Читать книгу Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races - Ellis Bacon - Страница 26

1922

16th Edition

	Start: Paris, France, on 25 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 23 July
	Total distance: 5372 km (3338 miles)Longest stage: 482 km (300 miles)
	Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft)Mountain stages: 5
	Starters: 120Finishers: 38
	Winning time: 222 h 08’ 06”Average speed: 24.196 kph (15.034 mph)
	1. Firmin Lambot (Bel)2. Jean Alavoine (Fra) at 41’ 15”3. Félix Sellier (Bel) at 42’ 02”

Just as it had done since 1913, the Tour continued to follow the same tried and trusted anti-clockwise route from Paris to Le Havre on stage 1, down France’s west coast, through the Pyrenees, then the Alps, with a final stage from Dunkirk back to Paris. The drudgery seemed to be amplified by yet another Belgian win – the seventh in succession – this time a second win by 1919 champion Firmin Lambot, now a relic of a man at 36 years, 4 months and 9 days old. He remains the oldest ever winner of the race.

Stage 4, between Brest and Les Sables-d’Olonne, saw some older names come to the fore as Philippe Thys – Tour champ in 1913, 1914 and 1920 – took the stage victory, and perennial nearly-man Eugène Christophe took hold of the yellow jersey.

However, on the Galibier, on stage 11, Christophe – having by then dropped out of overall contention by losing too much time on stage 9 – experienced the misfortune of his forks breaking for a third time at the Tour. Yellow jerseys and stage wins had made him a household name, but luck – or a lack of it – would see to it that he was destined never to win his beloved Tour de France.

While Alpine giants the Col d’Izoard and Col de Vars both made their first Tour appearances – on stage 10 between Nice and Briançon – crowd favourite the Col du Tourmalet, which had appeared in the race every year since 1910, had to be dropped from the route of stage 6 due to snow.

Firmin Lambot and Joseph Muller quench their thirst between Les Sables-d’Olonne and Bayonne