Stories from the history of the most famous cycling race of the world. Learn more about the history of Tour de France. Peloton&Tales Tour de France history category.
The 12th Tour de France started on the very same day (28th June), when Austrian-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. 11 former or future Tour de France winners participated the race: Philippe Thys,Louis Trousselier, Lucien Petit-Breton, Octave Lapize, François Faber, Odile Defraye, Gustave Garrigou, Philippe Thys, Firmin Lambot, Léon Scieur, … Read more
1913 was the first times, when the route of the race went anti-clockwise. Six former Tour de France winner started the race (Louis Trousselier, Lucien Petit-Breton, François Faber, Octave Lapize, Gustave Garrigou and Odile Defraye), which is still a record.(Please note, that 3 of them, Petit-Breton, Faber and Lapize would not survive the 1st world … Read more
Odile Defraye was the first Belgian cyclist to win the Tour. Moreover, he was the first Belgian having a serious chance to win the race, so all Belgians in the race, regardless of their team, were helping him. Which, of course, made Henri Desgrange quite furious. Originally, Gustave Garrigou, winner of the previous edition was … Read more
After frequent visits to Alsace-Lorraine since 1906, the German authorities did not allow the race to cross the border anymore. The tension before World War I was growing already. The Alps were intorduced to the race, Col du Galibier became Henri Desgrange’s favourite climb. In the 9th stage Maurice Brocco was disqualified for serving another … Read more
The mighty ascents of the Pyrenees, including Col du Tourmalet were introduced to the race. The broom wagon, picking up the cyclists who abandoned the race, was introduced too. In the tenth stage, over the four mountains in the Pyrenees, cyclists were allowed to finish the stage in the broom wagon and still start the … Read more
150 cyclists started the race, this was a new record. Nevertheless, although being sponsored and racing in a team was allowed, 112 participants were still independent riders. In the end, 55 cyclists managed to complete the course. Another record was broken, which still stands: François Faber won 5 consecutive stages. Faber was also the first … Read more
Although Henri Desgrange was always keen to preserve Tour de France as a competition for individuals1, cyclists who were sponsored by the same bicycle manufacture naturally worked as a team. Alcyon for example, delivered four overall victories (François Faber, 1909; Octave Lapize,1910 ; Gustave Garrigou, 1911; Odyle Defraye, 1912) before 1914 and dominated most of … Read more
It was the first time, when the podium of the general classification was not entirely French. The 2nd in overall François Faber, although born and lived in France was originally a Luxembourgian. Lucien Petit-Breton became the first cyclist to win the Tour de France twice after he repeated his success from previous year. At one … Read more
It’s a well known fact, that many of the big road cycling races were created for marketing reasons: sport newspapers were selling better by including reports about cycling events. But it’s a lesser known story, that even the format of the individual time trial at the Tour de France based on the rivalry between two … Read more
Tour de France visited Switzerland for the very first time in 1907. The 5th edition was the first time when a car with bicycle repairmen drove behind the riders, to give assistance in solving mechanical problems on bicycles. Although the riders officially rode Tour de France as individuals, some shared the same sponsor and cooperated … Read more