Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races. Ellis Bacon

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       1930

       24th Edition

	Start: Paris, France, on 2 JulyFinish: Paris, France, on 27 July
	Total distance: 4818 km (2994 miles)Longest stage: 333 km (207 miles)
	Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft) Mountain stages: 6
	Starters: 100Finishers: 59
	Winning time: 172 h 12’ 16”Average speed: 28.000 kph (17.398 mph)
	1. André Leducq (Fra)2. Learco Guerra (Ita) at 14’ 13” 3. Antonin Magne (Fra) at 16’ 03”

      The Tour headed into the fourth decade of the twentieth century with some revolutionary changes. Having become annoyed with the sponsored teams dictating how his race was ridden, Henri Desgrange responded by organising the 1930 edition of the Tour as one for national teams, and it would remain that way until 1962. The sponsors – most of them bicycle manufacturers – were damaged further in 1930 by Desgrange’s insistence that all participants rode identical yellow bicycles provided by the race organisers.

      The team time trials of the previous few years were gone, too, but the race retained the ‘outside circuit’ of the country, continuing to avoid central France entirely.

      There were some new stage towns on the route, however, and these included Cannes, Montpellier and Pau, with the latter two, in particular, going on to be well used by the race in the future thanks to being large towns with the ability to house the Tour’s ever-increasing convoy. In fact, 1930 was the first time that the famous publicity caravan appeared – a cavalcade of floats promoting the race’s advertising partners’ products.

      André Leducq had won five stages in 1929, and although he ‘only’ won two on his way to his victory in 1930, his team-mate Charles Pélissier – the youngest of the three Pélissier brothers – took eight stages: a record he now shares with Eddy Merckx and Freddy Maertens.

      Marcel Bidot, Magne brothers Pierre and Antonin, André Leducq and Charles Pélissier (left to right) pose with matching bikes

       1931

       25th Edition

	Start: Paris, France, on 30 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 26 July
	Total distance: 5095 km (3166 miles)Longest stage: 338 km (210 miles)
	Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft) Mountain stages: 9
	Starters: 81Finishers: 35
	Winning time: 177 h 10’ 03”Average speed: 28.735 kph (17.885 mph)
	1. Antonin Magne (Fra)2. Jef Demuysere (Bel) at 12’ 56” 3. Antonio Pesenti (Ita) at 22’ 51”

      Just as it had with each year that passed, the Tour continued to grow both in prestige and in renown, and there were more ‘firsts’ as Max Bulla became the first Austrian to wear the yellow jersey, following his win on stage 2 between Caen and Dinan, and the race added Gap, Aix-les-Bains and Colmar as first-time stage hosts – more towns that would later become real regulars on the Tour’s route.

      Frenchman Antonin Magne gained his first of two Tour victories, taking decisive control of the race once it hit the mountains for the first time on stage 9 between Pau and Luchon, which took the riders over the by now extremely tried and tested Col d’Aubisque and Col du Tourmalet. The yellow jersey then remained safely on Magne’s capable shoulders all the way to Paris, where a ‘pitch invasion’ – or, rather, a track invasion – welcomed him home as the winner once the race reached the velodrome at the Parc des Princes.

      If Magne was a great rider, he was an even better directeur sportif, going on to manage the mighty mauve Mercier team in the 1950s and 1960s, whose charges included Raymond Poulidor, Jean Stablinski and Britain’s Barry Hoban.

      Charles Pélissier and Antonin Magne recover after the gruelling stage from Nice to Gap

       1932

       26th Edition

Start: Paris, France, СКАЧАТЬ В начало < 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 > В конец