On July 1, 1903, sixty cyclists pedaled into history when
they started the bicycle race which was to become the most celebrated annual
event in world cycling. It was sponsored and organized by L'Auto, a French newspaper which was just three years into
publishing and was facing a decrease in circulation. Initially, the race did
not generate the interest it was expected to. Due to the small number of
registered participants, the race had to be postponed for a month from June to
July. However, in the end 79 cyclists registered for the whole race, with some
more registering for individual stages.
It is ironical that the most famous cycling event in the
world was born as an indirect result of the most infamous political crisis
faced by the French Third Republic before the First World War. The Dreyfus
Affair involved a Captain in the French Army, who was framed as a German spy.
On top of it, this officer happened to be a Jew. This affair completely exposed
the divisions, prejudices and injustices present in the supposedly liberal French
society.
Pierre Giffard was a pioneer in modern political reporting
and was a prolific sports organizer. He had organized several unique events
including the Paris-Brest-Paris cycle race. In 1896, he became the editor of Le
Vélo, a leading sports daily which also included political commentaries. He
was a ‘Dreyfusard’ or a supporter of Dreyfus, while some of the sponsors of the
paper were right-wing ‘anti-Dreyfusards.’ This division led the advertisers to move
away and start their own newspaper, L'Auto-Velo, with Henri Desgrange as
the editor.
There was direct ‘circulation warfare’ between the two
papers. Le Vélo won a vital victory when it successfully challenged the
similar name used by its rival. As a result L'Auto-Velo changed its name
to L'Auto in early 1903. With a circulation of just a few thousand, it
needed a huge circulation booster to survive, let alone win the circulation war
with its rival.
At a crisis meeting, Geo Lefevre, who had joined the L'Auto
from its rival Le Vélo, suggested organizing a six day tour covering all
of France. The idea attracted the interest of the editor and the sponsors and
in January 1903, the ‘Tour de France’ was announced. It was to be a six stage
race, each stage much longer than today’s stages. Even though cycle races were
common in France, this was much longer and more demanding. Only 15 cyclists had
registered to participate in the race a week before the scheduled day, June 1.
Therefore, the race was postponed by a month and the prize money increased.
This attracted many more cyclists and at the end 79 competitors registered.
The First Tour de France in 1903. Wikimedia Commons.
The first stage from Paris to Lyon was won by Maurice Garin,
who was able to maintain the lead with both skill and luck. He was lucky that
his main rival Hippolyte Aucouturier could not complete the first stage due to
health issues. Meanwhile, Emile Paige, who came just a minute after Garin in
the first stage, was forced out of the race in the second stage due to a crash.
With no real challenge afterwards, Garin finished comfortably ahead of Lucien
Pothier to win the first ever Tour de France. His lead of 2 hours 59 minutes
and 31 seconds is a record which still stands.
The Tour de France was a boon to L'Auto. Its special
edition printed after the race sold more than 120,000 copies, exceeding the
wildest dreams of the editors and sponsors. Its rise to fame was such that the
once formidable rival Le Vélo went out of business in 1904. Pierre
Giffard himself later joined the L'Auto. The Tour de France, meanwhile, became
an annual event and grew into the most coveted event in cycling calendar. The
latest edition which started on June 29, 2013, is its hundredth edition.
