The 1954 Tour de France was the 41st 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 8 July to 1 August 1954. It consisted of 23 stages over . The race was won by
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 ...
, the second of his three consecutive wins.
Teams
![French team at the start of the Tour de France 1954](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/French_team_at_the_start_of_the_Tour_de_France_1954.jpg)
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 1954 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. Seven national teams were sent, with 10 cyclists each from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and Luxembourg/Austria (the latter a combined team). France additionally sent five regional teams from 10 cyclists each, divided into North-East/Centre, West, South-East, Île-de-France and South-West. The combined team Luxembourg/Austria consisted of six Luxembourger cyclists, three Austrian cyclists and one from Liechtenstein. In total, 110 cyclists started the race.
Notable absents were the Italian cyclists. In Italy, new sponsors had entered the market, named "extra-sportives" because they did not sell a product directly related to the sport. During the
1954 Giro d'Italia, this caused a strike, the Bernina strike. After this, the Italian federation decided not to send a team to the 1954 Tour de France. In May,
Italian Cycling Federation
The Italian Cycling Federation or FCI (in Italian: ''Federazione Ciclistica Italiana'') is the national governing body of cycle racing in Italy.
The FCI is a member of the UCI and the UEC.
Purpose
See also
*Italy national cycling team
Exter ...
head Adriano Rodoni announced Italian riders would not participate in the Tour.
The teams entering the race were:
* France
* Netherlands
* Belgium
* Spain
* Switzerland
* Luxembourg/Austria
* North-East/Centre
* West
* South-East
* Île-de-France
* South-West
Route and stages
The 1954 Tour de France was the first time that the Tour had started outside France, as it started in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Also new was the
team time trial
A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events).
The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...
. Although around 1930 the Tour had seen stages in which the teams started separately, in 1954 the team time trial format was reintroduced in a way that only the team time counted. Also the split stages were reintroduced. Stage 4 was divided into two parts: the team time trial of 10.4 km (part A), and a regular stage of 131 km (part B), both run on the same day. Similarly, stage 21 was divided into a regular stage of 134 km (part A) and an individual time trial of 72 km (part B), also both run on the same day. There were two rest days, in Bordeaux and Lyon. 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 19.
Race overview
In the first stage,
Wout Wagtmans
Wouter "Wout" Wagtmans (10 November 1929 – 15 August 1994) was a Dutch road bicycle racer.
Together with Wim van Est he belonged to the generation that brought great popularity to cycling in the Netherlands in the 1950s. In 1947, Wagtmans st ...
won the sprint, and took the
yellow jersey
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ).
History
Th ...
. He would remain the leader until the team time trial in stage 4, when the French team won back enough time on the Dutch team for Bobet to take over the lead. In that time trial, over 10.4 km, the winning team was decided by adding the times of the three best cyclists per team. For the general classification, every cyclist got added his individual time. In the second part of the fourth stage, former winner
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 ...
hit a photographer during the sprint, fell down and had to give up.
In the eighth stage, Wagtmans had joined a breakaway, which won enough time on Bobet for Wagtmans to take back the yellow jersey. Wagtmans fell down in the eleventh stage, and although he managed to keep his lead until the start of the twelfth stage, he continued without morale. In the twelfth stage in the Pyrenees, three important riders attacked: Bauvin, Bahamontes and Malléjac. They stayed ahead, and Bauvin jumped to the first position in the general classification. Bobet was not far behind these three, and moved into the second place.
In that twelfth stage,
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 ...
had fallen down, and lost 27 minutes, and his chances to win the Tour de France a second time. In the next stage, Koblet gave up.
In the fourteenth stage, the Swiss cyclists were fighting back. They were riding as fast as they could, and the leading group was getting smaller. Bauvin also could not keep up with that group, partly because he had a flat tire, and finished 8 minutes behind, losing the leading position. Bobet however could keep up with the Swiss pace, and took over the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.
In the sixteenth stage, Bauvin lost another 20 minutes, and dropped to sixth place. The Swiss cyclists had attacked Bobet where they could, but were unable to gain time on him. They had moved into second and third place of the general classification.
In the eighteenth stage, Bobet dominated, and dropped all of the other contenders. He won by a margin of one minute and 49 seconds, and his margin in the general classification was 12 minutes 49 seconds, which would normally be large enough for the victory.
Bobet also won the individual time trial, and thereby increased his margin even more.
The Swiss cyclists could not attack Bobet anymore in the last stages, so Bobet won his second Tour de France. The Swiss team had performed well though, capturing the second and third place in the general classification, winning 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 ...
and having Kübler win the
points classification
The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
.
Classification leadership and minor prizes
![Ferdi Kübler 1954](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Ferdi_K%C3%BCbler_1954.jpg)
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 110 cyclists that started the 1954 Tour de France, 69 finished the race.
The
points classification
The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
was calculated in the same way as in 1953, following the calculation method from the Tours de France from 1905 to 1912. Points were given according to the ranking of the stage: the winner received one points, the next cyclist two points, and so on. These points were added, and the cyclist with the fewest points was the leader of the points classification. In 1954, this was won by Ferdinand Kübler.
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 almost the same as in 1953: there were two types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category 1, gave 10 points to the first cyclist, the easier ones, in category 2, gave 6 points to the first cyclist, and the easiest ones, in category 3, gave 3 points. Federico Bahamontes 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 ...
was calculated as the sum of the daily team classifications, and the daily team classification was calculated by adding the times in the stage result of the best three cyclists per team. It was won by the Swiss team.
In addition, there was a
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 ...
given after each stage to the cyclist considered most combative. The split stages each had a combined winner. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification. At the end of the Tour de France,
Lucien Lazaridès
Lucien Lazaridès (Athens, Greece, 30 December 1922 — Cannes, 19 July 2005) was a French professional road bicycle racer. Lazaridès was born with Greek nationality but became French in 1929. Lucien Lazaridès was an older brother of cyclist A ...
and
François Mahé
François Mahé (September 2, 1930 – May 31, 2015) was a French professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1950 to 1965. Highlights from his career include one day in the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification in ...
were leading this classification with equal points and shared the overall super-combativity award. 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 ...
on stage 19. This prize was won by Federico Bahamontes.
Final standings
General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
Team classification
Combativity classification
Aftermath
After he won the Tour de France, Bobet would later win the
1954 UCI Road World Championships. The next year he would win the
1955 Tour de France, thereby becoming the first cyclist to win three Tours in a row.
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De France, 1954
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
1954 in French sport
1954 in Dutch sport
1954 in road cycling
July 1954 sports events in Europe
August 1954 sports events in Europe
1954 Tour de France
1954 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo