Originally Posted by
harlond
There's no shortage of guys 19-24 years old that have won the Tour; there's only been one winner over the age of 34, and that was in 1922. We've had ninety years for some old guy to perfect his training, and still no 35-year-old winner.
Yes, and that win was based on a bit of luck. Several riders were ahead of Lambot on the general classification and suffered 'crippling' mechanical issues. Philippe Thys (first 3 time winner) broke his wheel and lost 3 hours. Hector Heusghem broke his bicycle and exchanged it for a new one (illegal at the time) and was given a 1 hour penalty for the infraction. That is how Lambot was able to take over the lead and win the Tour de France at the age of 36 in 1922.
There is some really good information on this in the book, "The Story of the Tour de France"