Professional Cycling For the Fans - Tour History

This is an interesting story, Euro Sport was talking about it so I looked it up. The Tour has a rich and very interesting history and it is stories like these that make the Tour more and more interesting to me.


Taken from the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/in_depth/2001/tour_de_france/1364736.stm)

When a rider, Eugene Christophe, broke his forks in the Pyrenees he stopped off at a forge, begged a length of metal and started to fix the bike himself.

A race official looked - the rider had to do all this work on his own or face penalties.

A small boy operating the bellows in the blacksmith's forge cost the rider an extra time delay in addition to the hours he had lost making the repair.





I believe he received at 10 sec penalty :lol:

yes, if there's something we sort of miss out on here in America, is the great history of bike racing. Not just in the Tour, but in the Giro and the monuments as well.

One of my favorite stories is in the early 1950s (1951?) when Wim Van Est was in yellow and went over a cliff in the Pyrennes. He had to be rescued by a rope made of spare tire tubes woven together by team mechanics.

Then there is the day in the Alps in 1948 when Gino Bartalli took back 20 minutes on Lousion Bobett to save Italy from a communist revolution.

And while everyone knows the Eugene Christoph story, there was another rider, Vincente Trueba in the early 1930s that broke his fork and had to borrow a local delivery bike and rode something like 300 km through the mountains carrying his original bike on his back the whole way! Actually, it was because of him that Henri Degranges lifted the rule requiring a rider to finish with the bike he started out on, thus allowing bike changes.

so I agree, the history of this sport is really great stuff. What the guys had to overcome back in the old days is really mind numbing to think about.

Yeah, I'm a bit behind on Tour history. I'll be heading to the book store to catch up.

Parts I find most interesting are ones that seem to get ignored.

Second tour first 4 finishers disqualified, yet in the past cople of years I've seen scores of articles saying no winner has been disqualified before. (I'm not counting ones that got it right with qualifiers, like 'for drug use").

Or making some recent things 'unique'. Somehow the entire Italian contingent abandoning while having the lead because of one of their riders being threatened with a knife on a mountian pass. Of Merckx actually being attacked and injured by a fan. Or the mere number of broken bones Coppi suffered during his cycling career.

Or perhaps that until 1999 there had only been 2 times when there was not a previous winner in the TDF (I think the one aside from the very first was 1956, not positive, but it was not a post war year).

I'm sure as the Tour goes on I'll remember more as the announcers say stupid things. When they go on about needing team focus on one rider I'll remember La Vie Claire and finishing 1st, 2nd and 4th in hte GC along with a KOM win in a rather ununified team.

An interesting book that covers a lot of this is Blazing Saddles (http://www.amazon.com/Blazing-Saddles-Unusual-History-France/dp/1934030252/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216058206&sr=8-5), available at Amazon and other outlets. I found it a pretty fun read!

yes, 1956 had no previous winner in the field. the previous winner was Louison Bobett who had just been the first man to win 3 strait winning in 1953,1954,and 1955. Bobett won Paris Roubaix earlier that year, but I don't know why he didn't ride the Tour in 1956.

For previous editions without last year's winner, I believe 1907 was without Rene Pottier who had commited suicide after winning in 1906.

Of Merckx actually being attacked and injured by a fan. Merckx is a barrel of interesting Tour history. That same tour he broke his jaw. Still finished second on green, yellow, and polka-dot. :O A couple years prior he was asked not to ride the tour because of idiots "defending" Anquetil's tour wins record.

Outside of good mountain stages, I think the history of cheating in the tour is my favorite thing. The face of cheating changed with the times, but it's always been there and always will be.

And the back story of Henri Degranges' nearly three decade long ban on variable gearing in the Tour: Velocio showed him up back in '02 and never let him forget it!

tcs

When I saw this thread I thought of a great online history of the TdF (http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/tdf/tdfbook1.html) that I had read a few years ago. I was able to find it in my bookmarks but, unfortunately, it’s no longer free – but it’s now available in hard copy as well as online.

The winner of the first (1903) TdF won again the second year but was disqualified for taking a shortcut - LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Tour_de_France). The 1904 TdF was riddled with scandals and in all NINE riders were disqualified, five months after the race was over.

OK, Tour trivia question: LANCE! retired on a win... after his last win he did not try again and lose. Who was the last rider before him to do that?

edit - this is not a trick question about Flandis.

The winner of the first (1903) TdF won again the second year but was disqualified for taking a shortcut - LINK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Tour_de_France). The 1904 TdF was riddled with scandals and in all NINE riders were disqualified, five months after the race was over.

OK, Tour trivia question: LANCE! retired on a win... after his last win he did not try again and lose. Who was the last rider before him to do that?

edit - this is not a trick question about Flandis.

Might it be a real champions champion and the only rider to win all the major jerseys in both the TDF and Giro in the same year? (Note before there were 3 major jerseys there were 2, which also gives how long ago this was if I am right).

Note: This is retiring from the TDF, he rode a bit more afterwards, just not the TDF as far as I can see.

Might it be a real champions champion. Yes.



and the only rider to win all the major jerseys in both the TDF and Giro in the same year? . I don't think that's true of anybody, even before the points jersey became a prize.





Note: This is retiring from the TDF, he rode a bit more afterwards, just not the TDF as far as I can see.

Correct, all the other TdF winners since then tried for one more and lost.

I don't think that's true of anybody, even before the points jersey became a prize.


1949 first time any rider won 2 Grand Tours in the same year. And he won the KOM in both. Think he came close in '52 also, winning both and picking up one KOM and second in the other. (Not positive about the second).

Guess I'll give one, a guessable one.

Which rider(s) have crossed the final finish line first while wearing the yellow jersey.

One other rare occurance is a rider winning the GC and the most aggressive rider award in the same year. Don't remember if there is more than one. The only rider who did it more than once is easy to guess. (There are several who won the most aggressive and finished second, which makes sense, the one trailing has to attack).

NOTE: Winning the final stage is NOT the same as crossing the final finish line first. Historically many years this feat as I described it is impossible.

1949 first time any rider won 2 Grand Tours in the same year. And he won the KOM in both. Think he came close in '52 also, winning both and picking up one KOM and second in the other. (Not positive about the second).

Guess I'll give one, a guessable one.

Which rider(s) have crossed the final finish line first while wearing the yellow jersey.

One other rare occurance is a rider winning the GC and the most aggressive rider award in the same year. Don't remember if there is more than one. The only rider who did it more than once is easy to guess. (There are several who won the most aggressive and finished second, which makes sense, the one trailing has to attack).

NOTE: Winning the final stage is NOT the same as crossing the final finish line first. Historically many years this feat as I described it is impossible.

Yup, it was Coppi - I think I may have misread some of my data about the jerseys and I think he did win both GC and Mountains in both Giro-Tour doubles.

When is crossing the line first not the same as winning - ?? A time trial? First lap around the Champs? I don't get it.

OK, Tour trivia question: LANCE! retired on a win... after his last win he did not try again and lose. Who was the last rider before him to do that?

edit - this is not a trick question about Flandis.


Joop Zoetemelk?

Joop Zoetemelk?

No, it was Coppi.

Joop won in 1980 and then raced at least two more Tours without winning.

Yup, it was Coppi - I think I may have misread some of my data about the jerseys and I think he did win both GC and Mountains in both Giro-Tour doubles.

When is crossing the line first not the same as winning - ?? A time trial? First lap around the Champs? I don't get it.

You got the distinction. The last time (probably forever since the current Paris finish with multiple laps is a guarenteed payoff) there was a TT for the final stage whe when Lemond Nipped Figneon. At that point final stage TTs were the exception. But go back 10 more years and they were the rule. And since the leader starts last the Yellow jersey holder will always be in the last few finishers on a TT.

Oh and the other half, in the yellow Jersey. That excludes Pre WW II and I think part of the years betwen the wars. Go back far enough and it would be reasonably common as in the very early years there was no peleton as we know it today.

I have some trivia, easiest to hardest.
Who had the greatest number of years between tour victories? And how many years was it?
What was the was the first year that allowed the use of derailleurs?
What was the derailleur used that year (all teams used the same one)?
What was the derailleur used by the Italian team the following year (it was a special dispensation)?




That excludes Pre WW II and I think part of the years betwen the wars. Go back far enough and it would be reasonably common as in the very early years there was no peleton as we know it today.

I am not so sure about that,this is from the 1936 TdF and I have a few prewar Giro pictures with a large peleton.

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/d/251727-11/refills.JPG

Nice picture! I love this stuff...post more if you have them. :thumb:

Just when you thought all July threads on this forum were duds along comes a real gem! :thumb:

Thanks to all for all of the great posts.

An insight into the infamous "Vous êtes des assassins!" quote and some other snippets can be found here:

http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/20

Keep them coming.

in answer to your first question about longest stretch between victories...

has to be Gino Bartalli in 1938 and again in 1948

to this day, he is the only man with wins 10 years apart in the Tour.

iab:

1937 was the first year for derailleurs
I believe it was the Super Champion.
Cambio Corsa?

ok, easy one:
Who holds the record for the most tours completed? how many?

yep, an easy one...

Joop Zoetemelk rode the Tour 16 times

so now here's one on the Derailleur (mechanical) theme...

in 1906 Rene Pottier made a modification to his bike which gave him an advantage going downhill and helped him win the Tour. What was the modification to his bike?

Drop bars?

Joop has 16 I think. I remember him winning in 80 when Hinault had some problems.

http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/pics/zoetemelk_j9.jpg

God I feel old!

(edit: and slow!)

in answer to your first question about longest stretch between victories...

has to be Gino Bartalli in 1938 and again in 1948

to this day, he is the only man with wins 10 years apart in the Tour.

Just a sidenote. They were 10 year apart but also back to back. No TDFs between those wins for Gino.

yep, an easy one...

Joop Zoetemelk rode the Tour 16 times

so now here's one on the Derailleur (mechanical) theme...

in 1906 Rene Pottier made a modification to his bike which gave him an advantage going downhill and helped him win the Tour. What was the modification to his bike?

Based on hte date I'd guess it was a freewheel, so standard today we forget about it, except for fixie guys.

Drop bars?

nope.

the question is now on the previous page, so I'll post it again...

"in 1906 Rene Pottier made a modification to his bike which gave him an advantage going downhill and helped him win the Tour. What was the modification to his bike? "

geez this one's got me. . . .

marty

Based on hte date I'd guess it was a freewheel, so standard today we forget about it, except for fixie guys.

that's a REALLY good guess, but 1907 was the first year to see a bicycle with a freewheel

...but you are getting warmer

flip flop hub? bigger gear for downhill?

(that's a wag, wild as'd guess).

nope.

the question is now on the previous page, so I'll post it again...

"in 1906 Rene Pottier made a modification to his bike which gave him an advantage going downhill and helped him win the Tour. What was the modification to his bike? "

Did he remove his chain?

flip flop hub? bigger gear for downhill?

(that's a wag, wild as'd guess).

no....I'll call a time limit on this since I need to take care of a couple things here

He welded two posts to his frame to serve as footrests so he could coast down the hills. He got the idea the year before in 1905 when he was the first up the Ballon d'Alsace, but then retired the next day with tendonitis. The clear advantage he gained from coasting led to the freewheel, which made its debut the following year in 1907.

Joop has 16 I think. I remember him winning in 80 when Hinault had some problems.

http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/pics/zoetemelk_j9.jpg

God I feel old!

(edit: and slow!)

Hahahaha, what does that make me? I was at least a "6 Tour veteran" by then! :D

Remember when the Yellow Jerseys all said BANANIA on the side panels? I never figured out what that was about until years later when Al Gore invented the internet and then I Goooooogled it. Some kind of breakfast drink made out of bananas and chocolate and available only in France (?). Seems like a good match for a jersey sponsor. This was before Credit Lyonaise.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Banania4.jpg

Merckx is a barrel of interesting Tour history. That same tour he broke his jaw. Still finished second on green, yellow, and polka-dot. :O A couple years prior he was asked not to ride the tour because of idiots "defending" Anquetil's tour wins record.

Common knowledge for most, interesting for newbies - in 1973 when Merckx didn't race the Tour, he raced and won both the Giro and Vuelta.

Common knowledge for most, interesting for newbies - in 1973 when Merckx didn't race the Tour, he raced and won both the Giro and Vuelta.

And won 2 major Jerseys in each. Coppi is the only other rider to end up with 4 jerseys from Major Tours in one year.

Eddy started the TDF 7 times and has 10 Major TDF Jerseys. Better than 1 per Tour.

Here is a easy for some question. Only 4 riders have won all 3 major Tours. They have something else in common relative to the TDF that is fairly unusual. Coppi did this too, Armstrong and Mig did not.

Remember when the Yellow Jerseys all said BANANIA on the side panels? I never figured out what that was about until years later when Al Gore invented the internet and then I Goooooogled it. Some kind of breakfast drink made out of bananas and chocolate and available only in France (?). Seems like a good match for a jersey sponsor. This was before Credit Lyonaise.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Banania4.jpg

oh no i remember that...and Zoetemelk

nostalgia is great,just makes you feel old!

And won 2 major Jerseys in each. Coppi is the only other rider to end up with 4 jerseys from Major Tours in one year.

Eddy started the TDF 7 times and has 10 Major TDF Jerseys. Better than 1 per Tour.

Here is a easy for some question. Only 4 riders have won all 3 major Tours. They have something else in common relative to the TDF that is fairly unusual. Coppi did this too, Armstrong and Mig did not.

The only thing I can think of is that they also won Paris Roubaix and the World Championship in their careers, but Master Jaques never won Paris Roubaix.

But Hinault, Gimondi and Merckx did

Here is a easy for some question. Only 4 riders have won all 3 major Tours. They have something else in common relative to the TDF that is fairly unusual. Coppi did this too, Armstrong and Mig did not.I know Merckx, Anquetil, and Coppi all held the Hour Record, too. Is that it?

Can't be right, Big Mig did that. :P

It's not winning world and national titles, either. I find all kinds of things that three of the four did. I need to learn some more history...

I know Merckx, Anquetil, and Coppi all held the Hour Record, too. Is that it?

Can't be right, Big Mig did that. :P

It's not winning world and national titles, either. I find all kinds of things that three of the four did. I need to learn some more history...

OK Coppi is NOT one of the riders to win all 3 major Tours. I mentioned him as one other who did the fairly rare thing that all 4 winners of all 3 Tours did.

Note Coppi is s clue of sorts. Once you know the answer it is not remarkable that Coppi did this.

Another clue of sorts. It will not surprise me if this never happens again. Oh it is no less possible, just that trends work against it.

Oh just to give the list of the 4:

Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx and Hinault.

The thing is a TDF thing. No other race pure TDF.

Oh and it often gets mentioned in a writeup of Felice Gimondi, but usually in a way yuo can miss it.

The only thing I can think of is that they also won Paris Roubaix and the World Championship in their careers, but Master Jaques never won Paris Roubaix.

But Hinault, Gimondi and Merckx did

Right that is not it. But since you mentioned PR. 2 of the 4 winners of all 3 tours have a combo no one else does. They each have won Paris Roubaix and the Worlds in the same year they won the TDF. That means one year a TDF Paris Roubaix double and a different year a TDF Worlds double. Those are Hinault and Merckx.

Merckx is the only rider to double Paris Roubaix ant the Giro, which he did 3 times, including triples with both theTDF and Vuelta.

yes, 1956 had no previous winner in the field. the previous winner was Louison Bobett who had just been the first man to win 3 strait winning in 1953,1954,and 1955. Bobett won Paris Roubaix earlier that year, but I don't know why he didn't ride the Tour in 1956.

For previous editions without last year's winner, I believe 1907 was without Rene Pottier who had commited suicide after winning in 1906.

There have been quite a few without the previous winner. Merckx, Hinault and LeMond each account for at least one instance. It is a TDF with no one who has previously won that is rare.

iab:

1937 was the first year for derailleurs
I believe it was the Super Champion.
Cambio Corsa?



Marty is correct with the Super Champion. What about 1938? What did the Italians use to win over everyone else using the Super Champion?

And since you brought up the Cambio Corsa, what year was it's sole win at the TdF?

And won 2 major Jerseys in each. Coppi is the only other rider to end up with 4 jerseys from Major Tours in one year.

Eddy started the TDF 7 times and has 10 Major TDF Jerseys. Better than 1 per Tour.

Here is a easy for some question. Only 4 riders have won all 3 major Tours. They have something else in common relative to the TDF that is fairly unusual. Coppi did this too, Armstrong and Mig did not.

Thought I'd give a few more hints.

If someone were to count through Eddy's 7 TDFs they might get a clue.
Hinault takes the answer to this question farther into a couple of unique things.
Coppi while not one to win all 3 Grand Tours did this, and coupled with what DiabloScott asked where Coppi was the answer probably means Coppi is totally unique in a meaningful way.
Look to the patern of Anquetil's wins. It is a clue.
Read up on Gimondi. He almost did not compete in the 1965 TDF. If you know why the answer is right in front of you.

Oh and of course Maurice Garin did this, but it is a bit less impressive in his case.

BTW is Wiki still sort of wrong on thier writeup on Merckx? They say he would have won the white jersey in the 1969 TDFfor best young rider if it had existed then. In fact Eddy won the white jersey 4 times, the most of any rider. But back then it was the combo jersey. (and yes this is a clue).



Oh and

Here is a easy for some question. Only 4 riders have won all 3 major Tours. They have something else in common relative to the TDF that is fairly unusual. Coppi did this too, Armstrong and Mig did not.

Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, Hinault, and Coppi in the Tour hmmm.

I give up - tell us and let's move on!

Wait... they won the first Tour they raced? I think I got it! And Hinault also won his first Vuelta earlier that same year. Anquetil not only won his first TdF he wore yellow from day 1 to the finish. The Garin clue fits as well.

I win. :giver:

Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, Hinault, and Coppi in the Tour hmmm.

I give up - tell us and let's move on!

Wait... they won the first Tour they raced? I think I got it! And Hinault also won his first Vuelta earlier that same year. The Garin clue fits as well. I win.

Ding ding ding, I think we have a winner, but I'll have Keith have the final say.

This is an interesting story, Euro Sport was talking about it so I looked it up. The Tour has a rich and very interesting history and it is stories like these that make the Tour more and more interesting to me.


Taken from the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/in_depth/2001/tour_de_france/1364736.stm)

When a rider, Eugene Christophe, broke his forks in the Pyrenees he stopped off at a forge, begged a length of metal and started to fix the bike himself.

A race official looked - the rider had to do all this work on his own or face penalties.

A small boy operating the bellows in the blacksmith's forge cost the rider an extra time delay in addition to the hours he had lost making the repair.





I believe he received at 10 sec penalty :lol:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=interesting

Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, Hinault, and Coppi in the Tour hmmm.

I give up - tell us and let's move on!

Wait... they won the first Tour they raced? I think I got it! And Hinault also won his first Vuelta earlier that same year. Anquetil not only won his first TdF he wore yellow from day 1 to the finish. The Garin clue fits as well.

I win. :giver:

Yup and you got the points of most of the clues too. (maybe all and just not mentioning them).

You got most of Hinault. He doubled the first year he rode a major tour Tour/Vuelta. Next year the first time he rode hte Giro he won it, making him the only rider ever to win each of the 3 major tours on his first try.

As you lead us to earlier Coppi also won the last TDF he rode. I think he is the only one to come in and go out a winner.

Gimondi is interesting. He was not slated to ride the TDF, but he had a good Giro and a spot opened up. But he felt he was not ready for the TDF and was afraid a poor Tour was a real possibility under the circumstances and that this might have a negative impact on his contract for next year. So he refused until he had a contract for the next year. He then go this only TDF win.

And of course Eddy won his first TDF in what seems to be the most dominant perfrmance ever in the TDF. Winning everything! Yellow, KOM, Green, Most aggressive rider and final stage. His team won the team championship and his winning margin of over 17 minutes was more than the previous 7 winning margins combined.

Bike Forums history note: There was a thread some time ago on riders to win their first TDf. One interesting thing from that is it seems the official TDF site is often wrong, or at least incomplete. Many riders that folks got from there won on their first finish but had a DNF before that which the official site failed to list.

I can't believe it was something so obvious.

I read the clue mentioning Garin and just slapped my forehead. I was chasing all over for something small and even from the start you said it was an easy one.

Wow, the lanterne rouge was over 64 hours back in 1903. That's over 10 hours a stage slower. Still, an epic accomplishment.