Читать книгу Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races - Ellis Bacon - Страница 24
Оглавление| Start: Paris, France, on 27 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 25 July | |
| Total distance: 5503 km (3420 miles)Longest stage: 482 km (300 miles) | |
| Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft)Mountain stages: 5 | |
| Starters: 113Finishers: 22 | |
| Winning time: 228 h 36’ 13”Average speed: 24.072 kph (14.958 mph) | |
| 1. Philippe Thys (Bel)2. Hector Heusghem (Bel) at 57’ 21”3. Firmin Lambot (Bel) at 1 h 39’ 35” |
Following the war, 1913 and 1914 Tour champ Philippe Thys had arrived at the 1919 race out of shape and in ill health, quitting on the first stage. He arrived at the 1920 Tour in June a changed man, and proceeded to dish out a hammering to his rivals, taking the yellow jersey on stage 2 and never relinquishing it, with the added bonus of no fewer than four stage victories along the way.
In Paris, Henri Desgrange’s face must have been a picture as three Belgians stood atop his podium in the Parc des Princes.
That made it three Tour victories for Thys – the ‘winningest’ rider in the race’s history so far. The poor performances of the French riders – Honoré Barthélémy was the best placed of them down in eighth – angered Desgrange, who took out his fury on Henri Pélissier, who in turn had quit the race in a huff. Even golden-boy Eugène Christophe couldn’t help Desgrange out with any fan-friendly heroics: the unlucky Frenchman’s forks may have stayed in one piece on this occasion, but his body didn’t, and he was forced to retire on the seventh stage with backache.
It had arguably been an easier Tour than many of the previous editions, with only five mountain stages against the usual six or seven, and the flatter stages seemed to play into the hands of the Belgians. Despite that, and despite Desgrange’s desire to see ‘his’ French riders in the thick of the action, the following two Tours followed much the same format.
Invading crowds celebrate with riders as they finish in the Parc des Princes velodrome
