|
| 1915-1918 |
|
No tour because of World War I.
Past tour champions Faber, Petit-Breton and Octave Lapize die.
|
| 1910 |
|
Race director Henri Desgrange directs the tour through the Pyrenees for the
first time.
Adolpho Hilieri of Italy is the first tour fatality when he has a bathing
accident on a rest day.
|
| 1909 |
|
In the first seven days of the tour 50 riders are forced out.
Riding in his third tour, 22-year-old Francois Faber is compared by both the
public and the media to Pottier, especially when he wins five consecutive
stages, one better than Pottier. Faber finishes with six stage wins, prompting
his manager to reportedly call him "the god who came down to ride a bicycle."
|
| 1907 |
|
Lucien Petit-Breton of France becomes the first multiple and consecutive winner
of the tour in 1907 and 1908. |
| 1905 |
|
Stages are shortened in an effort to cut down on the long night stages.
The Ballon d'Alsace is added, becoming the first major climb of the event.
Rene Pottier proves his standing as the first true climber, winning despite
pulling a muscle in a fall the day before the stage including the Ballon
d'Alsace. However, Pottier withdraws from the tour the following day. |
| 1903 |
|
The first tour begins July 1, 1903, when 60 cyclists set off on the
2,500-kilometer (1,553.5 mile), six-stage, 19-day race. The tour is
promoted by the newspaper l'Auto in an attempt to supplant a
rival newspaper, Le Velo. |
| 1997-1982 | 1981-1966 | 1965-1950 | 1949-1934 | 1933-1919 | 1918-1903
|
