{| align=right style="border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-color:#808080;background-color:#808080;margin-left:15px" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" 
|----- bgcolor="#FFFFEE"
!colspan=3|Eindklassement
|----- bgcolor="#fFfF00"
|'''Algemeen klassement'''||'''Roger Walkowiak'''||align=right|124h 01' 16"
|----- bgcolor="#FFD700"
|Tweede||Gilbert Bauvin||align=right|+ 1' 25"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Derde||Jean Adriaensens||align=right|+ 3' 44"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Vierde||Féderico Bahamontes||align=right|+ 10' 14"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Vijfde||Nino Defilippis||align=right|+ 10' 25"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Zesde||Wout Wagtmans||align=right|+ 10' 59"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Zevende||Nello Lauredi||align=right|+ 14' 01"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Achtste||Stan Ockers||align=right|+ 16' 52"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Negende||René Privat||align=right|+ 22' 59"
|----- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|Tiende||Antonio Barbosa||align=right|+ 26' 03"
|----- bgcolor="#FFAA00" 
| '''Rode Lantaarn''' || bgcolor="#FFAA00" align="left" | '''Roger Chaussabel (88e)'''||align=right|+ 4h 10' 18"
|----- bgcolor="#00CD00"
|'''Puntenklassement'''||'''Stan Ockers'''||align=right|280 punten
|----- bgcolor="#00EE00"
|Tweede||Fernand Picot||align=right|464 punten
|----- bgcolor="#00FF00"
|Derde||Gerrit Voorting||align=right|465 punten
|----- bgcolor="#ff6666"
|'''Bergklassement'''||'''Charly Gaul'''||align=right|71 punten
|----- bgcolor="#ff9999"
|Tweede||Féderico Bahamontes||align=right|67 punten
|----- bgcolor="#ffcccc"
|Derde||Valentin Huot||align=right|65 punten
|----- bgcolor="#A0A0FF"
|'''Ploegenklassement'''||'''België'''||align=right|369h 47' 42"
|----- bgcolor="#C0C0FF"
|Tweede||Italië||align=right|-
|----- bgcolor="#E0E0FF"
|Derde||Nederland||align=right|-
|}

De '''43<sup>e</sup> editie van de Ronde van Frankrijk''' ging van start op 5 juli 1956 in Reims en eindigde op 28 juli in Parijs. Er stonden 120 renners verdeeld over 10 ploegen aan de start.

*'''Aantal ritten:''' 22
*'''Totale afstand:''' 4498 km
*'''Gemiddelde snelheid:''' 36.268 km/u
*'''Aantal deelnemers:''' 120

== Belgische en Nederlandse prestaties ==
In totaal namen er 10 Belgen en 10 Nederlanders deel aan de Tour van 1956.
===Belgische etappezeges===
*Fred Debruyne won de 2e etappe van Luik naar Rijsel, de 6e etappe van St. Malo baar Lorient en de 10e etappe van Bordeaux naar Bayonne
*Stan Ockers won de 19e etappe van Grenoble naar Saint Etienne

{| style="float: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;border: 1px solid gray;" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2
|-
! colspan=3 | Final Standings
|- bgcolor="#FFFF00"
! Overall
|align=left  | '''Roger Walkowiak'''
|align=right | 124h 01' 16"
|- bgcolor="#FFD700"
|align=center| Second
|align=left  | Gilbert Bauvin
|align=right | +1' 25"
|- bgcolor="#EEC900"
|align=center| Third
|align=left  | Jan Adriaensens
|align=right | +3' 44"
|- bgcolor="#00CD00"
! Points
|align=left  | '''Stan Ockers'''
|align=right | 280 points
|- bgcolor="#00EE00"
|align=center| Second
|align=left  | Fernand Picot
|align=right | 464 points 
|- bgcolor="#00FF00"
|align=center| Third
|align=left  | Gerrit Voorting
|align=right | 465 points 
|- bgcolor="#FF6666"
! Climber
|align=left  | '''Charly Gaul'''
|align=right | 71 points
|- bgcolor="#FF9999"
|align=center| Second
|align=left  | Federico Bahamontes
|align=right | 67 points
|- bgcolor="#FFCCCC"
|align=center| Third
|align=left  | Valentin Huot
|align=right | 65 points
|- bgcolor="#9966FF"
! Teams
|align=left  | '''Belgique'''
|align=right | 
|- bgcolor="#BB99FF"
|align=center| Second
|align=left  | 
|align=right | 
|- bgcolor="#DDCCFF"
|align=center| Third
|align=left  | 
|align=right | 
|}

The '''1956 Tour de France''' was the 43rd Tour de France, taking place July 5 to July 28, 1956. The total race distance was 22 stages over 4498 km, with riders averaging 36.268 km/h.

There was no previous Tour winner competing for the 1956 title, which had only previously happened in 1903 and 1927. An unknown rider from a regional national team, Roger Walkowiak on the Northeast-Center French team, ended up taking the title. Many Tour fans dismissed the win as being lucky or unworthy at the time, which Walkowiak took hard and did not often speak of his win. 

Five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault praised his win saying: ''There are people who say that Walkowiak should not have won the Tour. They should have been on that Tour! He took the jersey, he lost it and he regained it. He was not a thief. The Tour is not a gift''.<ref>[http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf%20history/tdfhistory1950.html Torelli's History of the Tour de France]</ref> The Tour was ridden at the fastest average speed to date, over 36 km/h. Walkowiak also became only the second rider, after Firmin Lambot in the 1922 Tour de France, to win without taking a single stage.

==Results==
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Stage results
|-
!Stage
!Route
!Length (km)
!Winner
!Race leader
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|1 || Reims - Liege  || 223 || | [[André Darrigade 
|-
|2 || Liege - | 217 || [[Fred De Bruyne  || André Darrigade 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|3 || Lille - | 225 || [[Arigo Padovan  || Gilbert Desmet 
|-
|4A || Rouen - | 15* || [[Charly Gaul  || Gilbert Desmet 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|4B || Rouen - | 125 || [[Roger Hassenforder  || André Darrigade 
|-
|5 || Caen - | 189 || [[Joseph Morvan  || André Darrigade 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|6 || Saint-Malo - | 192 || [[Fred De Bruyne  || André Darrigade 
|-
|7 || Lorient - | 244 || [[Alessandro Fantini  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|8 || Angers - | 180 || [[Miguel Poblet  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-
|9 || La Rochelle - | 219 || [[Roger Hassenforder  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|10 || Bordeaux - | 201 || [[Fred De Bruyne  || Gerrit Voorting 
|-
|11 || Bayonne - | 255 || [[Nino Defilippis  || André Darrigade 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|12 || Pau - | 130 || [[Jean-Pierre Schmitz  || Jan Adriaensens 
|-
|13 || Luchon - | 176 || [[Nino Defilippis  || Jan Adriaensens 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|14 || Toulouse - | 231 || [[Roger Hassenforder  || Jan Adriaensens 
|-
|15 || Montpellier - | 204 || [[Joseph Thomin  || Wout Wagtmans 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|16 || Aix-en-Provence - Gap || 203 || | [[Wout Wagtmans 
|-
|17 || Gap - | 234 || [[Nino Defilippis  || Wout Wagtmans 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|18 || Turin  - | 215 || [[Charly Gaul  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-
|19 || Grenoble - | 173 || [[Stan Ockers  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|20 || Saint-Etienne - | 73* || [[Miguel Bover  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-
|21 || Lyon - | 237 || [[Roger Hassenforder  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-bgcolor="#EFEFEF"
|22 || Montluçon - | 331 || [[Gastone Nencini  || Roger Walkowiak 
|-
|}
Stages with a * were individual time trials.