2001 Tour de France climbs as either hors catégorie, first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists to reach the top of these climbs, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification and was identified with a polkadot jersey. The fourth individual classification was the young rider classification, which was marked by the white jersey. This was decided in the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 26 years of age were eligible. For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per
1956 Tour de France was ridden at the fastest average speed so far, over 36 km/h. Walkowiak became only the second rider, after Firmin Lambot in the 1922 Tour de France, to win without taking a single stage, and is the only Tour de France winner to date who never won a stage in any year. In the previous years, a flat tyre had to be repaired, but from 1956 on, it was allowed to change wheels. As was the custom since the 1930 Tour de France, the 1956 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. Seven national teams were sent,