Читать книгу Mapping Le Tour: The unofficial history of all 100 Tour de France races - Ellis Bacon - Страница 28
Оглавление“One of these days he’s going to make us put lead weights in our pockets because he thinks that God made man too light.”
1923 Tour champion Henri Pélissier after quitting the 1924 Tour in disgust at what for him were Henri Desgrange’s constant efforts to make the race even harder
| Start: Paris, France, on 22 JuneFinish: Paris, France, on 20 July | |
| Total distance: 5425 km (3371 miles)Longest stage: 482 km (300 miles) | |
| Highest point:Col du Galibier: 2556 m (8386 ft)Mountain stages: 6 | |
| Starters: 157Finishers: 60 | |
| Winning time: 226 h 18’ 21”Average speed: 24.250 kph (15.068 mph) | |
| 1. Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)2. Nicolas Frantz (Lux) at 35’ 36”3. Lucien Buysse (Bel) at 1 h 32’ 13” |
With the life of the winner of the 1923 Tour, Henri Pélissier, ending in tragedy, what an ill-fated time it was in the Tour’s history, when 1924 and 1925 champion Ottavio Bottecchia was also found dead in mysterious circumstances years later.
Bottecchia was found unconscious at the side of the road in June 1927, close to his home near Udine, in northern Italy, seemingly having crashed on his bike. He had a fractured skull and never regained consciousness, dying twelve days later. Officially, his death was attributed to injuries sustained from the crash. The conspiracy theory, however, is that he was murdered by Mussolini-supporting fascists for voicing his low opinion of the Italian prime minister.
Bottecchia won the first stage of the 1924 Tour – a stage that had become the regular opener, between Paris and Le Havre – and then held on to his lead along each side of ‘the hexagon’, over fifteen stages, and back to Paris. Bottecchia had become the first Italian to finish on the podium the year before, and stepped up to take cycling’s ultimate prize. So pleased was he with his yellow jersey, in fact, that he wore it all the way home to Milan on the train.
With no French rider even on the podium in 1924 – yet another argument between the two Henris, Desgrange and Pélissier, saw the defending champion quit the race early on – this early mondialisation of the Tour came at France’s expense. Things were really going to change in 1925 – bar Bottecchia winning again.
Ottavio Bottecchia climbs through the crowds on the Col du Tourmalet
