1933 Tour de France
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The 1933 Tour de France was the 27th 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 27 June to 23 July. It consisted of 23 stages over . This race featured the introduction of the mountains competition, in which cyclists were challenged to climb the mountains the fastest, with points given to the fastest ascenders. This competition was won by Spaniard
Vicente Trueba Vicente Trueba Pérez (October 16, 1905 in Sierrapando, Torrelavega, Cantabria – November 10, 1986) was a Spanish professional road racing cyclist. He is most famous for being the first winner of King of the Mountains for winning the over ...
, who reached 9 of the 16 mountain peaks first. The time bonus of two minutes had a large influence on the outcome of the race. Thanks to this bonus,
Georges Speicher Georges Speicher (; 8 June 1907 – 24 January 1978) was a French cyclist who won the 1933 Tour de France along with three stage wins, and the 1933 World Cycling Championship. After Speicher had won the 1933 Tour de France, he was initially not ...
won the race; without the bonus, Italian
Giuseppe Martano Giuseppe Martano ( Savona, 10 October 1910 — Turin, 2 September 1994) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. Martano was twice world amateur champion. He reached the podium of the Tour de France twice, in 1933 (3rd place) and 1934 ( ...
would have been the winner.


Innovations and changes

In the
1932 Tour de France The 1932 Tour de France was the 26th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 6 to 31 July. It consisted of 21 stages over . André Leducq, who also won six stages, won the race, thanks to the bonification system; had the bonification sy ...
, the bonus system had had a major impact on the results: without these bonuses, the difference between the number one and number two would have been only three seconds, but with these bonuses, it became more than 24 minutes. In 1933, the bonus time was reduced: only the winner received two minutes of bonus time. Since the
1913 Tour de France The 1913 Tour de France was the 11th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 29 June and 27 July. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . The competition was won by the Belgian Philippe Thys, after in the cru ...
, the Tour de France had been counter-clockwise. In 1933, this changed, and the race was run clockwise again.


Teams

Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France entered national teams, consisting of eight cyclists. Additionally, 40 ''touriste-routiers'', cyclists without a team, entered the race.


Pre-race favourites

The French team has been named the best collection of pre-war cyclists. The Belgian team had talented riders, but were split between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking cyclists. The Italian team was headed by
Learco Guerra Learco Guerra (14 October 1902 - 7 February 1963) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a ''frazione'' of Bagnolo San Vito in L ...
. Guerra had won three stages in the 1933 Giro d'Italia and had been world champion. Tour director
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 ...
had named Guerra as probable winner of the race.


Race overview

On 27 June 1933, the Tour de France was started by
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
. The French team, that had won the last three Tours de France, started well.
Maurice Archambaud Maurice Archambaud (30 August 1908 in Paris – 3 December 1955 in Le Raincy) was a French professional cyclist from 1932 to 1944. His short stature earned him the nickname of ''le nabot'', or "the dwarf", but his colossal thighs made him an exce ...
won the first stage, and lead the general classification until the Alps. In the third stage, French sprinter
Charles Pélissier Charles Pélissier (20 February 1903 – 28 May 1959) was a French racing cyclist, between 1922 and 1939, winning 16 stages in the Tour de France. The number of eight stages won in the 1930 Tour de France is still a record, shared with Eddy M ...
, who had already won 13 Tour stages in his career, hit a car. He continued the race, but was injured, and finished behind the time limit. Until the eighth stage, the battle for the lead was between Archambaud and
Learco Guerra Learco Guerra (14 October 1902 - 7 February 1963) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a ''frazione'' of Bagnolo San Vito in L ...
. In that eighth stage, French cyclist
Georges Speicher Georges Speicher (; 8 June 1907 – 24 January 1978) was a French cyclist who won the 1933 Tour de France along with three stage wins, and the 1933 World Cycling Championship. After Speicher had won the 1933 Tour de France, he was initially not ...
asked permission to his team leader Archambaud if he could go for the stage win, and he could. He raced away, and won the stage. In the mountains of the ninth stage, Archambaud could not compete with the rest. When Archambaud folded on the
Allos Allos (; oc, Alòs) is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Allos is a high mountain commune in the southern Alps. The co ...
, somebody else could take over the lead. The next cyclist in the General Classification, Guerra, had a flat tire, and could not win enough time. In the end, it was unknown Belgian Georges Lemaire who took over the lead. Guerra was only 23 seconds behind in the General Classification after that stage. In stage 10, all but six cyclists finished more than 22 minutes after the winner. According to the rules, the cut-off time (the extra time that a cyclist can lose on the stage winner before he is taken out of the race) was 8% of the time of the stage winner. That rule would have put everybody but these six cyclists out of the race. Because of this, the Tour director
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 ...
extended the cut-off time for this stage to 10%, in this way 43 cyclists stayed in the race. In the eleventh stage, the cut-off time was 10%. This would take four cyclists out of the race, but for them the cut-off time was increased to 15%. One of these cyclists had been hit by a car from the Tour direction. Maurice Archambaud took back the lead after that stage thanks to the bonus time, but not for long, as he lost time in the next stage. Georges Speicher led the race from stage 12 on. In the mountains, Speicher struggled. He was dropped many times on the climbs, but was a good descender and got back to the lead group every time. Lemaire initially stayed close to Speicher, and was only 15 seconds behind in the general classification. l'Equipe wrote that with the help of his Belgian team, Lemaire could have challenged Speicher for the overall victory, especially thanks to the help of
Jean Aerts Jean Aerts (8 September 1907 – 15 June 1992) was a Belgian road bicycle racer who specialized as a sprinter. Aerts became the first man to win both the world amateur (1927) and professional (1935) road race championships. In 1935, Aerts ...
. But the Belgian team was still divided between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking cyclists, and Jean Aerts did not help Lemaire but went for his own success. In the 21st stage, the initial winner Le Grèves together with the initial second-placed cyclist Louyet were punished by the jury, because of irregular sprinting. They were set back to the 6th and 7th place, and
Jean Aerts Jean Aerts (8 September 1907 – 15 June 1992) was a Belgian road bicycle racer who specialized as a sprinter. Aerts became the first man to win both the world amateur (1927) and professional (1935) road race championships. In 1935, Aerts ...
, who initially was third, was named the winner of the race. In the 22nd stage, the winner of the race was determined by one lap in the velodrome. This had not been planned, but was done because when the first group with 28 cyclists reached the velodrome, the gates were still closed. Before the last stage, Martano was in second place, and Guerra in third. This last stage was won by Guerra, and thanks to the bonus time of two minutes, Guerra took over the second place.


Results


Stage winners


General classification

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. The bonus in the 1933 Tour de France were also decisive for the overall victory. Without the bonus of two minutes for the stage winner,
Giuseppe Martano Giuseppe Martano ( Savona, 10 October 1910 — Turin, 2 September 1994) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. Martano was twice world amateur champion. He reached the podium of the Tour de France twice, in 1933 (3rd place) and 1934 ( ...
would have won the race. Speicher received six minutes for his three-stage victories and Guerra ten minutes for five victories, whereas Martano had received no bonus time.


Team classification

For the fourth time, there was an official team competition, this time won by the French team. The team classification was calculated in 1933 by adding up the times of the best three cyclists of a team; the team with the least time was the winner. All five teams finished with at least three cyclists, so all five teams were ranked in the final team classification.


Mountains classification

The
mountains classification in the Tour de France The mountains classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1933. It is given to the rider that gains the most points for reaching mountain summits first. The leader of the classification is named the King of th ...
was calculated for the first time in 1933. There were 16 mountains in de route of the 1933 Tour de France, and for the first cyclists to reach the top of the mountain, points were given. The first on the top got 10 points, the second 9 points, and so on, until the tenth cyclist who received 1 point. In 1933, it was sponsored by
Martini & Rossi Martini & Rossi is an Italian multinational alcoholic beverage company primarily associated with the Martini brand of vermouth and also with sparkling wine (for example, Asti). It also produces the French vermouth, Noilly Prat. History The co ...
.


Aftermath

For the
1933 UCI Road World Championships The 1933 UCI Road World Championships took place in Montlhéry, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Amer ...
, that was held after the race, Tour de France winner
Georges Speicher Georges Speicher (; 8 June 1907 – 24 January 1978) was a French cyclist who won the 1933 Tour de France along with three stage wins, and the 1933 World Cycling Championship. After Speicher had won the 1933 Tour de France, he was initially not ...
was initially not selected. Only after a French cyclist that had been selected dropped out, Speicher was brought in as a replacement at the last notice, and won the race. Speicher was the first cyclist to win the Tour de France and the World Championship in the same year. The national team format that had been introduced in 1930, had in four races produced four French victories. The French audience was therefore greatly interested in the race, and the organising newspaper l'Auto had a record circulation of 854000.


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De France 1933 in road cycling 1933 in French sport
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
June 1933 sports events July 1933 sports events