Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races. Ellis Bacon
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Название: Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races
Автор: Ellis Bacon
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Историческая литература
isbn: 9780007585427
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“Oh Sappey, oh Laffrey, oh Col Bayard, oh Tourmalet … You are nothing compared to the Aubisque.”
Henri Desgrange congratulates himself for having organised such a spectacular 1911 Tour
| Start: Paris, France, on 2 JulyFinish: Paris, France, on 30 July | |
| Total distance: 5344 km (3321 miles)Longest stage: 470 km (292 miles) | |
| Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft) Mountain stages: 7 | |
| Starters: 84Finishers: 28 | |
| Winning time: 43 pointsAverage speed: 27.322 kph (16.977 mph) | |
| 1. Gustave Garrigou (Fra) 43 points2. Paul Duboc (Fra) 61 points 3. Émile Georget (Fra) 84 points |
With Pyrenean climbs appearing for the first time in the 1910 Tour, it was only natural that the 1911 Tour should visit France’s other great mountain range, the Alps.
As it had been every year since 1905, the climb of the Ballon d’Alsace was on the menu again, but stage 5 saw the riders face nothing short of an epic day as they tackled the Col des Aravis, the Col du Télégraphe, the Col du Lautaret and the monstrous Col du Galibier – all now today very familiar and oft-used climbs in the Tour.
Despite the anger of the previous year at having been sent over such an inhumane route as that through the Pyrenees, and despite the Alps being higher and arguably harder, the riders surprised even themselves by being dazzled by the beauty of these new Alpine climbs.
Émile Georget – who was to eventually finish third overall – was the first over the top of a still-snow-covered Galibier, having heaved his way up its muddy, unmade roads. He held his lead all the way to the finish of that fifth stage between Chamonix and Grenoble, too, taking the stage win over Paul Duboc by a whopping 15 minutes.
There was a step backwards, however: Germany no longer allowed the race to cross its borders and, with no Swiss visit this time, the race remained entirely within the borders of France.
Gustave Garrigou battles the Col d’Aubisque on his way to overall victory
| Start: Paris, France, on 30 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 28 July | |
| Total distance: 5319 km (3305 miles)Longest stage: 470 km (292 miles) | |
| Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft) Mountain stages: 7 | |
| Starters: 131Finishers: 41 | |
| Winning time: 49 pointsAverage speed: 27.894 kph (17.333 mph) | |
| 1. Odile Defraye (Bel) 49 points2. Eugène Christophe (Fra) 108 points 3. Gustave Garrigou (Fra) 140 points |
The 1912 Tour followed the same route as the 1911 edition, save for a slightly shortened sixth stage. This time, the French fans’ hero was to be Eugène Christophe, who effectively replaced Émile Georget in their hearts after the third-placed finisher in 1911 abandoned on the third stage of the 1912 race.
Christophe’s was a name that was about to become synonymous with the Tour de France for a number of reasons in the years following the 10th edition of the race, but became legendary enough in 1912 when the French rider staged the race’s longest-ever successful breakaway.
Just as Georget had done the year before, it was Christophe who led the race over the Aravis, Télégraphe, Lautaret and Galibier as part of a 315-km (196-mile) break, winning in Grenoble with only two-and-a-half minutes to spare over countryman Octave Lapize.
With that 315 km (196 miles) being around 100 km (62 miles) longer than any complete stage in the modern era, it’s not going to be beaten any time soon – read, ever.
By virtue of winning three stages – stage 4 by a considerable margin of more than 13 minutes – it’s likely that Christophe would have won the race overall in 1912 had it been contested on time. Instead, for the final time that it was decided on points, it was Odile Defraye who became the first ever Belgian winner of the Tour, easily beating Christophe for consistency by finishing in the top ten on every one of the race’s fifteen stages, bar one.
From 1912 on, Belgian riders would come to play a huge part in the race’s success and history.
Eugène Christophe on his incredible 315-km breakaway
| Start: Paris, France, on 29 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 27 July | |
| Total distance: 5388 km (3348 miles)Longest stage: 470 km (292 miles) | |
| Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft) Mountain stages: 7 | |
| Starters: 140Finishers: 25 | |
| Winning time: 197 h 54’ 00”Average speed: 26.715 kph (16.600 mph) | |
| 1. Philippe Thys (Bel)2. Gustave Garrigou (Fra) at 8’ 37” 3. Marcel Buysse (Bel) at 3 h 30’ 55” |
As well as reverting back to cumulative time rather than points deciding the race’s overall winner, the Tour headed off from Paris for an anti-clockwise circuit of France for the first time in 1913. That said, it followed an extremely similar route to the previous two editions of the race, visiting almost all of the same towns, from the other direction.
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