Le Vélo

Le Vélo was the leading French sports newspaper from its inception on 1 December 1892 until it ceased publication in 1904. Mixing sports reporting with news and political comment, it achieved a circulation of 80,000 copies a day. Its use of sporting events as promotional tools led to the creation of the Paris–Roubaix cycle race in 1896, and the popularisation of the Bordeaux–Paris cycle race during the 1890s.

Its demise was a consequence of the creation of the Tour de France by L'Auto, a rival newspaper that had been founded in 1900 from the intense animosity generated by the Dreyfus affair. Le Vélo was easily recognised by the green-tinted newsprint on which it was published, so L'Auto (née L'Auto-Vélo) was distinguished by a yellow tint, and thus the 'Yellow Jersey' worn by the leader of the 'Tour de France'.