In the early days of road cycling races, when the courses were over 300 km long or even longer and the riders sat in the saddle for a half a day (or even longer), it was usual, that the race started in the middle of the night or very early at dawn.
It was the case also at the first Tour de France in 1903, but the last stage (6th stage, 471 km between Nantes and Paris) started even earlier than usual:
previous day at 9 pm.
The stage, as the general classification of the race was won by Maurice Garin.
MORE ABOUT THE FIRST TOUR DE FRANCE
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MORE TOUR DE FRANCE FUN FACTS
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