won in 1949 and 1952 and Marco Pantini won in 1998. Bianchi was present at the World Tour with Team BikeExchange (2021) and Team Jumbo-Visma (2014 to 2020).

Today, Bianchi bikes are known for their Celeste color, which is also known as Bianchi Green.

Colnago – 3 wins

Tadej Pogačar Colnago V3Rs

Colnago is one of the currently active bike brands that have a long history, dating back to 1952. It was founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milan, Italy. In May 2020, Chimera Investments LLC, which is based in the UAE acquired a majority stake in Colnago.

Colnago’s first Tour de France win was in 1960 by Italian rider, Gastone Nencini. It was a long 60-year wait for their second win until Tadej Pogačar won two consecutive Tour de France in 2020 and 2021. He also picked up the Best Young Rider and Climber Classification in these two years.

In 2022, Tadej Pogačar will be riding the Colnago V3Rs in an attempt to win his third consecutive Tour de France General Classification.

Helyett – 3 wins

A Helyett Speciale in 1963

Helyett is a little-known French bicycle manufacturer that was started by the Picard brothers in 1926. It took its name from a lead character from a late 19th-century play, Miss Helyett, which is why the Helyett logo has a young women’s face on it.

Frenchman, Jacques Anquetil won three of his five Tour de France onboard a Helyett bike in 1957, 1961, and 1962.

La Sportive – 3 wins

La Sportive’s three Tour de France wins occurred right after World War 1, from 1919 to 1921. Right after the war, Europe was in a bad shape and many of the bicycle manufacturers were either out of business or don’t have the manufacturing capabilities.

The remaining brands, such as Alcyon, Armor, Automoto, Clément, La Française, Gladiator, Griffon, Hurtu, Labor, Liberator, Peugeot, and Thomann came together and provided more than half the peloton with various bicycles and components so that the Tour de France can take place.

Once each individual brand recovered from the aftermath of World War 1, La Sportive disbanded in 1922.

Tour de France Winning Bikes, 1903 to 2021

YearWinner’s nameNationalityTeamBike brand
1903Maurice GarinFranceLa FrançaiseLa Française
1904Henri CornetFranceConteConte
1905Louis TrousselierFrancePeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1906René PottierFrancePeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1907Lucien Petit-BretonFrancePeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1908Lucien Petit-BretonFrancePeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1909François FaberLuxembourgAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1910Octave LapizeFranceAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1911Gustave GarrigouFranceAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1912Odile DefrayeBelgiumAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1913Philippe ThysBelgiumPeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1914Philippe ThysBelgiumPeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1919Firmin LambotBelgiumLa SportiveLa Sportive
1920Philippe ThysBelgiumLa SportiveLa Sportive
1921Léon ScieurBelgiumLa SportiveLa Sportive
1922Firmin LambotBelgiumPeugeot-WolberPeugeot
1923Henri PélissierFranceAutomoto-HutchinsonAutomoto
1924Ottavio BottecchiaItalyAutomotoAutomoto
1925Ottavio BottecchiaItalyAutomoto-HutchinsonAutomoto
1926Lucien BuysseBelgiumAutomoto-HutchinsonAutomoto
1927Nicolas FrantzLuxembourgAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1928Nicolas FrantzLuxembourgAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1929Maurice De WaeleBelgiumAlcyon-DunlopAlcyon
1930André LeducqFranceAlcyon-DunlopL’Auto
1931Antonin MagneFranceFranceL’Auto
1932André LeducqFranceFranceL’Auto
1933Georges SpeicherFranceFranceL’Auto
1934Antonin MagneFranceFranceL’Auto
1935Romain MaesBelgiumBelgiumL’Auto
1936Sylvère MaesBelgiumBelgiumL’Auto
1937Roger LapébieFranceFranceL’Auto
1938Gino BartaliItalyItalyL’Auto
1939Sylvère MaesBelgiumBelgiumL’Auto
1947Jean RobicFranceFranceGénial-Lucifer
1948Gino BartaliItalyItalyLegnano
1949Fausto CoppiItalyItalyBianchi
1950Ferdinand KüblerSwitzerlandSwitzerlandFréjus
1951Hugo KobletSwitzerlandSwitzerlandLa Perle
1952Fausto CoppiItalyItalyBianchi
1953Louison BobetFranceFranceStella
1954Louison BobetFranceFranceStella
1955Louison BobetFranceFranceMercier
1956Roger WalkowiakFranceFranceGéminiani
1957Jacques AnquetilFranceFranceHelyett
1958Charly GaulLuxembourgLuxembourgGuerra
1959Federico BahamontesSpainSpainCoppi
1960Gastone NenciniItalyItalyColnago
1961Jacques AnquetilFranceFranceHelyett
1962Jacques AnquetilFranceSaint-Raphaël-Helyett-HutchinsonHelyett
1963Jacques AnquetilFranceSaint-Raphaël-Gitane-R. GeminianiGitane
1964Jacques AnquetilFranceSaint-Raphaël-Gitane-DunlopGitane
1965Felice GimondiItalySalvaraniMagni
1966Lucien AimarFranceFord France-HutchinsonGéminiani
1967Roger PingeonFrancePeugeot-BP-MichelinPeugeot
1968Jan JanssenNetherlandsPelforth-Sauvage-LejeuneSauvage-Lejeune
1969Eddy MerckxBelgiumFaemaEddy Merckx
1970Eddy MerckxBelgiumFaemino-FaemaEddy Merckx
1971Eddy MerckxBelgiumMolteniEddy Merckx
1972Eddy MerckxBelgiumMolteniEddy Merckx
1973Luis OcañaSpainBicMotobécane
1974Eddy MerckxBelgiumMolteniEddy Merckx
1975Bernard ThévenetFrancePeugeot-BP-MichelinPeugeot
1976Lucien Van ImpeBelgiumGitane-CampagnoloGitane
1977Bernard ThévenetFrancePeugeot-Esso-MichelinPeugeot
1978Bernard HinaultFranceRenault-Gitane-CampagnoloGitane
1979Bernard HinaultFranceRenault-GitaneGitane
1980Joop ZoetemelkNetherlandsTI-Raleigh-CredaRaleigh
1981Bernard HinaultFranceRenault-Elf-GitaneGitane
1982Bernard HinaultFranceRenault-Elf-GitaneGitane
1983Laurent FignonFranceRenault-ElfGitane
1984Laurent FignonFranceRenault-ElfGitane
1985Bernard HinaultFranceLa Vie ClaireHinault
1986Greg LeMondUnited StatesLa Vie ClaireLook
1987Stephen RocheIrelandCarrera Jeans-VagabondBattaglin
1988Pedro DelgadoSpainReynoldsPinarello
1989Greg LeMondUnited StatesAD Renting-W-Cup-BottecchiaBottecchia
1990Greg LeMondUnited StatesZ-TomassoGreg LeMond
1991Miguel IndurainSpainBanestoRazesa
1992Miguel IndurainSpainBanestoPinarello
1993Miguel IndurainSpainBanestoPinarello
1994Miguel IndurainSpainBanestoPinarello
1995Miguel IndurainSpainBanestoPinarello
1996Bjarne RiisDenmarkTeam TelekomPinarello
1997Jan UllrichGermanyTeam TelekomPinarello
1998Marco PantaniItalyMercatone Uno-BianchiBianchi
1999Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal ServiceTrek
2000Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal ServiceTrek
2001Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal ServiceTrek
2002Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal ServiceTrek
2003Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal ServiceTrek
2004Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesUS Postal Service-Discovery ChannelTrek
2005Lance ArmstrongUnited StatesDiscovery ChannelTrek
2006Óscar PereiroSpainCaisse d’Epargne-Illes BalearsPinarello
2007Alberto ContadorSpainDiscovery ChannelTrek
2008Carlos SastreSpainTeam CSCCervélo
2009Alberto ContadorSpainAstanaTrek
2010Andy SchleckLuxembourgTeam Saxo BankSpecialized
2011Cadel EvansAustraliaBMC Racing TeamBMC
2012Bradley WigginsGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2013Chris FroomeGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2014Vincenzo NibaliItalyAstanaSpecialized
2015Chris FroomeGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2016Chris FroomeGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2017Chris FroomeGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2018Geraint ThomasGreat BritainTeam SkyPinarello
2019Egan BernalColombiaTeam IneosPinarello
2020Tadej PogačarSloveniaUAE Team EmiratesColnago
2021Tadej PogačarSloveniaUAE Team EmiratesColnago
2022Jonas VingegaardDenmarkTeam Jumbo-VismaCervélo
List of Tour de France winners and the bike brands
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