"I have seen many lean riders in the peloton, but very few Tour winners", in response to criticism about his weight.

There is also a 14-player field of Senior Tour winners competing in a separate event.

I haven't really proven myself as a Tour winner yet.

The young Bernard Thévenet won the first, showing his potential as a future Tour winner.

Meg Mallon, the defending champion and a 13-time Tour winner, shot a 74 for a 143.

He was a Tour winner from 1920 to 1934, but dropped out of regular Tour contention when he reached his mid-30s.

He attended a reunion of former Tour winners when the centenary race was presented in October 2002.

There was no previous Tour winner competing for the 1956 Tour, which had only previously happened in 1903 and 1927.

After an appeals process that could take six months, Landis is likely to become the first Tour winner to have the title taken from him.

He was the youngest Tour winner since Tiger Woods in 1996 at age 20.