Tour de l'Ain (2.1), France

Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Giro d'Italia, A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Vol 1: 1909 - 1970 is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

The race:

The Tour de l'Ain (also known as Prix de l'Amitié) professional stage race is held in mid-August and is run in the Jura mountains, just north of the Alps in eastern France, with the final stage ending on the 1,534 meter high Grand Colombier mountain (first included in 1999).

The Tour de l'Ain started as an amateur stage race in 1986. In 1992 it was changed to an "Open" race and allowed professionals to enter. It became a pro-only 2.5 race in 1996.

It has steadily grown in status and in 2005, with the Pro Tour reorganization, was classified as a 2.1 stage race.

In 2001 it had a prologue individual time trial and four stages.

In 2018 the Tour de l'Ain was moved from August to mid-May.

And then in 2020 it was moved back to August.