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Henri Pelissier

Nicolas Frantz on the Col d'Allos at the Tour de France in 1927

Tour de France editions without previous winners in the peloton

During its 120-year long history, it happened only three times, when the peloton of Tour de France did not includ any previous winner. Obviously, in 1903 there couldn’t be any, because it was the very first edition. In 1927, it seems to have been a generational change in the peloton of Tour de France. Several riders, who were successful before and right after the First World War has retired. A!so, sadly,  double TDF-winner Ottavio Bottecchia (1924 and 1925) was beaten during a training ride in June 1927 so seriously that he died a few days later. The exact circumstances of his death are still unclear. Tour de France 1956 was a bit different story. Allegedly,… Read More »Tour de France editions without previous winners in the peloton

Climbing Col d’Allos at Tour de France 1914 -Vintage cycling image of the day

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

Ottavio Bottecchia

26 June 1923 Ottavio Bottecchia’s first stage victory at Tour de France

It started with a new business opportunity. After the years of La Sportive consortium, the usual structure of sponsored teams returned to Tour de France in 1923. Automoto, the team of Pelissier brothers has some commercial interest in Italy, they were searching for more Italian cyclists in the team. They hired several riders, but only one of them arrived right in time for the start of Tour de France. He was Ottavio Bottecchia,  a ” bricklayer of Friuli”,  as he would be dubbed later, a  rider just turned pro one year earlier. He knew only a few words in French: “No bananas, lots of coffee, thank you.” ((” Pas de bananes, beaucoup café, merci.” Quoted… Read More »26 June 1923 Ottavio Bottecchia’s first stage victory at Tour de France