The first riders in the prologue rode in sunny weather, but then it started to rain, and the riders who started late had to ride on slippery roads.
Chris Boardman, a big favourite for the prologue and an outsider for the overall classification, crashed during his ride, was then hit by his team's car, and had to abandon due to injury.
The winner of the prologue was Jacky Durand, one of the early starters.

Durand stayed in the lead until the third stage, when Laurent Jalabert overtook him due to time bonuses won in intermediate sprints.
Jalabert kept the yellow jersey for two stages, losing it due to a crash in the fourth stage.
Ivan Gotti, member of the Gewiss-team that had won the team time trial in stage three, became the new leader.

A surprising attack from Indurain in stage seven changed the standings.
Indurain attacked in the hilly Ardennes, and only Johan Bruyneel was able to follow him.
Indurain did all the work, creating a margin of almost one minute, and Bruyneel only followed him, but beat Indurain in the sprint, winning the stage and becoming the new leader.

Indurain was now in second place in the general classification, and after winning the time trial in the eighth stage, he became the new leader.
His closest rival in the overall classification was Bjarne Riis at 23 seconds, the others were more than two minutes behind.

The Tour then reached the high mountains in stage nine.
Zülle escaped, and created a margin of several minutes.
Indurain calmly chased him until the final climb, where he sped away from the others.
Zülle won the stage and jumped to the second place in the overall classification, but Indurain won minutes on all other cyclists.

The tenth stage was again in the high mountains.
Pantani, already irrelevant for the overall classification, won the stage; behind him Indurain, Zülle and Riis finished together.

Stage twelve was not expected to be relevant for the general classification.
But when Laurent Jalabert attacked early in the stage, this changed.
Jalabert was a teammate of second-placed Zülle, and he was sixth in the general classification, more than nine minutes behind Indurain.
Jalabert was joined by three other cyclists, of which two teammates.
One of them, Melchior Mauri, was in eighth place, and was himself also a threat.
The teammates worked together well, and when they were more than ten minutes ahead, Jalabert was the virtual leader.
At that moment, Indurain's Banesto team and Riis' Gewiss team started to work together to close the gap.
They reduced it to almost six minutes, which meant that Jalabert jumped to third place in the general classification.
ONCE now had three cyclists in the top five: Zülle in second place, Jalabert in fourth place and Mauri in fifth place.

In stage thirteen Serhiy Utchakov and Lance Armstrong broke clear and were alone heading for the finish where Utchakov won the sprint.
Armstrong was asked why he wasn't living up to expectations as far as competing with Indurain to which he replied that Indurain didn't finish his first two Tours and finished in the bottom half of several others before blossoming in to who he is. "
They expect you to be with Miguel Inurain all the time and that's just... You just can't do that in a race like this.
This is a man's race and it's hard for kid to compete."

The Pyrenées were reached in stage fourteen.
Pantani again showed his strengths in the mountains, winning the stage.
The other favourites stayed more or less together, so there were no big changes in the general classification.

In the fifteenth stage, Richard Virenque escaped early in the stage, reaching all six tops in the stage first, and won the stage.
Behind him, several cyclists crashed on the descent of the Portet d'Aspet, including Fabio Casartelli.
Casartelli's head hit a concrete barrier at high speed without wearing a helmet, and he was declared dead in the hospital.

Out of respect for Casartelli, the sixteenth stage was raced non-competitively.
Casartelli's teammates from Motorola were allowed to cross the finish line first.
The eighteenth stage was won by Lance Arm
The first riders in the prologue rode in sunny weather, but then it started to rain, and the riders who started late had to ride on slippery roads. Chris Boardman, a big favourite for the prologue and an outsider for the overall classification, crashed during his ride, was then hit by his team's car, and had to abandon due to injury. The winner of the prologue was Jacky Durand, one of the early starters.
Durand stayed in the lead until the third stage, when Laurent Jalabert overtook him due to time bonuses won in intermediate sprints. Jalabert kept the yellow jersey for two stages, losing it due to a crash in the fourth stage. Ivan Gotti, member of the Gewiss-team that had won the team time trial in stage three, became the new leader.
A surprising attack from Indurain in stage seven changed the standings. Indurain attacked in the hilly Ardennes, and only Johan Bruyneel was able to follow him. Indurain did all the work, creating a margin of almost one minute, and Bruyneel only followed him, but beat Indurain in the sprint, winning the stage and becoming the new leader.
Indurain was now in second place in the general classification, and after winning the time trial in the eighth stage, he became the new leader. His closest rival in the overall classification was Bjarne Riis at 23 seconds, the others were more than two minutes behind.
The Tour then reached the high mountains in stage nine. Zülle escaped, and created a margin of several minutes. Indurain calmly chased him until the final climb, where he sped away from the others. Zülle won the stage and jumped to the second place in the overall classification, but Indurain won minutes on all other cyclists.
The tenth stage was again in the high mountains. Pantani, already irrelevant for the overall classification, won the stage; behind him Indurain, Zülle and Riis finished together.
Stage twelve was not expected to be relevant for the general classification. But when Laurent Jalabert attacked early in the stage, this changed. Jalabert was a teammate of second-placed Zülle, and he was sixth in the general classification, more than nine minutes behind Indurain. Jalabert was joined by three other cyclists, of which two teammates. One of them, Melchior Mauri, was in eighth place, and was himself also a threat. The teammates worked together well, and when they were more than ten minutes ahead, Jalabert was the virtual leader. At that moment, Indurain's Banesto team and Riis' Gewiss team started to work together to close the gap. They reduced it to almost six minutes, which meant that Jalabert jumped to third place in the general classification. ONCE now had three cyclists in the top five: Zülle in second place, Jalabert in fourth place and Mauri in fifth place.
In stage thirteen Serhiy Utchakov and Lance Armstrong broke clear and were alone heading for the finish where Utchakov won the sprint. Armstrong was asked why he wasn't living up to expectations as far as competing with Indurain to which he replied that Indurain didn't finish his first two Tours and finished in the bottom half of several others before blossoming in to who he is. "They expect you to be with Miguel Inurain all the time and that's just... You just can't do that in a race like this. This is a man's race and it's hard for kid to compete."
The Pyrenées were reached in stage fourteen. Pantani again showed his strengths in the mountains, winning the stage. The other favourites stayed more or less together, so there were no big changes in the general classification.
In the fifteenth stage, Richard Virenque escaped early in the stage, reaching all six tops in the stage first, and won the stage. Behind him, several cyclists crashed on the descent of the Portet d'Aspet, including Fabio Casartelli. Casartelli's head hit a concrete barrier at high speed without wearing a helmet, and he was declared dead in the hospital.
Out of respect for Casartelli, the sixteenth stage was raced non-competitively. Casartelli's teammates from Motorola were allowed to cross the finish line first. The eighteenth stage was won by Lance Arm
1995 Tour de France