There are few records from the early days of Tour de France still standing. One of them is the five consecutive stage victories during the race. The record holder is Francois Faber, the winner of the 1909 edition. Faber won eight stages that year, the the fiveco secutive knes he managed between the 2 and the 6 days.
Tour de France 1914 started on the same day, 28th June, as the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in Sarajevo. When the riders lined up in the middle of the nigh for the start of the first stage in Paris, they knew nothing about that this day would determinate the life of millions worldwide. They did not know either, that on 28th July, just two days after they finished the Tour de France, the Great War would break out and some of the cyclists would lose their life during the fights, including François Faber, who is among the three riders depicted on this image. The Alps were… Read More »Climbing Col d’Allos at Tour de France 1914 -Vintage cycling image of the day
As in almost every part of European life, also in the world of cycling races World War I was a significant watershed. Not only the naivity of some athletes ((who thought previously, that fighting on the battlefield would be the same like competing at the Olympics – read more about it in Graham Healy:The Shattered Peloton: The Devastating Impact of World War I on the Tour de France)) has disappeared immediately, when they found themselves in the trenches, but among the millions of young men lost their life during the conflict, there were also several cyclists, even some famous ones. There were three former Tour de France winners, who have lost their lives in the… Read More »Tour de France winners died in the First World War
The slowest Tour de France in history was the 13th edition between 29th June and 27 July in 1919. The race included 5560 km, divided into 15 stages. This was the second longest Tour de France in history. Due to the recent war times (World War I between 1914 and 1918) most of the riders had not enough possibilities to train. This is one of the reason why mostly the older riders with more racing routine dominated the competition. On the other hand, the international elite peloton suffered some important losses: three of the former Tour de France winners, Lucien Petit-Breton (winner of 1907 and 1908), Francois Faber (1909) and Octave Lapize (1910) died during… Read More »The slowest Tour de France ever
During World War I, also known as “the Great War”, many cyclists were involved in the fights. Some of them losts their lives. Among the death casualities of the international cyclists community there were three former Tour de France winners. Read More »Tour de France winners died in the Great War
Francois Faber was a Luxemburgian cyclist racing as professional between 1906 and 1914. His nickname was “Le Géant de Colombes” [The Giant of Colombes] due to his height (1.86 m /6.1 ft) and the Parisian suburb where he came from. Although he was born and raised in France, officially, he was the first non-French winner of the Tour de France. Read More »Francois Faber’s Best (and Worst) Tour de France