L'Équipe

L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, L'Auto, was founded by wealthy conservative industrialists to undermine Le Vélo, which they found too progressive. It was a general sports paper that also covered the auto racing which was gaining popularity at the turn of the twentieth century. L'Auto launched the Tour de France road cycling stage race in 1903 as a circulation booster. The race leader's yellow jersey was instituted in 1919, reflecting the distinctive yellow newsprint on which L'Auto was published. The European Champion Clubs' Cup, the competition that would later be rebranded as the UEFA Champions League, was also the brainchild of a L'Équipe journalist, Gabriel Hanot. The participating clubs in the first season were selected by L'Équipe on the basis that they were representative and prestigious clubs in Europe.