Defining historical events of the 20th century often left their marks on road cycling history. Just think about, for istance, the impact of World War 1 on the mythology of some famous races, like Paris-Roubaix. The born of the famous phase of “Hell of the North” is a quite well known story among cycling fans. … Read more
Between 1905 and 1912 points decided who is the best rider of the peloton. The first cyclist to cross the finish line received 1 point. Other cyclists received one point more than the cyclist who passed the line directly before him, plus an additional point for every five minutes between them, with a maximum of … Read more
The flamme rouge (red flag), indicating the final kilometre of the stage, was introduced to the race. The first stage ended in Lille and the next one started in Douai, thus this was the first time a Tour de France stage did not depart where the previous finished. Tour de France went abroad for the … Read more
René Pottier was probably the finest climber of the early years of Tour de France. He was born in 1879 in Moret-sur-Loing, Seine-et-Marne. In 1903 he won Bordeaux-Paris and had also several other podium results (f. e. at Paris-Roubaix). Pottier attended the Tour de France only 2 times, in 1905 and 1906. The first time … Read more