1921 Tour de France

April 2019 May 2019 1921 Tour de France Route of the 1921 Tour de France.png Route of the 1921 Tour de France followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris Map of France with 15 cities marked with black dots, connected by red lines. 300px 26 June – 24 July 1921 15 5485 km 221h 50' 26" Léon Scieur BEL yellow 1st class Hector Heusghem BEL 1st class Honoré Barthélemy FRA 1st class 1920 1922 The 1921 Tour de France was the 15th edition of the Tour de France, taking place 26 June to 24 July. The total distance was 5485 km 0 on and the average speed of the riders was 24.720 km/h.Augendre 2016 108 The race was won by Belgian Leon Scieur. The Belgians dominated the entire race, partly due to the absence of the French Pélissier brothers, who were on bad terms with the Tour organisation. Scieur's victory was largely uncontested; Hector Heusghem came close after the sixth stage, but lost time later. The organisation tried to get the cyclists to attack more by several means, but this failed. Innovations and changes The 1920 Tour de France had been dominated by Belgian cyclists, who won twelve of the fifteen stages, and the top seven of the overall classification. The French cyclists Henri and Francis Pélissier had left the 1920 Tour de France after Henri received a penalty from the Tour organisation for throwing away a tire, and they were still fighting. Therefore, the Pélissier brothers did not join the 1921 Tour de France.http://www.wielercentrum.com/tourdefrance/achtergronden/tourverhalen/1921--Waal-Léon-Scieur-zet-Belgische-overheersing-onverminderd-voort-503.html https://web.archive.org/web/20121016144729/http://www.wielercentrum.com/tourdefrance/achtergronden/tourverhalen/1921--Waal-L%C3%A9on-Scieur-zet-Belgische-overheersing-onverminderd-voort-503.html usurped 16 October 2012 1921: Waal Léon Scieur zet Belgische overheersing onverminderd voort nl 17 June 2009 19 March 2003 Tourdefrance.nl Two veteran cyclists who did join the race were Ernest Paul and Lucien Pothier, both forty years old. Paul rode his first Tour de France in 1908,http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/TDF/riders/us/1512.html Past results for Ernest, dit Faber Ernest Paul (FRA) Amaury Sport Organisation 17 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20080624054416/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/TDF/riders/us/1512.html 24 June 2008 dead dmy-all while Pothier had started in the first Tour de France in 1903, and finished second.http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/1260.html Past results for Lucien Pothier (FRA) Amaury Sport Organisation 17 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20100709034619/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/1260.html 9 July 2010 dead dmy-all The winner of 1920, Philippe Thys, was the dominant stage racer of the time, but he was recovering from an illness and could not compete for the victory.McGann McGann 2006 59–62 The economic impact of World War I was still not over, so as in the previous years there were not sponsored teams, but the cycling companies had bundled their forces under the nick La Sportive.McGann McGann 2006 51–56 The cyclists were divided in two categories, this time named 1ère class (first class), the professionals, and 2ème classe (second class), the amateurs.Thompson 2008 36 This year, some of the second class cyclists would finish higher than some of the first class cyclists. The 1921 Tour de France saw the introduction of foreign press. They followed the race in their own cars. For the first time, an inhabitant from Monaco joined the Tour de France. Laurent Devalle needed more than twenty-seven hours for the fifth stage,http://veloarchive.com/races/tour/1921.php 1921: Scieur continues the Belgian domination Tom James 15 August 2003 17 June 2009 VeloArchive and would finally give up in the eleventh stage. Participants List of cyclists in the 1921 Tour de France Race overview 1921 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 8 1921 Tour de France, Stage 9 to Stage 15 thumb|Léon Scieur during the 1921 Tour de France, which he won Overall, the Tour did not have any major events. This troubled the Tour organiser and newspaper owner Henri Desgrange, who sanctioned cyclists that were not combative enough in his view.http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/index.html Amaury Sport Organisation 17 June 2009 1921 - 15th Tour de France https://web.archive.org/web/20090715153706/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/index.html 15 July 2009 dead dmy-all In the first stage, Honoré Barthélemy had to fix a flat tire eleven times. Despite this, he still finished in second place behind Louis Mottiat, with Léon Scieur in third place.http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921_1.php https://web.archive.org/web/20120222105304/http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921_1.php 22 February 2012 28 October 2016 dead Mémoire du cyclisme 15ème Tour de France 1921 - 1ère étape fr In the second stage, won by Romain Bellenger, Scieur finished in second place, almost one hour before Mottiat and Barthélemy, so Scieur was leading the race.http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921_2.php https://web.archive.org/web/20120222105310/http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921_2.php 22 February 2012 28 October 2016 dead Mémoire du cyclisme 15ème Tour de France 1921 - 2ème étape fr Scieur improved his lead by winning the third stage, and was already leading by 12'38" over his closest opponent, Hector Heusghem. In the fourth and fifth stage, both won by Mottiat, Scieur managed to increase his lead to almost half an hour. In the sixth stage, the first real mountains were to be climbed. Hector Heusghem took off on the Tourmalet, reached the top there first, rode solo over the Aspin and the Peyresourde and finished with a 24-minute margin. This brought the difference between Scieur and Heusghem back to slightly over four minutes. The press predicted a new duel between Scieur and Heusghem. The seventh and eighth stage did not change this difference. In the ninth stage the race was decided, as Heusghem lost ten minutes to Scieur. From that moment it was easy for Scieur to control the race, and the other cyclists could only ride for stage victories. In the tenth stage, Scieur punctured on the climb to Allos. It was an unwritten rule that cyclists would not attack when opponents were repairing their bicycle, but Heusghem was desperate and broke this rule.McGann McGann 2006 59–62 Scieur was angry, and after he completed his repair he caught back Heusghem. He then told Heusghem that this was not the way professional cyclists behaved, dropped Heusghem, and crossed the finish line first, and even added another six minutes to his lead.McGann McGann 2006 59–62 The French crowd was pleased by the stage victory of Félix Goethals in stage eleven. In the twelfth stage Heusghem won, albeit in the same time as Scieur. Henri Desgrange was angry at the cyclists for not attempting to beat Scieur, so he had the cyclists leave separately in the thirteenth stage. The "second class" cyclists started two hours earlier than the sponsored "first class" cyclists.McGann McGann 2006 59–62http://www.henkleenaers.nl/fiets12.htm Vergeten Tour-winnaar uit Tongeren Henk Leenaers 17 June 2009 Fiets 2003 nl 3 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170349/http://www.henkleenaers.nl/fiets12.htm dead Although the stage was won by an unsponsored cyclist from the second class, Félix Sellier, this did not help for the general classification, as Scieur and Heusghem still finished together. The Tour organisers wanted the second class cyclists to start two hours later in the fourteenth stage, but they threatened with a strike, and the cyclists could start together. The fourteenth stage had a remarkable incident: Scieur's wheel broke, and 11 spokes were broken. According to the rules, a broken item could only be replaced when repair was not possible. Because there was no Tour official close to Scieur who could verify that the wheel was broken beyond repair, Scieur strapped the broken wheel to his back and rode with it for more than 300 km mi, which left scars on his back that remained there for years.McGann McGann 2006 59–62 In the last stage, Scieur finished a few minutes behind Heusghem, but his victory was never in danger. Results In each stage, all cyclists started together. The cyclist who reached the finish first, was the winner of the stage. The time that each cyclist required to finish the stage was recorded. For the general classification, these times were added up; the cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey. Stage winners + Stage characteristics and winnershttp://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921.php Mémoire du cyclisme 15ème Tour de France 1921 fr 17 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090722013630/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1921.php 22 July 2009 dead http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5736461.image.f4.langFR Le Tour de France cycliste Gallica Bibliothèque Numérique Le Matin 26 June 1921 4 fr 2 August 2010Augendre 2016 19http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/top_ten.html#1921 Tour de France GC top ten Arian Zwegers CVCC 17 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20080516071832/http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/top_ten.html 16 May 2008 live The history of the Tour de France – Year 1921 – The stage winners http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/vainqueurs.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 2 April 2020 2 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200402233134/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/vainqueurs.html dead Stage Date Course Distance TypeIn 1921, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stages included mountains. Winner Race leader 1 26 June Paris to Le Havre 388 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Louis Mottiat BEL Louis Mottiat BEL 2 28 June Le Havre to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin 364 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Romain Bellenger FRA Leon Scieur BEL 3 30 June Cherbourg to Brest 405 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Leon Scieur BEL Leon Scieur BEL 4 2 July Brest to Les Sables-d'Olonne 412 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Louis Mottiat BEL Leon Scieur BEL 5 4 July Les Sables-d'Olonne to Bayonne 482 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Louis Mottiat BEL Leon Scieur BEL 6 6 July Bayonne to Luchon 326 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Stage with mountain(s) Hector Heusghem BEL Leon Scieur BEL 7 8 July Luchon to Perpignan 323 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Stage with mountain(s) Louis Mottiat BEL Leon Scieur BEL 8 10 July Perpignan to Toulon 411 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Luigi Lucotti ITA 1861 Leon Scieur BEL 9 12 July Toulon to Nice 272 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Stage with mountain(s) Firmin Lambot BEL Leon Scieur BEL 10 14 July Nice to Grenoble 333 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Stage with mountain(s) Leon Scieur BEL Leon Scieur BEL 11 16 July Grenoble to Geneva 325 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Stage with mountain(s) Félix Goethals FRA Leon Scieur BEL 12 18 July Geneva to Strasbourg 371 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Honoré Barthélemy FRA Leon Scieur BEL 13 20 July Strasbourg to Metz 300 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Félix Sellier BEL Leon Scieur BEL 14 22 July Metz to Dunkerque 433 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Félix Goethals FRA Leon Scieur BEL 15 24 July Dunkerque to Paris 340 km mi on 20px|alt=|link= Plain stage Félix Goethals FRA Leon Scieur BEL Total 5485 km 0 onAugendre 2016 108 General classification The final general classification, calculated by adding the stages times, was won by Léon Scieur, who received 15.000 Francs. Originally, the two results of the two classes were separated, and the winner of the second class, Victor Lenaers, reportedly won 20.000 Francs in total during this race. Modern sources combine the results for the two groups. thumb|right|Léon Scieur, the overall winner of the 1921 Tour de France.|alt=Black and white image of cyclists on a sandy road. thumb|Henri Colle and Charles Parel drinking a beer in a tavern in Dalstein in 1921. + Final general classification (1–10)The history of the Tour de France – Year 1921 – Stage 15 Dunkerque > Paris http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/1500/etape.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 2 April 2020 2 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200402214807/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1921/1500/etape.html dead Rank RiderClass Time1 Leon Scieur BEL 1 221h 50' 26"2 Hector Heusghem BEL 1 + 18' 36"3 Honore Barthelemy FRA 1 + 2h 01' 00"4 Luigi Lucotti ITA 1861 1 + 2h 39' 18"5 Hector Tiberghien BEL 1 + 4h 33' 19"6 Victor Lenaers BEL 2 + 4h 53' 23"7 Leon Despontin BEL 2 + 5h 01' 54"8 Camile Leroy BEL 2 + 7h 56' 27"9 Firmin Lambot BEL 1 + 8h 26' 25"10 Félix Goethals FRA 1 + 8h 42' 26" Final general classification (11–38) Rank RiderClass Time11 Louis Mottiat BEL 1 + 8h 51' 24"12 Eugène Dhers FRA 2 + 9h 44' 36"13 Henri Ferrara FRA 2 + 11h 58' 24"14 Noel Amenc FRA 2 + 12h 37' 23"15 Joseph Muller FRA 2 + 12h 59' 08"16 Félix Sellier BEL 2 + 13h 56' 45"17 Henri Colle SUI 2 + 15h 02' 22"18 Enrico Sala ITA 1861 2 + 19h 09' 18"19 Guglielmo Ceccherelli ITA 1861 2 + 22h 49' 12"20 Auguste Meyer FRA 2 + 22h 53' 43"21 Benjamin Javaux BEL 2 + 25h 25' 34"22 Pierre Hudsyn BEL 2 + 25h 53' 44"23 Joseph Normand FRA 2 + 27h 05' 40"24 Etienne Dorfeuille FRA 2 + 27h 07' 44"25 Charles Raboisson FRA 2 + 27h 57' 32"26 Jules Deloffre FRA 2 + 31h 09' 48"27 Ernest Paul FRA 2 + 32h 26' 34"28 Edgard Roy FRA 2 + 32h 43' 15"29 Charles Parel SUI 2 + 34h 29' 08"30 Paul Coppens FRA 2 + 34h 50' 25"31 Jean Kienlen FRA 2 + 36h 18' 06"32 Lucien Pothier FRA 2 + 41h 45' 11"33 Lucien Rocquebert FRA 2 + 49h 37' 25"34 Robert Constantin FRA 2 + 57h 07' 39"35 Charles Cento FRA 2 + 57h 45' 21"36 Georges Kamm FRA 2 + 58h 00' 09"37 Adrien Alpini FRA 2 + 60h 34' 50"38 Henri Catelan FRA 2 + 62h 19' 57" Aftermath As in the years before, the Belgian cyclists had dominated the entire race. The French press and audience did not like this, and wanted the brothers Pélissier, who did not join because of a fight with the Tour organisers, to enter the race again. They would ultimately do this in 1923, when Henri won the race as the first French cyclist in eleven years. The winner in 1921, Scieur, would start the Tour three more times, but would never win a stage again and never complete the race.http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/1818.html Past results for Léon Scieur (BEL) Amaury Sport Organisation 19 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090716181114/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/coureur/1818.html 16 July 2009 dead dmy-all Notes References 30em Bibliography Jacques Augendre Jacques Augendre http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf Guide historique Historical guide 2016 fr 27 October 2016 PDF Tour de France Paris Amaury Sport Organisation https://web.archive.org/web/20160817121602/http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf 17 August 2016 live McGann Bill McGann Carol The Story of the Tour de France: 1903–1964 1 https://books.google.com/books?id=jxq20JskqMUC Dog Ear Publishing Indianapolis, IN 2006 978-1-59858-180-5 Thompson Christopher S. The Tour de France: A Cultural History https://books.google.com/books?id=UpzzPqexF00C University of California Press Oakland, CA 2008 978-0-520-25630-9 Further reading Mapping Le Tour Ellis Bacon HarperCollins Publishers Glasgow 2014 52–53 9780007543991 872700415 External links 1921 Tour de France 1 8 9 15 Tour de France Tour de France Category:Tour de France by year Tour de France Tour de France