1903 Tour de France

May 2020 May 2019 1903 Tour de France Route of the 1903 Tour de France.png Route of the 1903 Tour de France followed clockwise, starting in Montgeron and ending in Paris Map of France with the route of the 1903 Tour de France on it, showing that the race started in Paris, went clockwise through France and ended in Paris after six stages. 360px 1–19 July 1903 6 2428 km 94h 33' 14" Maurice Garin FRA Lucien Pothier FRA Fernand Augereau FRA 1904 The 1903 Tour de France was the first cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper fr L'Auto, ancestor of the current daily, fr L'Équipe. It ran from 1 to 19 July in six stages over 2428 km on, and was won by Maurice Garin.Augendre 2016 108 The race was invented to boost the circulation of fr L'Auto, after its circulation started to plummet from competition with the long-standing fr Le Vélo. Originally scheduled to start in June, the race was postponed one month, and the prize money was increased, after a disappointing level of applications from competitors. The 1903 Tour de France was the first stage road race, and compared to modern Grand Tours, it had relatively few stages, but each was much longer than those raced today. The cyclists did not have to compete in all six stages, although this was necessary to qualify for the general classification. The pre-race favourite, Maurice Garin, won the first stage, and retained the lead throughout. He also won the last two stages, and had a margin of almost three hours over the next cyclist. The circulation of fr L'Auto increased more than sixfold during and after the race, so the race was considered successful enough to be rerun in 1904, by which time fr Le Vélo had been forced out of business. Origin After the Dreyfus affair separated advertisers from the newspaper fr Le Vélo, a new newspaper fr L'Auto-Vélo was founded in 1900, with former cyclist Henri Desgrange as editor. After being forced to change the name of the newspaper to fr L'Auto in 1903, Desgrange needed something to keep the cycling fans; with circulation at 20,000, he could not afford to lose them.http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tour/origins.htm The Origins of the Tour de France Tom James VeloArchive 4 April 2001 24 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090409045005/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/veloarchive/races/tour/origins.htm 9 April 2009 dead When Desgrange and young employee Géo Lefèvre were returning from the Marseille–Paris cycling race,http://www.wielercentrum.com/tourdefrance/achtergronden/tourverhalen/1903--Maurice-Garin-wint-eerste-Tour-489.html 1903: Maurice Garin wint eerste Tour nl 24 March 2009 19 March 2003 https://archive.today/20240524091313/https://www.webcitation.org/5gVcdAutX?url=http://www.tourdefrance.nl/achtergronden/tourverhalen/1903--Maurice-Garin-wint-eerste-Tour-489.html 24 May 2024 dead Lefèvre suggested holding a race around France, similar to the popular six-day races on the track.Noakes T. D. 2006 The limits of endurance exercise Basic Research in Cardiology 101 5 408–417 10.1007/s00395-006-0607-2 16915533 41890120 Desgrange proposed the idea to the financial controller Victor Goddet, who gave his approval, and on 19 January 1903, the Tour de France was announced in fr L'Auto.McGann McGann 2006 4–10http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4624741c/f1.item 19 January 1903 fr l'Auto Le Tour de France Henri Desgrange It was to have been a five-week race, from 1 June to 5 July, with an entry fee of 20 francs. These conditions attracted very few cyclists: one week before the race was due to start, only 15 competitors had signed up. Desgrange then rescheduled the race from 1 to 19 July, reduced the entry fee to 10 francs and guaranteed at least five francs a day to the first 50 cyclists in the classification. After that, 79 cyclists signed up for the race, of whom 60 actually started the race. Rules and course thumb|Maurice Garin, the winner of the 1903 Tour de France.|alt=A black and white photograph of a man holding his bicycle and a little boy with a little bicycle, being looked upon by two other men. The 1903 Tour de France was run in six stages. Compared to modern stage races, the stages were extraordinarily long, with an average distance of over 400 km on, compared to the 171 km on average stage length in the 2004 Tour de France; cyclists had one to three rest days between each stage, and the route was largely flat, with only one stage featuring a significant mountain. The cyclists were not grouped in teams but raced as individuals, and paid a fee of ten francs (about 135 at 2023 priceshttps://www.inflationtool.com/euro/2003-to-present-value?amount=87&year2=2023&frequency=yearly Value of 2003 Euro today - Inflation Calculator www.inflationtool.com 6 August 2023) to compete in the race for general classification, or five francs to enter a single stage.Wheatcroft 2007July 2020 As the stages were so long, all but the first started before dawn: the last stage started at 21:00 the night before.Augendre 2016 5 The first Tour de France crossed no mountain passes, but several lesser cols. The first was the col du Pin-Bouchain (759 m ft 0 on), on the opening stage from Paris to Lyon, on what is now the old road from Roanne to Lyon. The stage from Lyon to Marseille included the col de la République (1161 m ft 0 on), also known as the col de Grand Bois, at the edge of St-Etienne.Woodland 2003 264 In 1903, it was normal for a professional cyclist to hire pacers, who would lead them during the race. Desgrange forbade this: it was originally intended that in the final, longest, stage pacers would be allowed, but this was rescinded after the fifth stage.McGann McGann 2006 4–10Augendre Jacques 1996 Le Tour de France: Panorama d'un siècle Société du Tour de France fr 9http://www.archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/DOSSIERS_DOCS/tourdefrance1903/tourdefrance1.htm Le Populaire 17 July 1903 fr Le Tour de France – Un incident Garin-Augereau Archives municipales de Nantes 27 January 2010 22 July 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090722225736/http://www.archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/DOSSIERS_DOCS/tourdefrance1903/tourdefrance1.htm dead To ensure that the cyclists rode the entire route, stewards were stationed at various points around the course.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 The yellow jersey for the leader in the general classification had not yet been introduced, but the leader was identified by a green armband.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 The fastest eight cyclists on each stage received a prize between 50 francs and 1,500 francs, varying per stage. The fourteen best cyclists in the general classification received a prize from 3,000 francs for the winner to 25 francs for fourteenth place. The remaining seven cyclists to finish in the general classification each received 95 francs, 5 francs for each of the 19 days that the race took, provided that they had not won more than 200 francs in prize money and did not have an average speed below 20 km/h on on any stage. Participants List of cyclists in the 1903 Tour de France In contrast to modern stage races, a cyclist who gave up during a stage was allowed to start again the next stage, although he would no longer be in contention for the general classification. Thus Hippolyte Aucouturier, who gave up during the first stage, was able to return, and won the second and third stages. Charles Laeser, winner of the fourth stage, had not completed the third stage. Sixty cyclists, all professionals or semi-professionals, started the race, of whom 49 were French, 4 Belgian, 4 Swiss, 2 German, and one Italian; 21 of them were sponsored by bicycle manufacturers, while 39 entered without commercial support.The history of the Tour de France – Year 1903 – The starters http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/partants.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 2 April 2020 3 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200403025721/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/partants.html deadhttp://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/dossiers/dos_reglmt_tdf1903.php 23 May 2024 Réglement du Tour de France 1903 Mémoire du cyclisme L'Auto frTorgler Benno 2007 "La Grande Boucle": Determinants of Success at the Tour de France Journal of Sports Economics 8 3 317–331 10.1177/1527002506287657 58895810 24 other cyclists took advantage of the opportunity to enter specific stages: one rode in both the second and fourth stages, and additionally three cyclists took part in the second stage, one in the third stage, fifteen in the fourth stage only, and a further four only competed in the fifth stage. Race overview 1903 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 3 1903 Tour de France, Stage 4 to Stage 6 thumb|left|Café au Reveil Matin in Paris, 1903 Tour de France.|alt=A black-and-white picture of a group of persons with bicycles, standing on a road. The pre-race favourites for the victory were Maurice Garin and Hippolyte Aucouturier. Garin dominated the race from the start by winning the first stage, a 471 km on parcours from Paris to Lyon. The stage started at 15:16, and the cyclists initially rode with a speed of 35 km/h. The first cyclists abandoned after around 50 km on. At 23:00, Garin and Emile Pagie, leading the race, reached the control point in Nevers. Garin expected at that point that they would finish at 8:00 the next morning. During the night, Garin's main rival, Aucouturier, had stomach cramps, and was unable to finish the stage.McGann McGann 2006 4–10http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903_1.php 1ère étappe – Paris-Lyon – 467 kilomètres fr Mémoire du cyclisme https://web.archive.org/web/20090503114533/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903_1.php 3 May 2009 dead 24 March 2009 Also during that first stage, the first breach of the rules occurred: Jean Fischer had used a car as pacer, which was illegal.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 Pagie fell down, but got up again; he and Garin kept leading the race during the night. Around 9:00 in the morning, both reached Lyon. Garin got away from Pagie, and finished one minute ahead. thumb|upright|The finish of the first Tour.|alt=On the left a classic automobile, and a group of men standing, one of them holding a bicycle. Although Aucouturier had abandoned in the first stage, and so was not eligible for the general classification, he could still start the rest of the stages. In the second stage, Aucouturier was able to win the sprint. In the third stage, the cyclists who were competing for the general classification started one hour earlier than the other cyclists, including Aucouturier. At the end of that stage, a group of four cyclists had broken away, and Eugène Brange won the sprint. Aucouturier finished 27 minutes later, but this meant that he had run the course 33 minutes faster, so he was declared the winner of the stage.http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1344 La Grande Boucle Etape 3: Marseille–Toulouse fr 21 July 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110713181258/http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1344 13 July 2011 dead Garin retained the lead, helped by a crash of second-placed Pagie in the second stage, which eliminated him from the race.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 In the fourth stage, Aucouturier had a clear lead and seemed set to win a third successive stage, but was caught using the slipstream of a car, and was removed from the race. Swiss Charles Laeser (who had abandoned in the 3rd stage) took the victory, becoming the first non-French winner. As in the third stage, the cyclists departed in two groups, and Laeser was in the second group because he was no longer contending for the general classification. Laeser finished more than 50 minutes after a group of six cyclists, but he had travelled the distance 4 minutes faster than them, so he was declared the winner.http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1345 La Grande Boucle Etape 4: Toulouse–Bordeaux fr 21 July 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110713181313/http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1345 13 July 2011 dead At that point, Garin was leading, with Émile Georget almost two hours behind.http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903_4.php 1er Tour de France 1903 – 4ème étappe Mémoire du cyclisme fr 24 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090503113942/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903_4.php 3 May 2009 dead In the fifth stage, Georget had two flat tires, and fell asleep when he stopped at the side of the road to rest; he failed to finish. Thus Garin extended his lead by winning this stage, carrying nearly three hours' advantage into the final day's racing.http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/histoire.html 1903 – 1st Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 24 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090719132123/http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/histoire.html 19 July 2009 dead Garin had requested other cyclists in the leading group to let him win the stage, but Fernand Augereau refused to do this. Garin then had Lucien Pothier throw down his bicycle in front of Augereau, who fell, and Garin then bent Augereau's rear wheel. Augereau quickly obtained a spare bike and continued to the finish, however Garin easily won the sprint.http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1346 La Grande Boucle Etape 5: Bordeaux–Nantes fr 21 July 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20110713181352/http://www.lagrandeboucle.com/article.php3?id_article=1346 13 July 2011 dead Augereau still received a prize of 100 francs from Velo-Sport Nantes for the fastest final kilometre of the stage in the Nantes velodrome.http://www.archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/DOSSIERS_DOCS/tourdefrance1903/tourdefrance1.htm Le Tour de France – 5ème étape Bordeaux-Nantes (394 kil.) fr 15 July 1903 Le Populaire Archives municipales de Nantes 27 January 2010 22 July 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090722225736/http://www.archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/DOSSIERS_DOCS/tourdefrance1903/tourdefrance1.htm dead The last stage was the longest, at 471 km on, and ran from Nantes to the small town of Ville-d'Avray, which lies between Versailles and Paris, instead of at the Parc des Princes velodrome. This was because of a bylaw forbidding road races to end on cycling tracks (a bylaw subsequently repealed in light of the race's success). Garin took his third stage win, and sealed overall victory by 2 hours 59 minutes 31 seconds: this remains the greatest margin of victory in the Tour de France.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 After arriving at Ville-d'Avray the riders were given a board marked with their finishing time and cycled on to Parc des Princes where they made several laps of honour. That day, 19 July, saw a large crowd at the velodrome to watch the riders and an earlier 100-km cycle race.Leonard Max Lanterne Rouge: The Last Man in the Tour de France 17 April 2014 Random House 978-1-4481-5590-3 18 https://books.google.com/books?id=3PvJAgAAQBAJ en Results thumb|The publicity after the first stage showed that Maurice Garin rode a bicycle from La Française|alt=French text: "Tour de France (Paris-Lyon) – 1er M. Garin, Vainquer de Paris-Brest. 2e Pagie. Tous deux sur bicyclettes La Française, marque diamant, pneus munis de l'Hermetic. Battant plus de 60 concurrents". Stage results In 1903, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate whether the stage included mountains. + Stage characteristics and winnershttp://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903.php Mémoire du cyclisme 1er Tour de France 1903 fr 24 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618152242/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1903_1939/tdf1903.php 18 June 2009 dead Augendre 2016 5The history of the Tour de France – Year 1903 – The stage winners http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/vainqueurs.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 2 April 2020 2 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200402233040/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/vainqueurs.html dead Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner Race leader 1 1 July Paris to Lyon 467 km mi on alt=Plain stage|20px|link= Plain stage Maurice Garin FRA Maurice Garin FRA 2 5 July Lyon to Marseille 374 km mi on alt=Stage with mountain|20px|link= Stage with mountain(s) Hippolyte Aucouturier FRA Maurice Garin FRA 3 8 July Marseille to Toulouse 423 km mi on alt=Plain stage|20px|link= Plain stage Hippolyte Aucouturier FRA Maurice Garin FRA 4 12 July Toulouse to Bordeaux 268 km mi on alt=Plain stage|20px|link= Plain stage Charles Laeser SUI Maurice Garin FRA 5 13 July Bordeaux to Nantes 425 km mi on alt=Plain stage|20px|link= Plain stage Maurice Garin FRA Maurice Garin FRA 6 18 July Nantes to Paris 471 km mi on alt=Plain stage|20px|link= Plain stage Maurice Garin FRA Maurice Garin FRA Total 2428 km 0 onAugendre 2016 108 General classification There were 21 cyclists who had completed all six stages. For these cyclists, the times taken for each stage were added up for the general classification. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the winner. The cyclists officially were not grouped in teams; some cyclists had the same sponsor, even though they were not allowed to work together.Thompson 2006 36 + Final general classification (1–10)The history of the Tour de France – Year 1903 – Stage 6 Nantes > Paris http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/600/etape.html Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation 2 April 2020 2 April 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200402214340/http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/600/etape.html dead Rank Rider Sponsor1903 Tour de France https://www.bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdf1903.html 2026-07-19 www.bikeraceinfo.comTime 1 Maurice Garin FRA La Française 94h 33' 14" 2 Lucien Pothier FRA La Française + 2h 59' 21" 3 Fernand Augereau FRA La Française + 4h 29' 24" 4 Rodolfo Muller10931 Rodolfo Muller ITA 1861 La Française + 4h 39' 30" 5 Jean Fischer FRA La Française + 4h 58' 44" 6 Marcel Kerff BEL — + 5h 52' 24" 7 Julien Lootens BEL Brennabor + 8h 31' 08" 8 Georges Pasquier FRA La Française + 10h 24' 04" 9 François Beaugendre FRA — + 10h 52' 14"10 Aloïs Catteau BEL La Française + 12h 44' 57" Final general classification (11–21) Rank Rider SponsorTime 11 Jean Dargassies FRA Gladiator + 13h 49' 10" 12 Ferdinand Payan FRA Champeyrache + 19h 09' 02" 13 Julien Girbe FRA JC Cycles + 23h 16' 52" 14 Isidore Lechartier FRA Gladiator + 24h 05' 13" 15 Josef Fischer GER empire Diamant + 25h 14' 26" 16 Alexandre Foureaux FRA — + 31h 50' 52" 17 René Salais FRA — + 32h 34' 43" 18 Emile Moulin FRA — + 49h 43' 14" 19 Georges Borot FRA — + 51h 37' 38" 20 Pierre Desvages FRA — + 62h 53' 54" 21 Arsène Millocheau FRA — + 64h 57' 08" Aftermath The circulation of fr L'Auto increased significantly due to this event; a special edition of 130,000 copies was made after the race was over,http://veloarchive.com/races/tour/1903.php Victory for the Little Chimney Sweep Tom James VeloArchive 14 August 2003 8 March 2010 and normal circulation increased from 25,000 to 65,000. The big success made sure that the Tour de France was scheduled again for 1904. The cyclists had also become national heroes. Maurice Garin returned for the 1904 Tour de France but his title defence failed when he was disqualified. With the prize money that he won in 1903, which totalled 6,075 francs, (approximately USD40,000 and GBP£23,000 in 2006 valuesMcGann McGann 2006 4–10) Garin later bought a gas station, where he worked for the rest of his life.McGann McGann 2006 4–10 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 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=M-vUF6Y_4RUC University of California Press Oakland, CA 2006 978-0-520-24760-4 Wheatcroft Geoffrey https://archive.org/details/letourhistoryoft0000whea registration Le Tour: A History of the Tour De France New York City Simon & Schuster 2007 978-1-84739-086-8 Woodland Les The Yellow Jersey Companion to the Tour de France https://books.google.com/books?id=HvCoAAAACAAJ 2003 Yellow Jersey Press London 978-0-224-06318-0 Further reading Mapping Le Tour Ellis Bacon HarperCollins Publishers Glasgow 2014 20–21 9780007543991 872700415 https://books.google.com/books?id=WioCDQAAQBAJ Butcher, Blacksmith, Acrobat, Sweep: The Tale of the First Tour de France Peter Cossins Yellow Jersey Press London 2017 9780224100656 989807647 https://books.google.com/books?id=uHKba6joRZsC Tour de France 1903: la nascita della Grande Boucle Facchinetti Paolo 2003 Ediciclo Editore it 88-85318-88-6 External links 1903 Tour de France 1 3 4 6 cyclists Tour de France Category:Tour de France by year Tour de France Tour de France