1919 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1919 Tour de France was the 13th Tour de France
, taking place from 29 June to 27 July 1919 over a total distance of 5560 kilometres (3,454.8 mi). It was the first Tour de France after World War I
, and was won by Firmin Lambot
. In the eleventh stage, the yellow jersey
, given to the leader of the general classification, was introduced, and first worn by Eugène Christophe
.
The fighting in World War I had ravaged the French road system, which made cycling difficult. As a result, the average speed (24.056 km/h) and the number of finishing cyclists (ten) were the lowest in history.
, it was impossible to organise the Tour the France due to World War I. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange
always wanted to organise a new Tour after the war, and within days after the end of the war
, the organisation of the 1919 Tour de France started.
, Octave Lapize
and Lucien Petit-Breton
had died fighting in the war. Two other former winners, Philippe Thys
and Odile Defraye
started the race. The war had been only over for seven months, so most cyclists did not have a chance to train enough for the Tour. For that reason, there were almost no new younger cyclists, and the older cyclists dominated the race. The organisation did not make it easy for the cyclists: with 5560 km it was longer than all the previous Tours, and since then only the 1926 Tour de France
has been longer.
The bicycle manufacturers had also suffered from the war, and were unable to sponsor teams of cyclists. They worked together, and sponsored more than half of the cyclists under the name "La Sportive", but effectively all the cyclists rode as individuals. Cyclists were divided in an A-category (professional) and a B-category (amateurs).
In previous years, cyclists had to take care of their own food during the race. In 1919, the tour organisation took care of this.
. However, he was penalized with 30 minutes for illegally helping Philippe Thys
, therefore Henri Pélissier
was leading the race. It had not helped Thys however, because he had to stop the race in the first stage after a large crash.
In the beginning of the race, Henri
and Francis Pélissier
were the best. They both finished before the rest in stage two, with Henri crossing the line first. In the third stage, Henri, leading the race, wanted to stop. Organizer Desgrange did all he could to change Pélissier's mind, and finally Pélissier started to race again. He was already 45 minutes behind, and the next three hours he was chasing the rest. He finally caught up, and finished second in the sprint, after his brother Francis. After that victory, Henri Pélissier said that he was a thoroughbred and the rest of the cyclists were work horses, which made the other cyclists angry. During that third stage, Léon Scieur
punctured four times, and lost two hours.
In the fourth stage, the rest of the cyclists (only 25 were still in race) took revenge on the Pélissier brothers. When they had to change bicycles, everybody else sped away from them. Henri Pélissier chased the rest, but was then ordered by Desgrange to stop working together with other cyclists in his pursuit. In the end, Henri Pélissier had lost more than 35 minutes, and his brother Francis over three hours. The Pélissier brothers were angry at the organisation and left the race. Jean Alavoine
won the stage, and Eugène Christophe
became the new leader in the general classification.
Alavoine would also win the fifth stage, the longest ever in history at 482 km.
Christophe was still in Grenoble at the start of stage eleven, when tour organiser Henri Desgrange
gave him a yellow jersey, so that he could easily be recognized. The colour was inspired by the colour of the organizing newspaper l'Auto, although another explanation is that other colours were not available in the post-war shortage. Christophe was not happy with his yellow jersey, and other cyclists called him a canary. At that point in the race, it was likely that Christophe would stay the leader until the end of the Tour de France, because he remained in that yellow jersey after the Pyrénées and the Alps. In the penultimate stage, Firmin Lambot
, who was in second position, more than 28 minutes behind, attacked. Christophe, still leading the race, chased him, but broke his fork
close to Valenciennes
. The rules were such that cyclists could get no help at all, so Christophe repaired his bicycle himself. This same thing had already cost him the victory in 1913, and would happen to him for a third time in 1922. It took him over two and a half hours, and he had lost the lead to Lambot. In the last stage, Christophe had a record number of punctures, and also lost his second place to Jean Alavoine
.
Lambot, aged 33, was at that moment the oldest Tour de France winner in history.
Because the organising newspaper l'Auto felt bad for Christophe, he received the same prize money as the winner Lambot. In addition, a collection raised money, the donors for this prize were reported in 20 pages in the newspaper. Altogether, Christophe received 13310 Francs, much more than the 5000 Francs that Lambot received for his victory.
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(8th overall), was disqualified for borrowing a car to go and repair his pedal axle, which left only 10 cyclists in the final classification.
In total, 43 cyclists started as category A, and 24 cyclists as category B.
, but has become a half-forgotten figure in the Tour's history. Christophe, who lost the Tour due to bad luck, is still remembered as an eternal second.
The fight between cyclist Pélissier and tour organizer Desgrange would continue for many years. Pélissier would win the 1923 Tour de France
.
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, taking place from 29 June to 27 July 1919 over a total distance of 5560 kilometres (3,454.8 mi). It was the first Tour de France after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and was won by Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot was a Belgian bicycle racer who twice won the Tour de France.Born in the small town of Florennes, Lambot worked as a saddler. He worked 12 hours a day, starting at 6am. He bought his first bicycle at 17 and began riding 50 km a day to and from work. His first race was in a local...
. In the eleventh stage, the yellow jersey
Yellow jersey
The general classification in the Tour de France is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey .-History:...
, given to the leader of the general classification, was introduced, and first worn by Eugène Christophe
Eugene Christophe
Eugène Christophe was a French road bicycle racer and pioneer of cyclo-cross. He was a professional from 1904 until 1926. In 1919 he became the first rider to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France .Eugène Christophe rode 11 Tours de France and finished eight...
.
The fighting in World War I had ravaged the French road system, which made cycling difficult. As a result, the average speed (24.056 km/h) and the number of finishing cyclists (ten) were the lowest in history.
Background
Since the previous Tour de France in 19141914 Tour de France
The 1914 Tour de France was the 12th Tour de France, taking place June 28 to July 26, 1914. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . It was won by the Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys....
, it was impossible to organise the Tour the France due to World War I. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
always wanted to organise a new Tour after the war, and within days after the end of the war
Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...
, the organisation of the 1919 Tour de France started.
Differences from the 1914 Tour de France
Three former winners of the Tour, François FaberFrançois Faber
François Faber was a Luxembourgian/French racing cyclist. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands...
, Octave Lapize
Octave Lapize
Octave Lapize was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist.Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kilometres, he was a three-time winner of one-day classics, Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Brussels.In his first...
and Lucien Petit-Breton
Lucien Petit-Breton
Lucien Georges Mazan was a French racing cyclist .He was born in Plessé, Loire-Atlantique , a part of Brittany, now part of Pays de la Loire. When he was six he moved with his parents to Buenos Aires where he took Argentine nationality...
had died fighting in the war. Two other former winners, Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.-Professional career:...
and Odile Defraye
Odile Defraye
Odile Defraye was a Belgian road racing cyclist who won three stages and the overall title of the 1912 Tour de France, which was the last tour decided by a points system instead of overall best time...
started the race. The war had been only over for seven months, so most cyclists did not have a chance to train enough for the Tour. For that reason, there were almost no new younger cyclists, and the older cyclists dominated the race. The organisation did not make it easy for the cyclists: with 5560 km it was longer than all the previous Tours, and since then only the 1926 Tour de France
1926 Tour de France
The 1926 Tour de France was the 20th Tour de France, taking place June 20 to July 18, 1926. It consisted of 17 stages with a total distance of 5745 km, ridden at an average speed of 24.064 km/h....
has been longer.
The bicycle manufacturers had also suffered from the war, and were unable to sponsor teams of cyclists. They worked together, and sponsored more than half of the cyclists under the name "La Sportive", but effectively all the cyclists rode as individuals. Cyclists were divided in an A-category (professional) and a B-category (amateurs).
In previous years, cyclists had to take care of their own food during the race. In 1919, the tour organisation took care of this.
Race details
The first stage was won by Belgian Jean RossiusJean Rossius
Jean Rossius was a Belgian road racing cyclist who won five stages in total in the Tour de France. In the 1914 Tour de France he finished in fourth place in the overall classification, his best finishing.- Palmarès :1914...
. However, he was penalized with 30 minutes for illegally helping Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.-Professional career:...
, therefore Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting against the conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour...
was leading the race. It had not helped Thys however, because he had to stop the race in the first stage after a large crash.
In the beginning of the race, Henri
Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting against the conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour...
and Francis Pélissier
Francis Pélissier
Francis Pélissier was a French professional road racing cyclist from Paris. He was the younger brother of Tour de France winner Henri Pélissier, and the older brother of Tour de France stage winner Charles Pélissier. He won several classic cycle races like Paris–Tours, Bordeaux–Paris and Grand...
were the best. They both finished before the rest in stage two, with Henri crossing the line first. In the third stage, Henri, leading the race, wanted to stop. Organizer Desgrange did all he could to change Pélissier's mind, and finally Pélissier started to race again. He was already 45 minutes behind, and the next three hours he was chasing the rest. He finally caught up, and finished second in the sprint, after his brother Francis. After that victory, Henri Pélissier said that he was a thoroughbred and the rest of the cyclists were work horses, which made the other cyclists angry. During that third stage, Léon Scieur
Léon Scieur
Léon Scieur was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1921 Tour de France, along with stages 3 and 10. His first great victory was the 1920 Liège–Bastogne–Liège; he won a stage and finished fourth in the 1919 and 1920 Tours de France.-Origins:Léon Scieur was the son of a farmer in Florennes, near...
punctured four times, and lost two hours.
In the fourth stage, the rest of the cyclists (only 25 were still in race) took revenge on the Pélissier brothers. When they had to change bicycles, everybody else sped away from them. Henri Pélissier chased the rest, but was then ordered by Desgrange to stop working together with other cyclists in his pursuit. In the end, Henri Pélissier had lost more than 35 minutes, and his brother Francis over three hours. The Pélissier brothers were angry at the organisation and left the race. Jean Alavoine
Jean Alavoine
Jean Alavoine was a French professional cyclist, who won 17 stages in the Tour de France - only 8 riders have won more stages - and wore the yellow jersey for 5 days. In Daniel Marszalek's list of best road riders in history, he is ranked 96th....
won the stage, and Eugène Christophe
Eugene Christophe
Eugène Christophe was a French road bicycle racer and pioneer of cyclo-cross. He was a professional from 1904 until 1926. In 1919 he became the first rider to wear the yellow jersey of the Tour de France .Eugène Christophe rode 11 Tours de France and finished eight...
became the new leader in the general classification.
Alavoine would also win the fifth stage, the longest ever in history at 482 km.
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
gave him a yellow jersey, so that he could easily be recognized. The colour was inspired by the colour of the organizing newspaper l'Auto, although another explanation is that other colours were not available in the post-war shortage. Christophe was not happy with his yellow jersey, and other cyclists called him a canary. At that point in the race, it was likely that Christophe would stay the leader until the end of the Tour de France, because he remained in that yellow jersey after the Pyrénées and the Alps. In the penultimate stage, Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot
Firmin Lambot was a Belgian bicycle racer who twice won the Tour de France.Born in the small town of Florennes, Lambot worked as a saddler. He worked 12 hours a day, starting at 6am. He bought his first bicycle at 17 and began riding 50 km a day to and from work. His first race was in a local...
, who was in second position, more than 28 minutes behind, attacked. Christophe, still leading the race, chased him, but broke his fork
Bicycle fork
A bicycle fork is the portion of a bicycle that holds the front wheel and allows the rider to steer and balance the bicycle. A fork consists of two fork ends which hold the front wheel axle, two blades which join at a fork crown, and a steerer or steering tube to which the handlebars attach ...
close to Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
. The rules were such that cyclists could get no help at all, so Christophe repaired his bicycle himself. This same thing had already cost him the victory in 1913, and would happen to him for a third time in 1922. It took him over two and a half hours, and he had lost the lead to Lambot. In the last stage, Christophe had a record number of punctures, and also lost his second place to Jean Alavoine
Jean Alavoine
Jean Alavoine was a French professional cyclist, who won 17 stages in the Tour de France - only 8 riders have won more stages - and wore the yellow jersey for 5 days. In Daniel Marszalek's list of best road riders in history, he is ranked 96th....
.
Lambot, aged 33, was at that moment the oldest Tour de France winner in history.
Because the organising newspaper l'Auto felt bad for Christophe, he received the same prize money as the winner Lambot. In addition, a collection raised money, the donors for this prize were reported in 20 pages in the newspaper. Altogether, Christophe received 13310 Francs, much more than the 5000 Francs that Lambot received for his victory.
Results
Stage winners
| Stage | Date | Route | TerrainIn 1919, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stage included mountains. | Length | Winner | Race leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 June | Paris – Le Havre Le Havre Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total... |
 |
388 km (241.1 mi) | The winner of stage 1, Rossius, received a 30 minutes penalty, so after stage 1 Henri Pélissier, who finished second, was leading the race. | |
| 2 | 1 July | Le Havre – Cherbourg | |
364 km (226.2 mi) | ||
| 3 | 3 July | Cherbourg – Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon... |
|
405 km (251.7 mi) | ||
| 4 | 5 July | Brest – Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:... |
|
412 km (256 mi) | ||
| 5 | 7 July | Les Sables-d'Olonne – Bayonne Bayonne Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture... |
|
482 km (299.5 mi) | ||
| 6 | 9 July | Bayonne – Luchon |  |
326 km (202.6 mi) | ||
| 7 | 11 July | Luchon – Perpignan Perpignan -Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the... |
|
323 km (200.7 mi) | ||
| 8 | 13 July | Perpignan – Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... |
|
370 km (229.9 mi) | ||
| 9 | 15 July | Marseille – Nice Nice Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of... |
|
338 km (210 mi) | ||
| 10 | 17 July | Nice – Grenoble Grenoble Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère... |
|
333 km (206.9 mi) | ||
| 11 | 19 July | Grenoble – Geneva Geneva Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland... |
|
325 km (201.9 mi) | ||
| 12 | 21 July | Geneva – Strasbourg Strasbourg Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,... |
|
371 km (230.5 mi) | ||
| 13 | 23 July | Strasbourg – Metz Metz Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place... |
|
315 km (195.7 mi) | ||
| 14 | 25 July | Metz – Dunkerque | |
468 km (290.8 mi) | ||
| 15 | 27 July | Dunkerque – Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
|
340 km (211.3 mi) |
General classification
Of the 67 cyclists that started the race, only 11 cyclists finished. On August 12, 1919, Paul DubocPaul Duboc
Paul Duboc was a French professional road bicycle racer from 1907 through 1927. Despite winning 5 career stages in the Tour de France, he may be most remembered for being disqualified at the 1919 Tour de France for borrowing a car to go and repair his pedal axle.In 1911, Duboc was close to...
(8th overall), was disqualified for borrowing a car to go and repair his pedal axle, which left only 10 cyclists in the final classification.
In total, 43 cyclists started as category A, and 24 cyclists as category B.
| Rank | Rider | Category | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
A | 231h 07' 15" |
| 2 | A | +1h 42' 54" | |
| 3 | A | +2h 26' 31" | |
| 4 | A | +2h 52' 15" | |
| 5 | A | +4h 14' 22" | |
| 6 | A | +15h 21' 34" | |
| 7 | A | +16h 01' 12" | |
| 8 | A | +18h 23' 02" | |
| 9 | A | +20h 29' 01" | |
| 10 | B | +21h 44' 12" |
Aftermath
The yellow jersey that was introduced in this tour, was so successful that it has been used ever since. The winner of the race, Lambot, would later also win the 1922 Tour de France1922 Tour de France
The 1922 Tour de France was the 16th Tour de France, taking place June 25 to July 23, 1922. The 1922 Tour consisted of 15 stages covering a total of . The race was won by the Belgian cyclist Firmin Lambot...
, but has become a half-forgotten figure in the Tour's history. Christophe, who lost the Tour due to bad luck, is still remembered as an eternal second.
The fight between cyclist Pélissier and tour organizer Desgrange would continue for many years. Pélissier would win the 1923 Tour de France
1923 Tour de France
The 1923 Tour de France was the 17th Tour de France, taking place June 24 to July 22, 1923. It consisted of 15 stages over 5386 km, ridden at an average speed of 24.233 km/h. The race was won by Henri Pélissier with a convincing half hour lead to his next opponent, Italian Ottavio...
.