Tour de France 1926

The toughest Tour de France stage ever

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Lucien Buysee in the Pyrenees on the 20th stage of Tour de France 1926

The 10th stage of Tour de France 1926 is often dubbed as the toughest stage ever in the history of the race. The 326 km long route between Bayonne and Luchon  on the 6th July 1926 went down in history also as one of the most chaotic ones thanks to the extreme weather conditions in … Read more

Vintage Tour de France: cows on the road

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Two cyclists have to pass by two cows on the untarmacied road during Tour de France 1910

Nowadays, one of the basic things organizers of a cycling race have to prepare for is to make sure, that no one else uses the same roads during the event. Of course, errors can still happen at any time, but this is one of those basic things that define modern-day cycling races. Very few other … Read more

Vintage cycling image of the day: first stage of Tour de France 1926

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Vintage black and white image of Tour de France in 1926. Two riders are riding in the road, while a cow is watching them from the roadside.

In 1926, Tour de France started outside Paris for the very first time. In 1926, Evian, the famous high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva, hosted the start of the first stage. It was 373 km long, finished in Mulhouse. Jules Buysse was the winner of the day. MORE TOUR … Read more

First time Tour de France started outside Paris (1926)

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Vintage black and white image of Tour de France in 1926. Two riders are riding in the road, while a cow is watching them from the roadside.

Since the first ever edition of Tour de France in 1903, the race always started in Paris. In 1926, Evian, the famous high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva, hosted the start of the first stage. It was 373 km long, finished in Mulhouse. Jules Buysse was the winner of … Read more

Gustaaf van Slembrouck (Faces from the peloton)

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Cyclists from the 1920s Gustaaf van Slembrouck

Everybody knows the famous image of the “smoking cyclists” from 1927. One of them was Gustaaf Van Slembrouck. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 days at the Tour … Read more

Faces from the peloton: Gustaaf Van Slembrouck

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Cyclists from the 1920s Gustaaf van Slembrouck

Learn a bit more about the protagonists of vintage cycling images — that’s the purpose of the category Faces from the peloton. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 … Read more