1924 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1924 Tour de France was the 18th edition of the Tour de France
and was won by Ottavio Bottecchia
. He was the first Italian
cyclist to win the Tour and the first rider to hold the yellow jersey
the entire event. The race was held over 5,425 km with an average speed of 23.972 km/h (14.896 mph). 60 riders finished the race from the original 157 cyclists.
Entrants of the 1924 Tour included several past and future winners including defending champion Henri Pélissier (1923
), Philippe Thys
(1913
, 1914
, 1920
), Lucien Buysse (1926
) and Nicolas Frantz (1927
, 1928
).
The event saw the increase of the time bonus for stage wins move from 2 minutes to 3 minutes. In addition, it was the final year of the 15-stage format that had started in 1910
. One of the most important events of the race occurred on the third stage, when defending champion Pélissier quit the race because of a new fight with tour organiser Henri Desgrange.
After the 1923 Tour de France, the winner Henri Pélissier had said that the runner-up Bottecchia would go on to win the race.
At the start of the third stage, a tour official checked how many jerseys Henri Pélissier was wearing. Pélissier was angry, and declared that he would not start the race. He did so anyway, but retired at Coutances
, together with his brother Francis Pélissier
and team mate Maurice Ville. The three cyclists met journalist Albert Londres
of Petit Parisien, to whom they complained about the circumstances in which the cyclists had to race.
In that third stage, that ended on a circuit, Theophile Beeckman
crossed the finish line first. However, the bell indicating the last lap was not rung, and Philippe Thys
was placed ex aequo on the first place by the officials.
In the first five stages, the cyclists finished in groups, and the time bonus of three minutes for the winner was the only thing that separated the cyclists. After the third and fourth stage, Bottecchia had the same time as Beeckman, although Bottecchia was still given the yellow jersey as classification leader. In the sixth and seventh stage, Bottecchia extended his lead in the Pyrénées
. After these stages, he had a margin of 50 minutes over second-placed Nicolas Frantz
.
In the Alps, Bottecchia was not so dominant anymore. In stages 10 to 13, Frantz won back a few minutes per stage, but it was not enough.
In the thirteenth stage, Bottecchia ran into a dog and fell. Nicolas Frantz tried to win back time, but failed.
In the penultimate stage, Italian Giovanni Brunero
was in third place in the overall classification, when he had to give up. Prior to the last stage, the margin between Bottecchia and Frantz was still 32 minutes. Bottecchia won the final stage to Paris, and the time bonus of 3 minutes made the margin 35 minutes.
from the start to the end of the Tour de France.
, writing that he accepted "‘excessive fatigue, suffering, pain" as part of the cycling profession, but that he wanted to be treated as a human being. Tour organiser Desgrange still kept to his formula of trying to get the cyclists to ride individually until 1930, when he accepted that cyclists would run in teams and introduced nationalized teams.
The number of stages increased in the next years. For example, in 1925 the cyclists went from Brest to Bayonne in two stages, racing 900 km (559.2 mi) in total; in 1926 this was done in four stages, racing 894 km (555.5 mi). With these shorter stages, the cyclists did not have to start in the middle of the night.
Bottecchia would win the Tour de France again in 1925. The runner-up, Nicolas Frantz, would win in 1927 and 1928; in 1928 he would repeat the feat of Bottecchia of wearing the yellow jersey the entire race.
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...
and was won by Ottavio Bottecchia
Ottavio Bottecchia
Ottavio Bottecchia was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France. He was found dead by the roadside; the reason remains a mystery.-Origins:...
. He was the first Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
cyclist to win the Tour and the first rider to hold 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:...
the entire event. The race was held over 5,425 km with an average speed of 23.972 km/h (14.896 mph). 60 riders finished the race from the original 157 cyclists.
Entrants of the 1924 Tour included several past and future winners including defending champion Henri Pélissier (1923
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...
), Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.-Professional career:...
(1913
1913 Tour de France
The 1913 Tour de France was the 11th Tour de France, taking place June 29 to July 27, 1913. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . The competition was won by the Belgian Philippe Thys, after in the crucial sixth stage Eugène Christophe broke his bicycle and lost several...
, 1914
1914 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....
, 1920
1920 Tour de France
The 1920 Tour de France was the 14th Tour de France, taking place from June 27 to July 27, 1920. It consisted of 15 stages over , ridden at an average speed of . It was won by Belgian Philippe Thys, making him the first cyclist to win the Tour de France three times...
), Lucien Buysse (1926
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....
) and Nicolas Frantz (1927
1927 Tour de France
The 1927 Tour de France was the 21st Tour de France, taking place June 19 to July 17, 1927. It consisted of 24 stages over 5340 km, ridden at an average speed of 27.224 km/h....
, 1928
1928 Tour de France
The 1928 Tour de France was the 22nd Tour de France, taking place June 17 to July 15, 1928. It consisted of 22 stages over 5,476 km, ridden at an average speed of 28.4 km/h...
).
The event saw the increase of the time bonus for stage wins move from 2 minutes to 3 minutes. In addition, it was the final year of the 15-stage format that had started in 1910
1910 Tour de France
The 1910 Tour de France was the 8th Tour de France, taking place 3 July to 31 July 1910. It consisted of 15 stages over , ridden at an average speed of 28.680 km/h. It was the first Tour to enter the Pyrenees mountains. Two main candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a...
. One of the most important events of the race occurred on the third stage, when defending champion Pélissier quit the race because of a new fight with tour organiser Henri Desgrange.
Changes from the 1923 Tour de France
In 1923, a time bonus of two minutes for each stage winner had been introduced. This was considered successful, and the time bonus was increased to three minutes for the 1924 Tour de France.After the 1923 Tour de France, the winner Henri Pélissier had said that the runner-up Bottecchia would go on to win the race.
Race details
In 1924, there was a rule that the cyclists had to finish with everything they started with, and the officials suspected that Pélissier would start in the cold morning with many jerseys, and remove them once the day warmed up. The rule had been introduced in 1920, when all the cyclists were sponsored by the combined sponsor La Sportive, to prevent waste of material. Pélissier objected to the rule, on the ground that the jerseys that he wore were his own, and had not been provided by the sponsor.At the start of the third stage, a tour official checked how many jerseys Henri Pélissier was wearing. Pélissier was angry, and declared that he would not start the race. He did so anyway, but retired at Coutances
Coutances
Coutances is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-History:Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town took the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus...
, together with his brother 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...
and team mate Maurice Ville. The three cyclists met journalist Albert Londres
Albert Londres
Albert Londres was a French journalist and writer. One of the inventors of investigative journalism, he criticized abuses of colonialism such as forced labour. Albert Londres gave his name to a journalism prize for Francophone journalists.- Biography :Londres was born in Vichy in 1884...
of Petit Parisien, to whom they complained about the circumstances in which the cyclists had to race.
In that third stage, that ended on a circuit, Theophile Beeckman
Théophile Beeckman
Théophile Beeckman was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :19221924...
crossed the finish line first. However, the bell indicating the last lap was not rung, and Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.-Professional career:...
was placed ex aequo on the first place by the officials.
In the first five stages, the cyclists finished in groups, and the time bonus of three minutes for the winner was the only thing that separated the cyclists. After the third and fourth stage, Bottecchia had the same time as Beeckman, although Bottecchia was still given the yellow jersey as classification leader. In the sixth and seventh stage, Bottecchia extended his lead in the Pyrénées
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. After these stages, he had a margin of 50 minutes over second-placed Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz , born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career . He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous...
.
In the Alps, Bottecchia was not so dominant anymore. In stages 10 to 13, Frantz won back a few minutes per stage, but it was not enough.
In the thirteenth stage, Bottecchia ran into a dog and fell. Nicolas Frantz tried to win back time, but failed.
In the penultimate stage, Italian Giovanni Brunero
Giovanni Brunero
Gioanni Giuseppe Brunero was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He ranks 66th on Daniel Marszalek's cyclist ranking, the 18th Italian on the list.-Biography:...
was in third place in the overall classification, when he had to give up. Prior to the last stage, the margin between Bottecchia and Frantz was still 32 minutes. Bottecchia won the final stage to Paris, and the time bonus of 3 minutes made the margin 35 minutes.
Stage winners
| Stage | Date | Route | TerrainThere was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stages included mountains. | Length | Winner | Race leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 June | 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... – 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... |
 |
381 km (236.7 mi) | ||
| 2 | 24 June | Le Havre – Cherbourg | |
371 km (230.5 mi) | ||
| 3 | 26 June | 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 | 28 June | 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 | 30 June | 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 | 2 July | Bayonne – Luchon |  |
326 km (202.6 mi) | ||
| 7 | 4 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 | 6 July | Perpignan – Toulon Toulon Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence.... |
|
427 km (265.3 mi) | ||
| 9 | 8 July | Toulon – 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... |
|
280 km (174 mi) | ||
| 10 | 10 July | Nice – Briançon Briançon Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.... |
|
275 km (170.9 mi) | ||
| 11 | 12 July | Briançon – Gex Gex, Ain Gex is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.It lies from the Swiss border and from Geneva. It is a sous-préfecture of Ain.-History:... |
|
307 km (190.8 mi) | ||
| 12 | 14 July | Gex – 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,... |
|
360 km (223.7 mi) | ||
| 13 | 16 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... |
|
300 km (186.4 mi) | ||
| 14 | 18 July | Metz – Dunkerque | |
433 km (269.1 mi) | ||
| 15 | 20 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... |
|
343 km (213.1 mi) |
General classification
Bottecchia became the first Italian cyclist who won the Tour de France, and the first cyclist to wear the yellow jerseyYellow 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:...
from the start to the end of the Tour de France.
| Rank | Rider | Category | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
1 | 226h 18' 21" |
| 2 | 1 | +35' 36" | |
| 3 | 1 | +1h 32' 13" | |
| 4 | 1 | +1h 32' 47" | |
| 5 | 1 | +2h 11' 12" | |
| 6 | 1 | +2h 35' 33" | |
| 7 | 1 | +2h 41' 31" | |
| 8 | 1 | +2h 51' 09" | |
| 9 | 2 | +2h 58' 13" | |
| 10 | 1 | +3h 05' 04" |
| Final general classification (11–60) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Rider | Category | Time |
| 11 | 1 | +3h 15' 24" | |
| 12 | 1 | +3h 21' 45" | |
| 13 | 1 | +3h 48' 24" | |
| 14 | 1 | +3h 55' 45" | |
| 15 | 2 | +5h 11' 48" | |
| 16 | 1 | +5h 20' 11" | |
| 17 | 2 | +5h 41' 48" | |
| 18 | 1 | +5h 54' 19" | |
| 19 | Touriste-Routier | +6h 00' 04" | |
| 20 | 1 | +6h 26' 21" | |
| 21 | 2 | +6h 43' 13" | |
| 22 | Touriste-Routier | +6h 50' 56" | |
| 23 | 2 | +7h 11' 37" | |
| 24 | Touriste-Routier | +7h 44' 31" | |
| 25 | 1 | +8h 00' 04" | |
| 26 | Touriste-Routier | +12h 29' 46" | |
| 27 | Touriste-Routier | +13h 15' 14" | |
| 28 | Touriste-Routier | +14h 50' 28" | |
| 29 | Touriste-Routier | +15h 16' 18" | |
| 30 | Touriste-Routier | +15h 24' 08" | |
| 31 | Touriste-Routier | +15h 54' 56" | |
| 32 | Touriste-Routier | +16h 11' 51" | |
| 33 | Touriste-Routier | +16h 52' 38" | |
| 34 | Touriste-Routier | +19h 06' 49" | |
| 35 | Touriste-Routier | +19h 11' 39" | |
| 36 | Touriste-Routier | +20h 28' 18" | |
| 37 | Touriste-Routier | +21h 05' 27" | |
| 38 | Touriste-Routier | +22h 11' 50" | |
| 39 | Touriste-Routier | +22h 29' 17" | |
| 40 | Touriste-Routier | +22h 29' 21" | |
| 41 | Touriste-Routier | +23h 22' 06" | |
| 42 | Touriste-Routier | +24h 06' 31" | |
| 43 | Touriste-Routier | +27h 28' 50" | |
| 44 | Touriste-Routier | +27h 29' 43" | |
| 45 | Touriste-Routier | +27h 39' 21" | |
| 46 | Touriste-Routier | +27h 52' 14" | |
| 47 | Touriste-Routier | +28h 24' 17" | |
| 48 | Touriste-Routier | +29h 06' 03" | |
| 49 | Touriste-Routier | +29h 08' 30" | |
| 50 | Touriste-Routier | +29h 48' 55" | |
| 51 | Touriste-Routier | +30h 37' 47" | |
| 52 | Touriste-Routier | +33h 42' 07" | |
| 53 | Touriste-Routier | +35h 39' 35" | |
| 54 | Touriste-Routier | +36h 42' 45" | |
| 55 | Touriste-Routier | +36h 46' 37" | |
| 56 | Touriste-Routier | +38h 01' 35" | |
| 57 | Touriste-Routier | +41h 30' 49" | |
| 58 | Touriste-Routier | +43h 17' 24" | |
| 59 | Touriste-Routier | +44h 51' 39" | |
| 60 | Touriste-Routier | +45h 12' 05" | |
Aftermath
A few days after Henri Pélissier quit the race, he sent a letter to the communist magazine l'HumanitéL'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
, writing that he accepted "‘excessive fatigue, suffering, pain" as part of the cycling profession, but that he wanted to be treated as a human being. Tour organiser Desgrange still kept to his formula of trying to get the cyclists to ride individually until 1930, when he accepted that cyclists would run in teams and introduced nationalized teams.
The number of stages increased in the next years. For example, in 1925 the cyclists went from Brest to Bayonne in two stages, racing 900 km (559.2 mi) in total; in 1926 this was done in four stages, racing 894 km (555.5 mi). With these shorter stages, the cyclists did not have to start in the middle of the night.
Bottecchia would win the Tour de France again in 1925. The runner-up, Nicolas Frantz, would win in 1927 and 1928; in 1928 he would repeat the feat of Bottecchia of wearing the yellow jersey the entire race.