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1910 Tour de France

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1910 Tour de France
Map of France with the route of the 1910 Tour de France on it, showing that the race started in Paris, went clockwise through France and ended in Paris after fourteen stages.
Route of the 1910 Tour de France followed clockwise, starting in Paris
Race details
Dates3–31 July 1910
Stages15
Distance4,734 km (2,942 mi)
Winning time63 points
Results
  Winner  Octave Lapize (FRA)
  Second  François Faber (LUX)
  Third  Gustave Garrigou (FRA)
← 1909
1911 →

The 1910 Tour de France was the eighth edition of the Tour de France, taking place 3 to 31 July. It consisted of 15 stages over 4,734 kilometres (2,942 mi), ridden at an average speed of 28.680 km/h.[1] It was the first Tour to enter the Pyrenees mountains. Two main candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a sprinter, and Octave Lapize, a climber, both members of the powerful Alcyon team. Because of the points system, their chances for the overall victory were approximately equal. The race was not decided until the final stage, after which Lapize had won by a difference of only four points.

Innovations and changes

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The courses of the Tour de France in 1907, 1908 and 1909 had been nearly identical. In 1910, the Pyrenees were included, an initiative from Adolphe Steinès, who had drawn the course for the Tour de France since the first Tour in 1903.[2] Compared to the 1907, 1908 and 1909 Tours, the stages Nîmes-Toulouse and Toulouse-Bayonne were replaced by three stages, Nîmes–Perpignan, Perpignan–Luchon and Luchon–Bayonne.[3]

Tour organiser Henri Desgrange at first refused the inclusion of the Pyrenees,[4] but later gave in and sent Steinès to the Pyrenees to see if it was possible to send cyclists up the mountains. Steinès encountered many difficulties. He went there at 27 January 1910, and asked an innkeeper for directions over the Tourmalet. The innkeeper replied that it is barely crossable in July, so practically impossible in January. Steinès hired a car anyway and rode up the mountain. Close to the top, there was so much snow that the car could not go further, and he continued on foot. Steinès walked during the night, and fell down a ravine.[4] At 3 a.m. he was found by a search party. He quickly got some food and a hot bath.[5] The next morning, he sent a positive telegram to Desgrange: "Have crossed the Tourmalet on foot STOP Road passable to vehicles STOP No snow STOP".[6]

When it was announced that the Pyrenees were included in the race, 136 cyclists had entered the race. After the news, 26 cyclists removed themselves from the starting list.[7] Other newspapers reacted to the Tour's route as "dangerous" and "bizarre".[5]

Also new in 1910 was the broom wagon, to pick up the cyclists that abandoned during the race.[3] This was a reaction of the Tour organisers to the criticism of the cyclists, many cycling independently with no team support,[8] on the difficult mountains.[4] It was designed to prevent riders from cheating, by using other forms of transport.[8] In the tenth stage, over the four mountains in the Pyrenees, cyclists were allowed to finish the stage in the broom wagon and still start the next stage.[4][8]

Technically, a new addition were gears. Lucien Petit-Breton, Maurice Brocco, Henri Cornet, Charles Pavese and Jean Alavoine rode with gears.[3]

What had not changed was the points system. A cyclist received points, based on their rankings. As in 1909, the points system was "cleaned up" two times: after the 9th stage and after the 14th stage. Cyclists who had abandoned the race were removed from the rankings of the previous stages, and the classification was recalculated.[3]

Teams

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For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 1910 Tour de France.

Although cyclist were in 1909 able to register for the Tour with a sponsor, they were still considered to be riding as individuals; in 1910 they competed for the first time in teams.[9]

The cyclists were not so enthusiastic about the inclusion of the Pyrenées, and there were fewer participants: 110 instead of 150 in 1909.[2] There were three teams with 10 cyclists each,[10] including all the favourites for the overall victory: Alcyon, Le Globe and Legnano. The French team "La Française" decided not to join, but allowed their cyclists to ride for the Italian Legnano team.[11] The other 80 cyclists rode as individuals, this was called the "isolés" category.[3]

Race overview

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Main articles: 1910 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 8 and 1910 Tour de France, Stage 9 to Stage 15
Octave Lapize after winning the Tour at the Parc des Princes in Paris

The first stage, from Paris to Roubaix, was won by Charles Crupelandt. In the second stage, François Faber showed his strengths, and won the stage, and took the lead.[2]

On the rest day between the sixth and seventh stage in Nice, cyclist Adolphe Hélière died whilst swimming. He was the first victim of the Tour de France.[3] In the ninth stage, four mountains were climbed, and Desgrange saw how much trouble the cyclists had on these mountains. The tenth stage would include the Pyrenees mountains, so Desgrange left the race and made Victor Breyer the director of the stage.[12] In that tenth stage, the Tourmalet was climbed, the highest point of the 1910 Tour de France. Octave Lapize reached the top first, followed by Gustave Garrigou. Garrigou was the only cyclist who reached the top without dismounting, and received an extra prize of 100 francs for that.[3] The next climb was the Aubisque. Lapize struggled there, and regional rider François Lafourcade lead the race. The organisers had a car standing in top, and when Lafourcade passed them, they did not recognize him, and when they found out it was Lafourcade, they were surprised that such an unknown rider had been able to pass all the 'cracks'.[13] When Lapize passed the organiser's car (15 minutes later),[8] he screamed "Assassins!",[14] and announced that he would give up during the descent.[13] Downhill, he refound his strength and was able to catch up to Lafourcade, and even win the stage.[14] By the end of the stage, ten riders had officially completed the stage on bike.[8]

After the 12th stage, Faber was leading the race by only one point.[15] In that stage to Brest, Faber punctured,[2] and Lapize took over the lead, helped by Garrigou.[2]

In the 14th stage, Faber sped away almost from the start in what could be his last chance to win the Tour de France. It seemed that he had a chance, until a flat tyre caused him to lose time, and Lapize could get back to him, again aided by Garrigou.[2] Lapize improved his lead by winning the stage, and had a six-point margin before the last stage. In that last stage, it was Lapize who suffered from a flat tyre, shortly after the start.[2] Faber raced away, but could not pull off the stunt: he had a flat tyre.[2] He still finished ahead of Lapize, but won back only two points, so the 1910 Tour de France was won by Lapize.

Results

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The Alcyon team was dominant in the 1910 Tour de France, winning 9 out of 15 stages.[3]

Stage results

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Stage characteristics and winners[3][16][17][18]
Stage Date Course Distance Type[a] Winner Race leader
1 3 July Paris to Roubaix 269 km (167 mi) Plain stage  Charles Crupelandt (FRA)  Charles Crupelandt (FRA)
2 5 July Roubaix to Metz 398 km (247 mi) Plain stage  François Faber (LUX)  François Faber (LUX)
3 7 July Metz to Belfort 259 km (161 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Emile Georget (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
4 9 July Belfort to Lyon 309 km (192 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  François Faber (LUX)  François Faber (LUX)
5 11 July Lyon to Grenoble 311 km (193 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Octave Lapize (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
6 13 July Grenoble to Nice 345 km (214 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Julien Maitron (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
7 15 July Nice to Nîmes 345 km (214 mi) Plain stage  François Faber (LUX)  François Faber (LUX)
8 17 July Nîmes to Perpignan 216 km (134 mi) Plain stage  Georges Paulmier (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
9 19 July Perpignan to Luchon 289 km (180 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Octave Lapize (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
10 21 July Luchon to Bayonne 326 km (203 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Octave Lapize (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
11 23 July Bayonne to Bordeaux 269 km (167 mi) Plain stage  Ernest Paul (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
12 25 July Bordeaux to Nantes 391 km (243 mi) Plain stage  Louis Trousselier (FRA)  François Faber (LUX)
13 27 July Nantes to Brest 321 km (199 mi) Plain stage  Gustave Garrigou (FRA)  Octave Lapize (FRA)
14 29 July Brest to Caen 424 km (263 mi) Plain stage  Octave Lapize (FRA)  Octave Lapize (FRA)
15 31 July Caen to Paris 262 km (163 mi) Plain stage  Ernesto Azzini (ITA)  Octave Lapize (FRA)
Total 4,734 km (2,942 mi)[1]

General classification

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A man walking uphill, alongside his bicycle, followed by a car.
Octave Lapize, the winner of the 1910 Tour de France, climbing the Tourmalet on foot.

Of the 110 starting cyclists, 41 finished. The winner, Octave Lapize, received 5000 francs for his victory.[14] In total, he earned 7525 francs during the race; the average daily wages were around 5 to 7 francs.[19]

Final general classification (1–10)[20]
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Octave Lapize (FRA) Alcyon 63
2  François Faber (LUX) Alcyon 67
3  Gustave Garrigou (FRA) Alcyon 86
4  Cyrille van Hauwaert (BEL) Alcyon 97
5  Charles Cruchon (FRA) – 119
6  Charles Crupelandt (FRA) Le Globe 148
7  Ernest Paul (FRA) – 154
8  André Blaise (BEL) Alcyon 166
9  Julien Maitron (FRA) Le Globe 171
10  Aldo Bettini (ITA) Alcyon 175

Other classifications

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Fifth-placed Charles Cruchon became the winner of the "isolés" category.[21] The organising newspaper l'Auto named Octave Lapize the meilleur grimpeur. This unofficial title is the precursor to the mountains classification.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ In 1910, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stages included mountains.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Augendre 2016, p. 108.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Amels 1984, pp. 15–16.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "8ème Tour de France 1910" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d McGann & McGann 2006, pp. 640–646.
  5. ^ a b "Top 25 All Time Tours: 1910: "Assassins..."". Cycling revealed. February 2006. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  6. ^ James, Tom (14 August 2003). "1910: The "Assassins" send the race to the Pyrenees". Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  7. ^ "De angst voor de Pyreneeën" (in Dutch). Tourdefrance.nl. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e Cossins et al. 2013, pp. 48–49.
  9. ^ Thompson 2006, p. 36.
  10. ^ "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1910 – The starters". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  11. ^ "De Ronde van Frankrijk – 5000 km, 25.000 fr prijzen". De Poperinghenaar (in Dutch). 26 June 1910. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  12. ^ "The Tour and the Pyrenees: a love affair embarked upon one hundred years ago". Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  13. ^ a b Mulholland 2003.
  14. ^ a b c "1910 – 8th Tour de France". ASO. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  15. ^ "8ème Tour de France 1910, 12èm étape" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  16. ^ Augendre 2016, p. 12.
  17. ^ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC top ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2009.
  18. ^ "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1910 – The stage winners". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  19. ^ Thompson 2006, p. 152.
  20. ^ a b "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1910 – Stage 15 Caen > Paris". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  21. ^ "l'Historique du Tour – Année 1910" (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  22. ^ Cleijne 2014, p. 156.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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Media related to Tour de France 1910 at Wikimedia Commons

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