country_of_citizenship rui costa 
The Tour de ___MASK27___ is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in ___MASK27___ , while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries . The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper " L ' Auto "; which is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation . The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars . As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe . Participation expanded from a primarily French field , as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year . The Tour is a UCI World Tour event , which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams , with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite . The Amaury Sport Organisation ( ASO ) is part of the French media group , EPA ( Éditions Philippe Amaury ). It organises sporting events including the Tour de ___MASK27___ , Vuelta a España and Paris  Nice professional cycle road races , and the Dakar Rally . In 2008 it began the Central Europe Rally , a rally raid endurance race in ___MASK5___ and ___MASK95___ . A mediterranean climate or dry summer climate is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin . The lands around the Mediterranean Sea form the largest area where this climate type is found , but it also is found in most of coastal California , in parts of Western and ___MASK70___ , in southwestern South Africa , sections of Central Asia , and in central Chile . ___MASK91___ , officially ___MASK91___ State or the State of ___MASK91___ , is a walled enclave within the city of Rome . With an area of approximately 44 hectares ( 110 acres ), and a population of 842 , it is the smallest State in the world by both area and population , but formally it is not sovereign , sovereignty being held by the ___MASK41___ , the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world . ___MASK17___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK17___ ( ___MASK2___ : , abbr .: " RS "), is a nation state in southern Central Europe , located at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes . It is bordered by Italy to the west , ___MASK12___ to the north , Hungary to the northeast , Croatia to the south and southeast , and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest . It covers and has a population of 2 . 06 million . It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the United Nations , European Union , and NATO . The capital and largest city is Ljubljana . Central ___MASK55___ ( or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of ___MASK55___ used by the National Institute of Statistics ( ISTAT ), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency . Tuscany is a region in central ___MASK55___ with an area of about and a population of about 3 . 8 million inhabitants ( 2013 ). The regional capital is Florence (" Firenze "). The Tour de Suisse is an annual cycling stage race in ___MASK73___ . Raced over nine days , the event covers two weekends in the latter half of June . Along with the Critérium du Dauphiné , it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de ___MASK27___ , which is on the calendar two weeks after the end of the Tour de Suisse . Since 2011 the event is part of the UCI World Tour , cycling ' s highest level of professional races . ___MASK73___ , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic in Europe . It consists of 26 cantons , and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities . The country is situated in Western - Central Europe , and is bordered by ___MASK55___ to the south , ___MASK27___ to the west , ___MASK75___ to the north , and ___MASK12___ and Liechtenstein to the east . ___MASK73___ is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps , the Swiss Plateau and the Jura , spanning an area of . While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory , the Swiss population of approximately eight million people is concentrated mostly on the plateau , where the largest cities are to be found : among them are the two global cities and economic centres Zürich and Geneva . The Critérium du Dauphiné , before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré , is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of ___MASK27___ . The race is run over eight days during the first half of June . It is part of the UCI World Tour calendar and counts as one of the foremost races in the lead - up to the Tour de ___MASK27___ in July , along with the Tour de Suisse in the latter half of June . ___MASK29___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK29___ , also known as the Most Serene Republic of ___MASK29___ , is an enclaved microstate surrounded by ___MASK55___ , situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains . Its size is just over , with a population of 33 , 562 . Its capital is the City of ___MASK29___ and its largest city is Dogana . ___MASK29___ has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe . ___MASK93___ is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of ___MASK93___ . It is the most populous city in Tuscany , with 383 , 083 inhabitants , expanding to over 1 , 520 , 000 in the metropolitan area . Rui Alberto Faria da Costa , ComIH ( born 5 October 1986 ) is a Portuguese professional road bicycle racer , who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Lampre -- Merida . He is best known for winning the 2013 UCI Road World Championships in Tuscany , ___MASK55___ -- the first Portuguese to do so , three stages of the Tour de ___MASK27___ in 2011 and 2013 , and the 2012 , 2013 and 2014 editions of the Tour de Suisse , becoming the first cyclist to win the event on three consecutive years . ___MASK55___ , officially the Italian Republic , is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe . Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea , ___MASK55___ shares open land borders with ___MASK27___ , Switzerland , ___MASK12___ , Slovenia , San Marino and Vatican City . ___MASK55___ covers an area of and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate ; due to its shape , it is often referred to in ___MASK55___ as " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). With 61 million inhabitants , it is the fourth most populous EU member state . ___MASK27___ , officially the ___MASK89___ , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of ___MASK27___ extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas ___MASK27___ include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . ___MASK27___ spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux . The euro ( sign : €; code : EUR ) is the official currency of the eurozone , which consists of 19 of the member states of the European Union : ___MASK12___ , Belgium , Cyprus , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , ___MASK59___ , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands , ___MASK24___ , Slovakia , Slovenia , and Spain . The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the European Union and four other European countries , as well as unilaterally by two others , and is consequently used daily by some 337 million Europeans . Outside of Europe , a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency .