The Tour de France had become the toughest sport in the world. When non-cyclist journalist, Albert Lourdes, covered the event in 1924, found that riders had a startlingly low morale, men acting like he had written about who were imprisoned in French penal colonies. He referred pilots as Les Forcats Route-convicts of the road. The race seemed to be run only to sell newspapers. Morale was low and was not helped by the lack a French winner. The first four races after the world were won by Belgians. Finally, in 1923, Henri Pelissier won, the only host country gain between 1910 and 1930. Thus began a love for the host / hate relationship with the issue of race. This attitude continues today. For example, during the scandals of doping of the 1990s, many French had sympathy rather than disgust for it.

The yellow jersey

The famous yellow jersey was first used after World War I. Although it is now the most coveted garment in cycling, the first driver ever offered it, rejected it. He did not want to become a moving target for rivals.

The winners:

* 1919 Firmin Lambot (BEL)
* 1920 Philippe Thys (Bel)
* 1921 Leon Scieur (Bel)
* 1922 Firmin Lambot (BEL)
* 1923 Henri Pelissier (Fra)
* 1924 Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA)
* 1925 Ottavio Bottecchia (ITA)
* 1926 Lucien Buysse (BEL)
* 1927 Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
* 1928 Nicolas Frantz (Lux)
* 1929 Maurice De Waele (Bel)

In 1920, the race was now 5500 kilometers long, with long periods during the night and crazy, draconian rules. For example, runners were Restricted to obtain external technical assistance and they could not change bikes or even clothing. Riders must finish each stage, with everything that had begun with. Champion advocate, 1924, Henri Pelissier and his brothers out of the race. His topic was clothing. Racing began early in the day, when it was fresh, but the race continued in the heat of the day. No wonder that drivers stripped in layers. Pelissier leave in disgust.

Races during the 1920s, said a lot about Europe day. In 1924 and again a year later, Ottavio Bottecchia of Italy won. He became a leading figure in his country in sports. Then, in 1927, was killed while on a training trip. It became clear that not everyone appreciates his success. Some even feared. A year later bed confession death, confirmed what many had long suspected. He had been murdered by the fascists.

The 1920s were overshadowed by the marketing Race open. Does not help that the French had won only once, in 1923. Team time trials and national squads were experimented with. Substitute drivers could leave the bank if a cyclist was injured. Everyone had to ride a bike identical. The popularity of the tour begins to waiver. All these changes were short-lived but had an important advantage. That allowed France to build a strong force. France won the first five trips of the 1930s.

Technological advances

In 1937, he introduced the system of exchange. This allowed the riders to change gears without removing the wheels. Previously, pilots would be removed to change your wheel as a top drop. The Tour de France has shown it can adapt to survive. Which he purchased new resource national and respect.

If you liked this article, you'll find more articles on the history of the Tour de France and the tour schedule this year in:

Tour de France and deer and history calendar

Tour de France 2007

World biggest race Bicycle – Le Tour

About the Author:

Gary Hayduk has a passion for web research, building communities with web technology, and generally cool stuff that makes life fun. Some favorite web resources include:

Free biographies – 1 page printable

Schedule of this year’s Tour de France

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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Convicts of the Road – the Tour De France in the 1920′s

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