5 facts about Tour de France 1903
The first Tour de France started at 3 pm on the 1st of July in 1903 from the Café au Reveil Matin (Paris).
Home »
Tour de France the early years (1903-1914)
Iconic moments, legendary cyclists, stories from the first decade of Tour de France history. From the first Tour de France started in 1903. Peloton&Tales blogposts about the early years in the history of Tour de France.
15 July 1909 Francois Faber wins his5th consecutive stage
There are few records from the early days of Tour de France still standing. One of them is the five consecutive stage victories during the race. The record holder is Francois Faber, the winner of the 1909 edition. Faber won eight stages that year, the the fiveco secutive knes he managed between the 2 and the 6 days.
4 July 1906 Tour de France visits Lille for the very first time
The opening stage of Tour de France 1906 was relatively short according to the standards of the time, “only” 271 km. The day started in Paris (as it was usual until 1926) and the finished in Lille. Emile Georget was the best rider on that day. Tour de France will return to Lille also in 2025. (Leadpicture: Emile Georget in the Alps, possibly during Tour de France 1911)
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
When Tour de France went abroad before 1914
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. On the other hand, even when someone is quite familiar with the history of Tour de France’s early years, sometimes just bumps into something, which could raise so many questions. Like those few Tour de France editions, when the race visited Alsace -Lorraine, the territory occupied by the Germans in those days. TOUR DE FRANCE CROSSING THE… Read More »When Tour de France went abroad before 1914
Four scandalous Tour de France editions
In its more than 120-year-long history Tour de France, the most famous road cycling race of the world witnessed good time and bad time either. It had plenty of glourious moments, but also some shameful ones. Here are the four (arguably) most scandalous editions in the history of Tour de France . 1904 – an almost untimely end of a great story The first Tour de France was a great success, not only financially, but participating in the race brought fame and prestige to the riders either. Unfortunately, when sport events have such a high stake, cheating becomes pivotal part of the happenings. Actually, at the second edition of the race, riders and fans went… Read More »Four scandalous Tour de France editions
9 August 1908 Lucien Petit-Breton wins his second Tour de France
Lucien Petit-Breton was the winner of Tour de France 1907. Therefore his victory in 1908 ment that he was the first rider to win the Tour de Framce twice. Important note: Although Maurice Garin, the winner of the first Tour de France won also the edition of 1904, he later was disqualified.
10 July 1911 The first mountain stage in the Alps at Tour de France
After the introduction of the Pyrenees to the race in 1910, the next big challenge of Tour de France was how to include the “giants of the Alps” into the program. The story behind using Galibier, Thelegraphe, Aravis, and Lautarer was far less dramatic than the organizers’ first encounter with Col du Tourmalet. Nevertheless, the 5th stage of Tour de France 1911 between Chamonix and Grenoble was 366 km long and it took 13 hours and 35 minutes for stage winner Émile Georget to finish it. Paul Duboc was 15 minutes, Gustave Garrigou, the leader of the general classification 26 minutes behind him. (Please note, this was the time, between 1905 and 1912, when the… Read More »10 July 1911 The first mountain stage in the Alps at Tour de France
1 July 1903 The first Tour de France started
The first Tour de France was held between 1 and 18 July 1903, included only 6 stages. (However, the complete route was 2428 km long.)60 riders started and 21 finished the race.The fist Tour de France was won by Maurice Garin.
28 June 1914 – Last Tour de France before World War I started
On the 28th of June 1914, Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. A month later the First World War broke out. When the peloton of the 12th Tour de France rolled out from Paris in the early morning on the same day, the cyclists were, of course not aware of what would happen few hours later in Sarajevo, and that it would change the life of many of them. The first stage, a 388 km long etap between Paris and Le Havre was won by Philippe Thys, the future winner of that edition. The race ended on the 26th of July, just only few days before the war started. World War I… Read More »28 June 1914 – Last Tour de France before World War I started