the race was invented to boost the circulation of ', after its circulation started to plummet from competition with the long-standing '. originally scheduled to start in june, the race was postponed one month, and the prize money was increased, after a disappointing level of applications from competitors. the 1903 tour de france was the first stage road race, and compared to modern grand tours, it had relatively few stages, but each was much longer than those raced today. the cyclists did not have to compete in all six stages, although this was necessary to qualify for the general classification.