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1919 Tour de France

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1919 Tour de France
Map of France with 15 cities marked by black dots, connected by red lines. The route formed goes from Paris, counterclockwise along France's borders, back to Paris.
Route of the 1919 Tour de France followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris
Race details
Dates29 June – 27 July 1919
Stages15
Distance5,560 km (3,455 mi)
Winning time231h 07' 15 "
Results
Winner Firmin Lambot(BEL) (Category A)
Second Jean Alavoine(FRA) (Category A)
Third Eugène Christophe(FRA) (Category A)
←1914
1920→

The1919 Tour de Francewas the 13th edition, taking place from 29 June to 27 July covering a total distance of 5,560 kilometres (3,450 mi).[1]It was the first Tour de France afterWorld War I,and was won byFirmin Lambot.Following the tenth stage, theyellow jersey,given to the leader of the general classification, was introduced, and first worn byEugène Christophe.[2]

The fighting in World War I had ravaged the French road system, which made cycling difficult. As a result, the average speed (24.056 km/h) and the number of finishing cyclists (ten) were the lowest in history.[3][4]

Background

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Since the previous Tour de France in1914,it was impossible to organize the Tour de France due to World War I. Tour organizerHenri Desgrangealways wanted to organize a Tour after the war, and within days after theend of the war,the organization of the 1919 Tour de France started.[5]

Innovations and changes

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Three former winners of the Tour,François Faber,Octave LapizeandLucien Petit-Bretonhad died fighting in the war. Two other former winners,Philippe ThysandOdile Defrayestarted the race.[6]The war had been over for only seven months, so most cyclists did not have a chance to train for the Tour.[7]For that reason, there were almost no new younger cyclists, and the older cyclists dominated the race.[8]The organization did not make it easy for the cyclists: with the addition of a stop atStrasbourg(recently recovered in the war), the length was extended to 5560 km: longer than all the previous Tours. Since then only the1926 Tour de Francehas been longer.[4]

The bicycle manufacturers also suffered from the war and were unable to sponsor teams of cyclists. They worked together and sponsored more than half of the cyclists under the name "La Sportive",[9]but effectively all the cyclists rode as individuals,[7]wearing grey jerseys.[10]The lack of team colours made riders indistinguishable and lead to the introduction of the leader's jersey. Cyclists were divided in an A-category (professional) and a B-category (amateurs).[6]

In previous years, cyclists had to take care of their own food during the race. In 1919, the tour organisation took care of this.[11]

Participants

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For a more comprehensive list, seeList of cyclists in the 1919 Tour de France.

Race overview

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Main articles:1919 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 8and1919 Tour de France, Stage 9 to Stage 15
Black and white image of man bending over his bicycle while several other men are watching.
Eugène Christophelead the race for most of the 1919 Tour de France, but did not win it due to a broken fork.

The first stage was won byBelgianJean Rossius.However, he was penalised 30 minutes for illegally helpingPhilippe Thys(handing him a water bottle),[12]thereforegiving Henri Pélissierthe lead in the race.[13]It did not help Thys however, because he had to abandon the race in the first stage after a large crash.[7]

In the beginning of the race,HenriandFrancis Pélissierwere the best. They both finished before the rest in stage two, with Henri crossing the line first. In the third stage, Henri, leading the race, wanted to stop. Organizer Desgrange did all he could to change Pélissier's mind, and finally Pélissier started to race again. He was already 45 minutes behind, and the next three hours he was chasing the rest. He finally caught up, and finished second in the sprint, after his brother Francis.[7]After that victory, Henri Pélissier said that he was a thoroughbred and the rest of the cyclists were work horses, which made the other cyclists angry.[9]During that third stage,Léon Scieurpunctured four times, and lost two hours.[14]

In the fourth stage, the rest of the cyclists (only 25 were still in race) took revenge on the Pélissier brothers. When they had to change bicycles, everybody else sped away from them.[7]Henri Pélissier chased the rest, but was then ordered by Desgrange to stop working together with other cyclists in his pursuit. In the end, Henri Pélissier had lost more than 35 minutes, and his brother Francis over three hours. The Pélissier brothers were angry at the organisation and left the race.[9]Jean Alavoinewon the stage, andEugène Christophebecame the new leader in the general classification.[6]

Alavoine would also win the fifth stage, the longest ever in history at 482 kilometres (300 mi).[6] Christophe was still in Grenoble at the start of stage eleven, when, at 2am tour organiserHenri Desgrangegave him a yellow jersey, so that he could easily be recognized.[6][15]The colour was inspired by the colour of the organizing newspaperl'Auto,[7][16]although another explanation is that other colours were not available in the post-war shortage.[9]Previously the leader would wear a green armband.[15]Christophe was not happy with his yellow jersey, and other cyclists called him a canary.[9]At that point in the race, it was likely that Christophe would stay the leader until the end of the Tour de France, because he remained in that yellow jersey after the Pyrenees and the Alps. In the penultimate stage,Firmin Lambot,who was in second position, more than 28 minutes behind, attacked. Christophe, still leading the race, chased him, but broke hisforkclose toValenciennes.[7]The rules were such that cyclists could get no help at all, so Christophe repaired his bicycle himself. This same thing had already cost him the victory in 1913, and would happen to him for a third time in 1922.[17]It took him over two and a half hours, and he had lost the lead to Lambot. In the last stage, Christophe had a record number of punctures, and also lost his second place toJean Alavoine.[6] Lambot, aged 33, was at that moment the oldest Tour de France winner in history.[4]

Because the organising newspaper l'Auto felt bad for Christophe, he received the same prize money as the winner Lambot. In addition, a collection raised money, the donors for this prize were reported in 20 pages in the newspaper.[18]Altogether, Christophe received 13310 Francs, much more than the 5000 Francs that Lambot received for his victory.[9]

Results

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In each stage, all cyclists started together. The cyclist who reached the finish first, was the winner of the stage. The time that each cyclist required to finish the stage was recorded. For thegeneral classification,these times were added up; the cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader. From the eleventh stage on, the leader in the general classification was identified by the yellow jersey.

Stage winners

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Stage characteristics and winners[11][19][20][21]
Stage Date Course Distance Type[a] Winner Race leader
1 29 June ParistoLe Havre 388 km (241 mi) Plain stage Jean Rossius(BEL) Henri Pélissier(FRA)[b]
2 1 July Le HavretoCherbourg-en-Cotentin 364 km (226 mi) Plain stage Henri Pélissier(FRA) Henri Pélissier(FRA)
3 3 July Cherbourg toBrest 405 km (252 mi) Plain stage Francis Pélissier(FRA) Henri Pélissier(FRA)
4 5 July BresttoLes Sables-d'Olonne 412 km (256 mi) Plain stage Jean Alavoine(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
5 7 July Les Sables-d'OlonnetoBayonne 482 km (300 mi) Plain stage Jean Alavoine(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
6 9 July BayonnetoLuchon 326 km (203 mi) Stage with mountain Honore Barthelemy(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
7 11 July LuchontoPerpignan 323 km (201 mi) Stage with mountain Jean Alavoine(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
8 13 July PerpignantoMarseille 370 km (230 mi) Plain stage Jean Alavoine(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
9 15 July MarseilletoNice 338 km (210 mi) Stage with mountain Honoré Barthélemy(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
10 17 July NicetoGrenoble 333 km (207 mi) Stage with mountain Honoré Barthélemy(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
11 19 July GrenobletoGeneva 325 km (202 mi) Stage with mountain Honoré Barthélemy(FRA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
12 21 July GenevatoStrasbourg 371 km (231 mi) Stage with mountain Luigi Lucotti(ITA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
13 23 July StrasbourgtoMetz 315 km (196 mi) Plain stage Luigi Lucotti(ITA) Eugène Christophe(FRA)
14 25 July MetztoDunkerque 468 km (291 mi) Plain stage Firmin Lambot(BEL) Firmin Lambot(BEL)
15 27 July DunkerquetoParis 340 km (210 mi) Plain stage Jean Alavoine(FRA) Firmin Lambot(BEL)
Total 5,560 km (3,455 mi)[1]

General classification

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Man sitting on bicycle.
Firmin Lambot,the winner of the 1919 Tour

Of the 67 cyclists that started the race, only 11 cyclists finished. On 12 August 1919,Paul Duboc(8th overall), was disqualified for borrowing a car to go and repair his pedal axle, which left only 10 cyclists in the final classification. In total, 43 cyclists started as category A, and 24 cyclists as category B.[11]

Final general classification (1–10)[22]
Rank Rider Category Time
1 Firmin Lambot(BEL) A 231h 07' 15 "
2 Jean Alavoine(FRA) A + 1h 42' 54 "
3 Eugène Christophe(FRA) A + 2h 26' 31 "
4 Léon Scieur(BEL) A + 2h 52' 15 "
5 Honoré Barthélemy(FRA) A + 4h 14' 22 "
6 Jacques Coomans(BEL) A + 15h 21' 34 "
7 Luigi Lucotti(ITA) A + 16h 01' 12 "
8 Joseph Van Daele(BEL) A + 18h 23' 02 "
9 Alfred Steux(BEL) A + 20h 29' 01 "
10 Jules Nempon(FRA) B + 21h 44' 12 "

Aftermath

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The yellow jersey that was introduced in this tour, was so successful that it has been used ever since. Thys claimed to have worn the first yellow jersey when leading in 1913: Desgrange had requested him to wear a distinguishable coloured jersey, so his team manager found him a yellow jersey.[15][10]The winner of the race, Lambot, would later also win the1922 Tour de France,but has become a half-forgotten figure in the Tour's history.[6]

The fight between cyclist Pélissier and tour organiser Desgrange would continue for many years. Pélissier would win the1923 Tour de France.

Notes

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  1. ^In 1919, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stage included mountains.
  2. ^The winner of stage 1, Rossius, received a 30 minute penalty, so after stage 1 Henri Pélissier, who finished second, was leading the race.

References

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  1. ^abAugendre 2016,p. 108.
  2. ^"The Tour - Year 1919".Amaury Sport Organisation.Archived fromthe originalon 17 July 2010.Retrieved13 June2011.
  3. ^"Tour de France Statistics".Bike Race Info.Retrieved3 June2009.
  4. ^abc"Le Tour en chiffres - Le palmarès"(PDF)(in French).ASO.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 17 July 2010.Retrieved3 June2009.
  5. ^Barry Boys."THE RETURN of a Grand Affair -" New Tour Legend: the Maillot Jaune "".Cycling Revealed.Retrieved3 June2009.
  6. ^abcdefgTom James (15 August 2003)."1919: Christophe in Yellow - but not in Paris".Retrieved3 June2009.
  7. ^abcdefg"1919: Wanhoopspoging levert Firmin Lambot Tourzege op"(in Dutch). Tourdefrance.nl. 19 March 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 24 July 2012.Retrieved3 June2009.
  8. ^"Tour de France: Timeline".Sports Illustrated. Archived fromthe originalon 5 August 2011.Retrieved3 June2009.
  9. ^abcdefMcGann & McGann 2006,pp. 51–56.
  10. ^abCossins et al. 2013,pp. 58–59.
  11. ^abc"13ème Tour de France 1919"(in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived fromthe originalon 3 May 2009.Retrieved1 June2009.
  12. ^"1919 Tour de France by BikeRaceInfo".bikeraceinfo.com.Retrieved24 November2018.
  13. ^"13ème Tour de France 1919 - 1ème étape"(in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived fromthe originalon 22 February 2012.Retrieved28 October2016.
  14. ^Tom James (15 August 2003)."1921: Scieur continues the Belgian domination".Veloarchive.Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2019.Retrieved10 June2009.
  15. ^abcCunningham, Josh (4 July 2016)."History of the Tour de France jerseys".Cyclist.Retrieved24 November2018.
  16. ^"Le premier Maillot Jaune - Tour de France 1919"(in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived fromthe originalon 22 March 2012.Retrieved28 October2016.
  17. ^"1919-1929: 'Convicts of the road'".BBC Sport. 5 June 2001.Archivedfrom the original on 4 June 2009.Retrieved3 June2009.
  18. ^Woodland 2007,p. 89.
  19. ^Augendre 2016,p. 17.
  20. ^Arian Zwegers."Tour de France GC top ten".CVCC.Archivedfrom the original on 16 May 2008.Retrieved30 May2009.
  21. ^"The history of the Tour de France – Year 1919 – The stage winners".Tour de France.Amaury Sport Organisation.Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2020.Retrieved2 April2020.
  22. ^"The history of the Tour de France – Year 1919 – Stage 15 Dunkerque > Paris".Tour de France.Amaury Sport Organisation.Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2020.Retrieved2 April2020.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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Media related toTour de France 1919at Wikimedia Commons

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