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28 June 1914 – Last Tour de France before World War I started

Cyclists crossing a town during the Tour de France in 1914

On the 28th of June 1914,  Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. A month later the First World War broke out.

When the peloton of the 12th Tour de France  rolled out from Paris in the early morning on the same day, the cyclists were, of course not aware of what would happen few hours later  in Sarajevo, and that it would change the life of many of them.

The first stage, a 388 km long etap between Paris and Le Havre was won by Philippe Thys, the future winner of that edition.

The race ended on the  26th of July, just only few days before the war started.


World War I and road cycling

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