1923 Tour de France
Race details | |||||||||||||
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Dates | 24 June – 22 July 1923 | ||||||||||||
Stages | 15 | ||||||||||||
Distance | 5,386 km (3,347 mi) | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 222h 15' 30" | ||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||
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The 1923 Tour de France was the 17th edition of the Tour de France, taking place 24 June to 22 July. It consisted of 15 stages over 5386 km, ridden at an average speed of 24.233 km/h.[1] The race was won by Henri Pélissier with a convincing half-hour lead to his next opponent, Italian Ottavio Bottecchia. In total, 139 cyclists entered the race, of which 48 finished. Pélissier's victory was the first French victory since 1911, as the Tour de France had been dominated by Belgian cyclists since then.
Innovations and changes
The French cyclists
In the 1922 Tour de France, Hector Heusghem had lost the race because he received a one-hour penalty for illegally changing his bicycle.[6] The rules about reparations were changed in the 1923 Tour: technical assistance from team directors was allowed. It was still not allowed to change equipment with other cyclists.[7]
Another introduction was the time bonus for stage winners. After each stage, the overall time of the stage winner was reduced with two minutes.[8]
Participants
In previous years, the cyclists had been divided in two classes, the sponsored class and the unsponsored class. In 1923, this system changed, and three categories were used: the "first category", of the top cyclist, the "second category", of lesser but still sponsored cyclists, and the touriste-routiers, the quasi-amateurs.[9]
The sponsors, who had joined forces in the previous tours under the name La Sportive, were now financially stable enough to have their own teams. Automoto, sponsor of the team with the Pélissier brothers, had commercial interests in Italy, so wanted to have Italian cyclists in the team. Several Italian cyclists were hired, who were supposed to come to France. Only one Italian cyclist showed up, Ottavio Bottecchia, who had started as a professional the year before. The sponsor then decided that the marketing plan would not work with only one Italian cyclist, and wanted to send him back. At the last minute, Bottecchia was allowed to stay on the team.[10]
Race overview
The first stage was won by Robert Jacquinot, who had also won the first stage of the 1922 Tour de France. In the second stage,
In the third stage, the Pélissier brothers showed their dominance. The race was won by Henri, with Francis in second place. Bottecchia had a flat tire after 300 km in the race and lost some minutes, but he fought back and only lost 37 second on the finish line.[5]
In the fourth stage, Henri Pélissier received a two-minute penalty,[11] for throwing away a tyre.[3] Bottecchia punctured again and lost the lead to Romain Bellenger.[5]
In the
In the tenth stage, the high alps were climbed. Francis Pélissier was riding with an injured knee, but together with Lucien Buysse, he was planning to help Henri Pélissier take over the lead from their teammate Bottecchia.[10] Although the race was neutralized on the Vars,[8] Henri Pélissier still won the stage with a large margin to Alavoine and Bottecchia, and took over the lead. The experience of Pélissier helped him: Bottecchia was riding in too big a gear, which Pélissier saw. In order to change gears, Bottecchia would have had to dismount his bicycle, so Pélissier sped away, and Bottecchia could not follow.[8] In the eleventh stage, the Pélissier brothers left all other cyclists behind, with only Bellenger staying within ten minutes.[3] Alavoine had to abandon the race after an accident, which put Bottecchia in second place. At that point, all the stages left were flat stages where it is difficult to win much time, and with an almost 30 minutes lead over his teammate Bottecchia, Pélissier was assured of the victory.[3][7]
Results
In each stage, all cyclists started together. The cyclist who reached the finish first, was the winner of the stage. The time that each cyclist required to finish the stage was recorded. For the general classification, these times were added up; the cyclist with the least accumulated time (after compensating for time bonuses and/or time penalties) was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.
Stage winners
Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type[a] | Winner | Race leader | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 June | Paris to Le Havre | 381 km (237 mi) | Plain stage | Robert Jacquinot (FRA) | Robert Jacquinot (FRA) | |
2 | 26 June | Le Havre to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | 371 km (231 mi) | Plain stage | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
3 | 28 June | Cherbourg to Brest | 405 km (252 mi) | Plain stage | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
4 | 30 June | Les Sables d'Olonne |
412 km (256 mi) | Plain stage | Albert Dejonghe (BEL) | Romain Bellenger (FRA) | |
5 | 2 July | Les Sables d'Olonne to Bayonne |
482 km (300 mi) | Plain stage | Robert Jacquinot (FRA) | Romain Bellenger (FRA) | |
6 | 4 July | Luchon |
326 km (203 mi) | Stage with mountain(s) | Jean Alavoine (FRA) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
7 | 6 July | Luchon to Perpignan |
323 km (201 mi) | Stage with mountain(s) | Jean Alavoine (FRA) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
8 | 8 July | Perpignan to Toulon | 427 km (265 mi) | Plain stage | Lucien Buysse (BEL) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
9 | 10 July | Toulon to Nice | 281 km (175 mi) | Stage with mountain(s) | Jean Alavoine (FRA) | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | |
10 | 12 July | Nice to Briançon | 275 km (171 mi) | Stage with mountain(s) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
11 | 14 July | Briançon to Geneva | 260 km (160 mi) | Stage with mountain(s) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
12 | 16 July | Geneva to Strasbourg | 377 km (234 mi) | Plain stage | Joseph Muller (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
13 | 18 July | Strasbourg to Metz | 300 km (190 mi) | Plain stage | Romain Bellenger (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
14 | 20 July | Dunkerque |
433 km (269 mi) | Plain stage | Félix Goethals (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
15 | 22 July | Dunkerque to Paris |
343 km (213 mi) | Plain stage | Félix Goethals (FRA) | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | |
Total | 5,386 km (3,347 mi)[1] |
General classification
For his overall victory, Henri Pélissier received 10000 francs.[7] In total, Henri Pélissier won 17638 francs in the 1923 Tour de France, almost ninety times the standard monthly wage at that time.[16]
Rank | Rider | Category | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Henri Pélissier (FRA) | 1 | Automoto | 222h 15' 30" |
2 | Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA) | 1 | Automoto | + 30 '41" |
3 | Romain Bellenger (FRA) | 1 | Peugeot–Wolber | + 1h 04 '43" |
4 | Hector Tiberghien (BEL) | 1 | Peugeot–Wolber | + 1h 29 '16" |
5 | Arsène Alancourt (FRA) | 1 | Armor | + 2h 06 '40" |
6 | Henri Collé (SUI) | 2 | Griffon | + 2h 28 '43" |
7 | Léon Despontin (BEL) | 1 | Peugeot–Wolber | + 2h 39 '49" |
8 | Lucien Buysse (BEL) | 1 | Automoto | + 2h 40 '11" |
9 | Eugène Dhers (FRA) | 2 | Armor | + 2h 59 '09" |
10 | Marcel Huot (FRA) | 1 | Griffon | + 3h 16 '56" |
Final general classification (11–48)[17] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Rider | Category | Team | Time |
11 | Joseph Muller (FRA) | 1 | Peugeot-Wolber | + 3h 26 '46" |
12 | Ottavio Pratesi (ITA) | Touriste-Routier | + 3h 35 '06" | |
13 | Félix Goethals (FRA) | 1 | Thomann | + 4h 21 '38" |
14 | Théophile Beeckman (BEL) | 1 | Griffon | + 5h 00 '04" |
15 | Joseph Normand (FRA) | 2 | Davy | + 5h 09 '59" |
16 | Gaston Degy (FRA) | 1 | Peugeot–Wolber | + 5h 35 '57" |
17 | Lucien Rich (FRA) | 2 | Christophe | + 6h 35 '06" |
18 | Paul Duboc (FRA) | 2 | Alleluia | + 6h 56 '41" |
19 | Camille Botte (BEL) |
Touriste-Routier | + 7h 13 '56" | |
20 | Georges Cuvelier (FRA) | 2 | Lapize | + 7h 30 '47" |
21 | Benjamin Mortier (BEL) | 2 | Christophe | + 8h 03 '43" |
22 | Alfons Standaert (BEL) | 2 | Thomann | + 8h 17 '38" |
23 | Francis Pélissier (FRA) | 1 | Automoto | + 9h 43 '12" |
24 | Henri Touzard (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 10h 00 '00" | |
25 | Robert Jacquinot (FRA) | 1 | Peugeot–Wolber | + 10h 41 '52" |
26 | Carlo Longoni (ITA) | 2 | Christophe | + 11h 00 '47" |
27 | Charles Parel (SUI) | Touriste-Routier | + 11h 05 '53" | |
28 | Louis Mottiat (BEL) | 1 | Alcyon | + 12h 01 '57" |
29 | Giovanni Rossignoli (ITA) | Touriste-Routier | + 13h 18 '28" | |
30 | Pierre Hudsyn (BEL) | Touriste-Routier | + 17h 20 '20" | |
31 | Edgard Roy (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 19h 01 '46" | |
32 | Antoine Riera (FRA) |
Touriste-Routier | + 22h 05 '39" | |
33 | Charles Cento (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 24h 17 '53" | |
34 | Maurice Arnoult (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 25h 32 '25" | |
35 | Charles Loew (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 32h 27 '02" | |
36 | Paul Denis (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 33h 38 '43" | |
37 | Félix Richard (FRA) |
Touriste-Routier | + 33h 42 '23" | |
38 | Henri Miège (SUI) | Touriste-Routier | + 34h 01 '56" | |
39 | Jean Kienlen (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 35h 07 '38" | |
40 | Giuseppe Ercolani (ITA) | Touriste-Routier | + 39h 45 '41" | |
41 | Alfred Hersard (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 40h 57 '43" | |
42 | Vincenzo Bianco (ITA) | Touriste-Routier | + 40h 57 '56" | |
43 | Giuseppe Ruffoni (ITA) | Touriste-Routier | + 41h 58 '42" | |
44 | Georges Kamm (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 42h 18 '20" | |
45 | Charles Arnulf (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 42h 59 '39" | |
46 | Marcel Simonet (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 43h 32 '35" | |
47 | Maurice Protin (BEL) |
Touriste-Routier | + 44h 53 '46" | |
48 | Daniel Masson (FRA) | Touriste-Routier | + 48h 31 '07" |
Aftermath
Henri Pélissier was the first French winner of the Tour de France since 1911, and ended a series of seven Belgian victories.
At the end of the race, the winner Henri Pélissier declared that Bottecchia would be the winner of the next Tour.[7] This prediction was right; Bottecchia won the 1924 and the 1925 Tour de France.
The introduction of time bonuses for stage winners was considered a success and has been used for many Tours after 1923, although the details have changed since.
Notes
- ^ There was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stages included mountains.
References
- ^ a b Augendre 2016, p. 108.
- ^ Amels 1984, pp. 23–24.
- ^ a b c d e f g Tom James (15 August 2003). "1923: Pélissier gets his revenge". Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ Barry Boyce (2004). "Pelissier's revenge". Cycling revealed. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d Amels 1984, pp. 26–27.
- ^ "16ème Tour de France 1922 - 13ème étape" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "1923 - 17th Tour de France". Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 15 July 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "17ème Tour de France 1923" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 5 August 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ Thompson 2008, p. 37.
- ^ a b c d McGann & McGann 2006, pp. 66–72.
- ^ "17ème Tour de France - 4ème étape" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "Le 17e Tour de France". Le Figaro (in French). Gallica Bibliothèque Numérique. 23 June 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
Quant aux dates auxquelles elles se disputeront, il suffera de se rappeler qu'elles se courront toujours un jour pair, 24, 26, 28, 30 juin, 2 juillet, etc.
- ^ Augendre 2016, p. 21.
- ^ Arian Zwegers. "Tour de France GC top ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1922 – The stage winners". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Thompson 2008, p. 153.
- ^ a b "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1923 – Stage 15 Dunkerque > Paris". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Thompson 2008, p. 42.
- ^ "Heritage - Tour de France". Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
Bibliography
- Amels, Wim (1984). De geschiedenis van de Tour de France 1903–1984 (in Dutch). Valkenswaard, Netherlands: Sport-Express. ISBN 978-90-70763-05-3.
- Augendre, Jacques (2016). "Guide historique" [Historical guide] (PDF). Tour de France (in French). Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- McGann, Bill; McGann, Carol (2006). The Story of the Tour de France: 1903–1964. Vol. 1. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59858-180-5.
- Thompson, Christopher S. (2008). The Tour de France: A Cultural History. Oakland, CA: ISBN 978-0-520-25630-9.
External links
Media related to Tour de France 1923 at Wikimedia Commons