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1912

10th Edition

	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 points3. 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