From the Start of the Tour de France to the 1930's
From over a century ago, back in 1903 saw the very first Tour de France race, initially as a publicity stunt for the French newspaper, L’Auto. The tour then ran again the next year on but this time with the increased popularity from the first race, every cyclist wanted to win. This second race was said to be almost the final of the Tour de France as cheating amongst the riders dominated this second race, where the first four who crossed the finish line were disqualified for their cheating. After this second event new rules were founded on how the race would be conducted.
From the time of the First World War the Tour was greatly limited, but it was also around this time just after the war in 1919 that the infamous yellow jersey was introduced. The Jersey, or what’s known in French as the “malliot jaune” was brought in to distinguish the rider who was leading the tour, as previously spectators couldn’t tell who was winning.
With the amount of controversy surrounding the early Tour de France, and with its lack of success for it’s homeland, its appeal was starting to waver. In an attempt to counteract this there were experiments with team time trials, and in the early 1930’s national squads enabled riders to be substituted out of the race if they became injured. And furthermore, everyone would ride identical bikes. These changes were short-lived but these changes also helped the French team build up a string force, and the home riders took the first five tours of the early 1930’s, bringing back the national appeal in the race.
At the end of the 1930’s saw another significant change that still lives on today. As the rule on everyone riding identical bikes were relaxed, in 1937 the popular derailleur systems were finally introduced, enabling the riders to change gears without removing their wheels. Previously riders would have to demount from their bikes to turn their wheel around to change from uphill to downhill. This period in the Tour de France history saw how the race could adapt to survive.
More Tour de France History
More articles about the History of the Tour de France
Tour de France History - The Early Beginnings
The very first Tour de France back was back in 1903 - This first race became the creation of the greatest cycling race in the world we know today. Read on to find out about the tour de France's early beginnings...
Post War Tour de France - The Event after World War Two
The founder of the Tour de France died in 1940, and later L’Auto, the Newspaper that Launched the Tour was no more. But after the Second World War the Tour de France was even more thrilling than ever before, read on to find out more.
