What the Tour de France looked like in 1903
 

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http://i.imgur.com/S3kVMQq.jpg

cool, but you need to get some pictures of riders tossing their bikes in trucks to catch a ride when no one was looking.:D

Nice. Fixed gear, no brakes and no helmet! I wonder if it was done in the spring because those outfits would make it called the Tour De Sweat!

It appears that the mustache was also standard equipment. Such a civilized sport...

How much cocaine to make it through the whole race.....It was legal then....:) 100 years of doping and still going.....

But training was illegal!

Seriously?!?!?!

I wonder what cars and motorcycles the chase crews used to use?

Looks like some kind of hat was required?

One must always look right dapper!

M.

The TDF is just a complete waste of time. Cheating has been rampant throughout. Why dethrone Lance when frankly they should just erase the entire history of the event to be fair. The sport gets no credibility because of the whiny, tattle tale, babyish, frankly rather odd behavior of the whole cast of characters fit for a reality TV program a notch below the Cardashians and Duck Dynasty. Why does it matter which cheater won a fake race where the winner is picked, restore Lance and get off his back.

LC

Quite.

You missed the pun.

1904 had the largest percentage of disqualifications ever in a TDF. (True DQs, not time elimination or retiring). 12 of riders were disqualified, including the first 4 finishers resulting in in Henri Cornet who originally was just 33 seconds short of 3 hours behind the winner being the new winner. He is still the youngest winner ever.

Oh and most of the disqualifications were fro catching a train. Training if you will.

ahaha, yeah I know almost nothing about the TdF or it's history thanks for explaining.

I almost don't blame them for taking a train, the organizers had some insane rules. A rider getting a 10 minute penalty after walking 6 miles because he had someone handle the bellows at the forge while he fixed his bike was a bit extreme.

While 10 minutes seems like a lot it wasn't. Overall he lost over 3 hours that day. In fact the reasonable complaint for that year is that Phiippe Thys only got a 10 minute penalty for the help he received later in stage 14. He won be 8' 37". The third place rider was over 3 and a half hours back.

Do you have a source or link for this info, would be a fun read.

love old photography, surreal, looks almost like a drawing

Thanks.