sixty cyclists, all professionals or semi-professionals, started the race, of whom 49 were french, 4 belgian, 4 swiss, 2 german, and one italian; 21 of them were sponsored by bicycle manufacturers, while 39 entered without commercial support. 24 other cyclists took advantage of the opportunity to enter specific stages: one rode in both the second and fourth stages, and additionally three cyclists took part in the second stage, one in the third stage, fifteen in the fourth stage only, and a further four only competed in the fifth stage.