In the 1906 Tour de France, 100 cyclists signed up for the but only 76 of them showed up for the start. Among the absentees was Henri Cornet, the winner of the 1904 Tour de France. The starting cyclists included four Belgians, one was Luxembourger (future winner François Faber), two Germans, and the rest were French.[1] Louis Trousselier, winner of the 1905 Tour de France, was present. While the riders were not organized into teams, some shared the same sponsor, although collaboration was not permitted. Before the race began, the top contenders were Cadolle, Aucouturier, Georget, Pottier, Trousselier, Dortignac and Petit-Breton.[2]
Similar to 1905, the cyclists were divided in two categories: the coureurs de vitesse and the coureurs sur machines poinçonnées. Riders in the first category were allowed to change bicycles, which could be an advantage in the mountains, where they could use a bicycle with lower gears. In 1905, sponsors had not been so enthusiastic about entering their cyclists in this category, but in 1906 they had learned that it had a commercial advantage to have cyclists starting in the poinçonnées category, because the average French citizen could identify more with them. In 1906, more than half of the cyclists started in the poinçonnées category, including Lucien Petit-Breton, one of the pre-favourites.[3]
| No. | Starting number worn by the rider during the Tour | |
| Pos. | Position in the general classification | |
| DNF | Denotes a rider who did not finish |
| No. | Name | Nationality | Pos. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | [4] | |||
| 2 | DNF | ||||
| 4 | DNF | ||||
| 5 | DNF | ||||
| 6 | 9 | ||||
| 7 | DNF | ||||
| 8 | DNF | ||||
| 9 | DNF | ||||
| 10 | DNF | ||||
| 11 | DNF | ||||
| 13 | DNF | ||||
| 14 | DNF | ||||
| 15 | DNF | ||||
| 17 | DNF | ||||
| 18 | DNF | ||||
| 19 | DNF | ||||
| 21 | 6 | ||||
| 22 | DNF | ||||
| 24 | DNF | ||||
| 25 | DNF | ||||
| 26 | 5 | ||||
| 28 | 12 | ||||
| 30 | DNF | ||||
| 32 | DNF | ||||
| 35 | DNF | ||||
| 37 | DNF | ||||
| 38 | DNF | ||||
| 39 | 10 | ||||
| 40 | DNF | ||||
| 41 | DNF | ||||
| 42 | 13 | ||||
| 43 | DNF | ||||
| 45 | DNF | ||||
| 46 | 11 | ||||
| 47 | DNF | ||||
| 48 | 1 | ||||
| 49 | 3 | ||||
| 50 | 2 | ||||
| 51 | DNF | ||||
| 52 | DNF | ||||
| 53 | DNF | ||||
| 55 | DNF | ||||
| 56 | DNF | ||||
| 57 | DNF | ||||
| 58 | D. Gonjeaud | DNF | |||
| 59 | DNF | ||||
| 60 | 14 | ||||
| 61 | DNF | ||||
| 62 | 8 | ||||
| 63 | DNF | ||||
| 64 | DNF | ||||
| 66 | DNF | ||||
| 68 | DNF | ||||
| 69 | DNF | ||||
| 70 | DNF | ||||
| 71 | DNF | ||||
| 72 | 4 | ||||
| 73 | DNF | ||||
| 74 | DNF | ||||
| 76 | D. Communal | DNF | |||
| 77 | DNF | ||||
| 79 | DNF | ||||
| 80 | DNF | ||||
| 81 | DNF | ||||
| 82 | DNF | ||||
| 83 | E. Vernimmen | DNF | |||
| 84 | DNF | ||||
| 85 | DNF | ||||
| 86 | DNF | ||||
| 87 | DNF | ||||
| 88 | DNF | ||||
| 89 | DNF | ||||
| 90 | DNF | ||||
| 91 | DNF | ||||
| 93 | DNF | ||||
| 94 | DNF | ||||
| 95 | DNF | ||||
| 96 | DNF |