The longest stage in Tour de France history was 482 kilometers. It ran from Les Sables-d’Olonne to Bayonne and was used in the Tours of 1919 through 1924.
That distance belongs to an era when the race was built around extraordinarily long road stages rather than the shorter, highly specialized routes common today. The 1919 edition was the first Tour held after the First World War, and its stages were contested on rough roads with limited equipment and difficult weather. The 482-kilometer route was listed as Stage 5 in 1919.
The record is for a single stage, not the longest complete Tour. The 1926 Tour holds the record for the longest overall route, covering 5,745 kilometers. Another frequent mix-up is the 467-kilometer first stage of the 1904 Tour, which is substantial but still 15 kilometers shorter. Modern Tour stages are generally far shorter, making 482 kilometers an exceptional historical benchmark.