The 1952 Tour de France was the 39th edition of the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
, taking place from 25 June to 19 July. It was composed of 23 stages over . Newly introduced were the arrivals on mountain peaks.
The race was won by Italian
Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
. Coppi dominated the race, winning five stages and the mountains classification, and was a member of the winning Italian team. His dominance was so large that the Tour organisation had to double the prize money for second place to make the race interesting. At the end, Coppi had a margin of almost half an hour over the second-ranked cyclist; such a margin has never been achieved again. Although more than 25 years later during the
1979 edition, the 1st and 2nd place finishers
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...
and
Joop Zoetemelk
Hendrik Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in T ...
were both nearly a half hour ahead of the 3rd place finisher.
Teams
As was the custom since the
1930 Tour de France
The 1930 Tour de France was the 24th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 2 to 27 July. It consisted of 21 stages over .
The 24th tour de France introduced a new format to team racing; teams were organised by country with ten riders ...
, the 1952 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. The three major cycling countries in 1952, Italy, Belgium and France, each sent a team of 12 cyclists. Other countries sent teams of 8 cyclists: Switzerland, Luxembourg (together with Australia), Netherlands and Spain. The French regional cyclists were divided into four teams of 12 cyclists: Paris, North-East/Centre, South-East and West/South-West. The last team of eight cyclists was made up out of cyclists from the French North African colonies. In the end, Luxembourg only sent 6 cyclists, so altogether this made 122 cyclists. There were 57 French (of which 6 were Algerian), 13 Italian, 12 Belgian, 8 Dutch, 8 Spanish, 8 Swiss, 5 Luxembourgian and 1 Australian cyclists.
The teams entering the race were:
* Switzerland
* Belgium
* Italy
* France
* Netherlands
* Spain
* Luxembourg/Australia
* Paris
* North-East/Centre
* South-East
* West/South-West
* North Africa
Pre-race favourites
The winners of the last two editions, Swiss cyclists
Hugo Koblet
Hugo Koblet (; 21 March 1925 – 6 November 1964) was a Switzerland, Swiss champion cycle sport, cyclist. He won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track. He won 70 races as a profes ...
and
Ferdinand Kübler
Ferdinand Kübler (; 24 July 1919 – 29 December 2016) was a Swiss cyclist with 71 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France and the 1951 World Road Race Championship.
Biography
Kübler was born in Marthalen. He began racing p ...
, were injured and did not enter the race, nor did French cyclist
Louison Bobet
Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to ...
.
On the last press conference before the race,
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet (21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986.
Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance di ...
conducted a poll amongst journalists to see who they considered the favourite. Coppi received 29 votes in that poll, followed by Géminiani and Bartali, both with 26 votes.
Route and stages
The final stage was from
Vichy
Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais.
It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...
, the capital of
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, to Paris. Vichy had never before been visited, and the distance from Vichy to Paris was significantly longer than the other stages. A newspaper described it as linking the two cities together. The stop in Vichy was successful, with a new record of 150.000 live spectators. An innovation was the stage arrivals on mountain peaks. This happened three times in 1952, on stages 10, 11 and 21. There were two rest days, in Alpe d'Huez and Toulouse. The
highest point of elevation in the race was at the summit tunnel of the
Col du Galibier
The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France.
It connects Saint-M ...
mountain pass on stage 11.
Race overview
In the fourth stage,
Jean Robic
Jean Robic (; 10 June 1921 – 6 October 1980)L'Équipe, 9 July 2003 was a French road racing cyclist, who won the 1947 Tour de France. Robic was a professional cyclist from 1943 to 1961. His diminutive stature (1.61m, 60 kg) and appearanc ...
, the winner of the
1947 Tour de France
The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race distance was 21 stages over . It was the first Tour since 1939, having been cancelled during World War II, although some Tour ...
was in a group with his teammate
Raphaël Géminiani
Raphaël Géminiani (born Clermont-Ferrand; born 12 June 1925) is a French former road bicycle racer. He had six podium finishes in the Grand Tours. He is one of four children of Italian immigrants who moved to Clermont-FerrandColin, Jacques ( ...
, and Robic let Géminiani do all the work. After the stage, Robic told reporters that he had been smart, because he had saved energy and was in a better position to win the Tour. Géminiani then became angry and held Robic's head in a hotel room sink. It was the last year that Robic rode on the national team. At that moment,
Nello Lauredi
Nello Lauredi (5 October 1924 in Mulazzo, Italy – 8 April 2001 in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France) was a professional French road bicycle racer. He was of Italian origin but in 1948 he changed nationality to France. He was a professional cyclist ...
was the leader in the race.
In the sixth stage,
Fiorenzo Magni
Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Biography
Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza. Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 He started c ...
escaped, and became the leader of the general classification by twelve seconds. In the
1950 Tour de France
The 1950 Tour de France was the 37th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 13 July to 7 August. It consisted of 22 stages over .
Gino Bartali, captain of the Italian team, threatened and assaulted by some French supporters accusing hi ...
, Magni had already become the leader, but left the race without riding in the yellow jersey.
In the time trial in stage seven, won by
Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
, Magni lost his lead, and Lauredi became leader again.
The first high mountains appeared in stage eight. Magni and Lauredi stayed together, but because Magni took a twenty-second bonification for finishing second, they swapped positions again, and Magni became leader again.
In the ninth stage, a group of eight cyclists got away, including Coppi's teammate
Andrea Carrea
Andrea Carrea (14 August 1924 – 13 January 2013) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. He was the first to ride the Alpe d'Huez in the yellow jersey of leadership in the Tour de FranceL'Équipe, 13 July 2003 and probably the only ...
. At the end of the stage, the group had a margin of more than nine minutes. Carrea went to the hotel after the finish, but was picked up by the police. Carrea asked what he had done wrong, but he was told that he was the new leader of the race, and had to go to the ceremony to receive the yellow jersey. Carrea apologised to his team leader Coppi, in fear that his team leader would be angry because a helper occupied the highest rank, but Coppi was not angry.
In the tenth stage, Robic attacked, and only Coppi was able to follow him. Later, Robic had a flat tire. Because his team director was far away, he lost several minutes, and lost so much time that he dropped from second place to fifth place.
Coppi rode away and won the stage, taking over the lead in the general classification from his teammate. The top three riders were all Italian at that moment.
After the rest day, the eleventh stage was again a mountain stage. The cyclists from the French national team, especially Géminiani, attacked on the Galibier, but Coppi counterattacked and escaped easily. At the end of the stage, Coppi won by a large margin. His lead in the general classification was now almost 20 minutes.
The margin was so large that Coppi didn't need to attack in the twelfth stage. When Coppi had a flat tire, his teammate
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...
gave him his own wheel, which was a sign that the rivalry between the two cyclists was over. Even though Coppi rode conservatively in that stage, the cyclist directly behind him in the general classification,
Alex Close
Alex Close (26 November 1921 in–21 October 2008) was a Belgian road bicycle racer. He finished fourth in the 1953 Tour de France and seventh in the 1952 Tour de France. He also won the Tour of Belgium in 1955 and the Critérium du Dauphin ...
, lost another four minutes, and Coppi was now 24 minutes ahead.
The Tour organisation feared that the race would become dull, now that Coppi's lead was so large. Therefore, they doubled the prize money for second and third place, hoping to keep the other cyclists aggressive.
In the sixteenth stage, the riders were apparently not motivated by the double prize money, as they were slow that day. The organisation then responded by canceling the prize money; there was still a rule from before 1947, that said that stage winners had to go at least 30 km/h to win prize money. The winner,
André Rosseel, had only reached 29 km/h.
In the seventeenth stage, Géminiani, who was already in fourteenth place, 52 minutes behind in the general classification, escaped. Coppi did not chase him, and allowed Géminiani to win the stage.
In the eighteenth stage, Coppi reached the top of the mountains first, but took it easy on the descent, and allowed other cyclists to get back to him. He still won the sprint at the end of the stage.
Coppi also won the last mountain stage, stage 21, and increased his lead to more than 31 minutes. In the time trial on the next day, Coppi apparently took it easy. Previously he was an expert in such time trials, but on that day he allowed other cyclists to win back some time, and finished on the fourteenth place.
Classification leadership and minor prizes
The time that each cyclist required to finish each stage was recorded, and these times were added together for the
general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...
. If a cyclist had received a time bonus, it was subtracted from this total; all time penalties were added to this total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey. Of the 123 cyclists that started the 1951 Tour de France, 66 finished the race.
Points for the
mountains classification
The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
were earned by reaching the mountain tops first. The system was the same as in 1951: there were three types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category 1, gave 10 points to the winner, the easier ones in category 2 gave 6 points to the winner, and the easiest in category 3 gave 3 points. Fausto Coppi won this classification.
The
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
had been awarded and calculated since
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
, but in 1952 the daily team classification was also calculated: for each stage, the best team (calculated as the team of which the best three cyclists had the lowest accumulated team in that stage) received a prize.
The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellow
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
for the first time in 1952. It was won by the Italian team. The Luxembourgian team finished with only two cyclists, and therefore were not eligible for the team classification.
The 1952 Tour de France saw the introduction of the
combativity award
The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider.
References
{{cycling-stub
Cycling jerseys ...
, a daily award for the most combative rider of the stage. The winner of that award received 100,000 French francs. The super-combativity award, the award for the most combative rider of the entire Tour de France, was also first given in 1953, determined by a jury vote, to Robic.
The
Souvenir Henri Desgrange
The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the highest a ...
was given to the first rider to pass the memorial to Tour founder
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.
Yo ...
near the summit of the
Col du Galibier
The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France.
It connects Saint-M ...
stage 11. This prize was won by Fausto Coppi.
The special award for the best regional rider was won by eighteenth-placed
Marcel Zelasco.
There were also a few minor awards. After every stage, an award was given to the cyclist with the most bad luck, and to the most 'cold-blooded' cyclist. At the end of the Tour the award for the cyclist with the most bad luck was given to
Wim van Est
Wim is a masculine given name or a shortened form of Willem and other names and may refer to:
* Wim Anderiesen (1903–1944), Dutch footballer
* Wim Aantjes (1923–2015), Dutch politician
* Wim Arras (born 1964), Belgian cyclist
* Wim Blockmans ...
. The award for most beloved cyclist was given to
Antonin Rolland
Antonin Rolland (born 3 September 1924) is a French former professional cyclist who was active from 1946 to 1963. Rolland won stages in the Tour de France and in the Giro d'Italia. He was born in Sainte-Euphémie, Ain.
In the 1955 Tour de Fra ...
.
Final standings
General classification
Mountains classification
Team classification
Aftermath
The daily combativity award was a success, and has been awarded ever since. The mountain finishes also were spectacular enough to have been included in every Tour de France since.
Fausto Coppi would never start the Tour de France again.
The team selectors for the French national team felt that
Raphaël Géminiani
Raphaël Géminiani (born Clermont-Ferrand; born 12 June 1925) is a French former road bicycle racer. He had six podium finishes in the Grand Tours. He is one of four children of Italian immigrants who moved to Clermont-FerrandColin, Jacques ( ...
had held back when chasing
Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
, because they rode for the same sponsor. For that reason, Géminiani was left out the national team for the
1952 UCI Road World Championships
The 1952 UCI Road World Championships took place in Luxembourg, Luxembourg between 23–24 August 1952.
Events Summary
References
{{UCI Road World Championships
UCI Road World Championships by year
W
R
R
Sports competitions in ...
. To avoid these problems in the future, Géminiani switched teams at the end of the season.
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De France, 1952
1952 in French sport
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
1952 in road cycling
June 1952 sports events in Europe
July 1952 sports events in Europe
1952 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo