![]() His coach saved the day by passing him a bottle of champagne, which he guzzled whilst still on his bike, apparently curing his indigestion and allowing him to make up the lost time, overtake his nearest competitor and regain the Yellow Jersey! The following day a terrible bout of indigestion took its toll while he was speeding along the Envalira Pass. Multiple Tour winner and favourite contender Jacques Anquetil nearly blew his chances by over indulging at a BBQ on a rest day during the Pyrenees stages. Only in France! 1964 saw possibly the most gastronomically influenced battle for the Yellow Jersey ever. It was also the first year that the legendary heights of Alpe d’Huez were climbed with a mountain top finish in Sestrières and on the Puy de Dôme. The race was filmed for television for the first time, opening up its popularity to a much wider fan base. It was in 1919 that the Yellow Jersey was introduced to highlight the overall race leader.ġ952 was the year that Le Tour went global. It was also the slowest race since 1906, due to bombed out roads and the loss of many of the great pre-war cycling champions. The race of 1919 was the first one after the First World War and the toll that the battlefields had taken on Europe’s male population was evident in the noticeable decrease in the number of competitors. The same year, not coincidentally, saw the introduction of the broom wagon a vehicle that follows the race ‘sweeping’ up riders who can’t continue! The mountain stages are amongst the most exciting of the race as the riders need not just speed but strength, endurance and thighs of steel! The 21 bends of Alpe d’Huez are amongst the most legendary of the mountain stages, anyone who has ever tried to complete them in their own time will know just what an incredible feat it is to whizz up them the way these guys do! The first mountain stage went from Luchon to Bayonne other climbs of the Pyrenees were Peyresourde, Aspin, Tourmalet and Aubisque. ![]() However, this gave ‘climbing cyclists’ more of a fighting chance than they had before and, if anything, made the race more exciting by opening up the playing field to a wider range of contenders. This upset many regular competitors because all of a sudden the ‘power cyclists’ found themselves at a disadvantage on the steep ascents. The mountain stages of Le Tour de France were introduced to the itinerary in 1910 when the Pyrenees were added to the route and are amongst the most challenging stages of the race. He beat the second place winner, Lucien Pothier, by 2 hours 49 minutes, which is still the record for the greatest margin. The winner was Maurice Garin who won 6,075 francs in prize money and averaged 25km/hr. The first Tour du France was in 1903, 60 people participated but only 21 completed the race. Le Tour de France is not just a race, it is a celebration of all things French the rural villages, the stunning scenery, the cheering crowds, the sportsmanship and, finally, the grande finale in Paris. The idea of publicising this new venture with a cycle race was to be in direct competition with the Paris-Brest race organised by Le Vélo the Paris-Brest race continues to this day and is still popular, but does not hold the iconic status of Le Tour de France. Dion Car Works, Le Vélo’s biggest advertiser, disagreed strongly with the newspaper and as a result withdrew their advertising and started their own publication, L’Auto. ![]() Le Vélo was France’s most dominant sporting newspaper of the time, but unfortunately the editor’s view was not shared by all. ![]() The outcome of the trial appeared to be heavily influenced by the fact that Dreyfus was Jewish, and many people, including the editor of Le Vélo, believed him to have been innocent. The 'Dreyfus Affair' divided opinion in France at the end of the 19th century when French soldier, Albert Dreyfus, was found guilty of selling secrets to the Germans and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The origins of the race date back to the early 1900s and two rival sports newspapers. ![]()
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