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1928 Tour de France

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1928 Tour de France
Route of the 1928 Tour de France Followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris
Route of the 1928 Tour de France
Followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris
Race details
Dates17 June–15 July 1928
Stages22
Distance5,476 km (3,403 mi)
Winning time198h 16' 42"
Results
Winner  Nicolas Frantz (Luxembourg) (Alcyon–Dunlop)
  Second  André Leducq (France) (Alcyon–Dunlop)
  Third  Maurice De Waele (Belgium) (Alcyon–Dunlop)
← 1927
1929 →

The 1928 Tour de France was the 22nd Tour de France, taking place June 17 to July 15, 1928. It consisted of 22 stages over 5,476 km, ridden at an average speed of 28.4 km/h.[1] Altogether, 162 cyclists started the race, at that time a new record.[2]

The second win by Nicolas Frantz, he held the yellow jersey from beginning to end despite an obstacle in three days before the end of the tour. Frantz had a mechanical failure between Metz and Charleville and had to finish 100 km of race on an undersized women's bicycle resulting in a loss of 28 minutes. Regardless, Frantz won the tour, showing the superiority of his team, Alcyon, which gained the team trophy,[3] and also had second best man André Leducq.

The 22nd tour featured the first appearance of an Australian team, indicating the beginning of a more international sporting field.[4][5]

Tour director Henri Desgrange allowed teams to replace exhausted or injured cyclist by new cyclists, to give the weaker teams a fairer chance. However, the effects were opposite, so the concept was quickly abandoned.[5]

Changes from the 1927 Tour de France

In the 1927 Tour de France, the team time trial format had been introduced, where teams started 15 minutes separated. This was done to make the flat stages more competitive. Although in 1927 this had not been successful, the formula was repeated in 1928; this time the teams started 10 minutes from each other.[2]

The team time trial format had been an advantage to the strong teams; therefore the tour organisation invented a new rule, aimed to help the weak teams: the teams were allowed to replace cyclists in the beginning of stage 12, halfway through the competition.[3] They were not eligible for the general classification.

Another new rule thing were the regional teams. The riders were separated in three groups: there were 8 trade teams, 9 regional teams of five riders and the touriste-routiers, without teams.[6]

In other years, the mountain stages, especially in the Pyrénées, had decided the race. To reduce the importance of these stages, the Tour organisation had changed the route of the first mountain stage, that had been the same since 1913. Two mountains, the Aspin and the Peyresourde, were left out of the stage.[2]

Kisses and flowers from the local beauty for Hubert Opperman after the 6th stage.

The tour also saw the introduction of the Australian/New Zealand team, sponsored by Ravat. It was headed by Hubert Opperman, who had been the Australian cycling champion for a few years. After the Melbourne Herald had a campaign to send Opperman to the Tour de France, a team was made. The plan was to add six experienced European cyclists to the team, but this did not happen.[7] Opperman rode some races in Europe and could compete with the European top cyclists, but the rest of his team could not. Because a major part of the race was in the team time trial format, Opperman had no chance to win the Tour.[2]

Race details

The Belgian Maurice Geldhof is climbing part of the Aubisque on foot.

In the first team-time-trial like stages, the Alcyon team emerged the best. The individual Touriste-routiers could not compete to the professional teams. The Alcyon team finished first in five of the eight stages. Nicolas Frantz, the winner of the previous tour, crossed the finish line first in the first stage, and was leading the classification, and kept the lead during these stages.[2] After the first eight stages, Frantz was leading the race, followed by his team mate Maurice De Waele in 99 seconds. Julien Vervaecke, the Belgian from the Armor team, followed in third place, 225 seconds behind.[3]

In stage 9, the first mountain stage, Frantz did not crush the competition as he had done on previous year. Instead, Victor Fontan, who was more than one and a half hour behind in the general classification,[8] was allowed to escape and win the stage.[2] Frantz still finished second, seven minutes behind, and extended his lead on his direct competitors, and was now leading by more than 40 minutes.[3] In the tenth stage, the Alcyon team-mates Leducq, Frantz and De Waele finished first, and they now had the first three places in the general classification.[3]

Next came the alps. Here, Frantz increased his lead. Behind him, De Waele gained time on Leducq, and was now in second place. After the alps, the three Alcyon cyclists still held the first three places in the general classification, with Frantz comfortably leading by more than 75 minutes. In the 19th stage, Frantz bicycle frame broke, when he rode over a railroad track.[2] His sponsor, Alcyon, did not like the bad publicity, and wanted Frantz to go to an Alcyon dealer and get a replacement bike. The team manager from Alcyon was against this idea, because this would cause a major time loss, and maybe even the loss of the Tour de France. According to some sources, they found a bicycle shop that only had one bicycle left, an undersized women's bicycle, and they decided to take it.[9] Other sources say that when they were thinking what to do, Frantz spotted a woman with a bicycle, and persuaded her to give him her bike. Frantz rode the last 100 km on this undersized women's bicycle, and did this with 27 km/h, whereas the winner of the stage had 34 km/h.[2][3] His lead dropped with 30 minutes, but he was still leading the race.

In the 21st stage, Antonin Magne and Francis Bouillet had escaped together, and it was Bouillet who won the sprint. This was a problem for the Tour organisation, as Bouillet had already left the race in stage 9, to start again as a replacement in stage 12. Hence, he was no longer eligible for the general classification, and could not be the winner of a stage. The Tour organisation solved the problem by giving Bouillet the best time and proclaiming him the moral winner of the stage, and making Magne the official winner of the stage.[10]

Results

In stages 1 to 8 and 15 to 21, the cyclists started in teams.[3] The cyclist who reached the finish fastest was the winner of the stage. In the other stages, all cyclists started together. The time that each cyclist required to finish the stage was recorded. For the general classification, these times were added up; the cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.

Stage winners

Nicolas Frantz wore the yellow jersey from the start of the race to the end of the race. Since the introduction of the yellow jersey in 1919, this has only happened in 1924, 1928 and 1935.[1] As the winner of the previous year, Frantz also wore the yellow jersey during the first stage; he is the only cyclist to wear the yellow jersey during an entire Tour de France.[9]

Stage results[3][11]
Stage Date Route Terrain[Notes 1] Length Winner (team) Race leader
1 17 June Paris – Caen Team time trial 207 km (129 mi)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
2 18 June Caen – Cherbourg Team time trial 140 km (87 mi)  André Leducq (FRA) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
3 19 June Cherbourg – Dinan Team time trial 199 km (124 mi)  Gaston Rebry (BEL) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
4 20 June Dinan – Brest Team time trial 206 km (128 mi)  Pé Verhaegen (BEL) (J.B. Louvet)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
5 21 June Brest – Vannes Team time trial 208 km (129 mi)  Marcel Bidot (FRA) (Alleluia–Wolber)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
6 22 June Vannes – Les Sables d'Olonne Team time trial 204 km (127 mi)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
7 23 June Les Sables d'Olonne – Bordeaux Team time trial 285 km (177 mi)  Victor Fontan (FRA) (Elvish–Wolber)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
8 24 June Bordeaux – Hendaye Team time trial 225 km (140 mi)  Maurice Dewaele (BEL) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
9 26 June Hendaye – Luchon Stage with mountain(s) 387 km (240 mi)  Victor Fontan (FRA)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
10 28 June Luchon – Perpignan Stage with mountain(s) 323 km (201 mi)  André Leducq (FRA)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
11 30 June Perpignan – Marseille Plain stage 363 km (226 mi)  André Leducq (FRA)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
12 2 July Marseille – Nice Stage with mountain(s) 330 km (210 mi)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
13 4 July Nice – Grenoble Stage with mountain(s) 333 km (207 mi)  Antonin Magne (FRA)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
14 6 July Grenoble – Evian Stage with mountain(s) 329 km (204 mi)  Julien Moineau (FRA)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
15 8 July Evian – Pontarlier Team time trial 213 km (132 mi)  Pierre Magne (FRA) (Alleluia–Wolber)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
16 9 July Pontarlier – Belfort Team time trial 119 km (74 mi)  André Leducq (FRA) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
17 10 July Belfort – Strasbourg Team time trial 145 km (90 mi)  Joseph Mauclair (FRA) (Armor–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
18 11 July Strasbouurg – Metz Team time trial 165 km (103 mi)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
19 12 July Metz – Charleville Team time trial 159 km (99 mi)  Marcel Huot (FRA) (Alleluia–Wolber)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
20 13 July Charleville – Malo-les-Bains Team time trial 271 km (168 mi)  Maurice Dewaele (BEL) (Alcyon–Dunlop)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
21 14 July Malo-les-Bains – Dieppe Team time trial 234 km (145 mi)  Antonin Magne (FRA) (Alleluia–Wolber)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)
22 15 July Dieppe – Paris Plain stage 331 km (206 mi)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)  Nicolas Frantz (LUX)

General classification

Italian Giusto Cerutti has a broken wheel after a fall. According to the rules he is not allowed to accept help.

The Alcyon team had all the podium positions. Since 1928, it has never happened again that one team had all the podium positions.[12]

Final general classification (1–10)[3]
Rank Rider Sponsor Time
1  Nicolas Frantz (LUX) Alcyon–Dunlop 192h 48' 58"
2  André Leducq (FRA) Alcyon–Dunlop +50' 07"
3  Maurice De Waele (BEL) Alcyon–Dunlop +56' 16"
4  Jan Mertens (BEL) Thomann–Dunlop +1h 19' 18"
5  Julien Vervaecke (BEL) Armor–Dunlop +1h 53' 32"
6  Antonin Magne (FRA) Alleluia–Wolber +2h 14' 02"
7  Victor Fontan (FRA) Elvish–Wolber +5h 07' 47"
8  Marcel Bidot (FRA) Alleluia–Wolber +5h 18' 28"
9  Marcel Huot (FRA) Alleluia–Wolber +5h 37' 33"
10  Pierre Magne (FRA) Alleluia–Wolber +5h 41' 20"

Other classifications

The organing newspaper, l'Auto named a meilleur grimpeur (best climber), an unofficial precursor to the modern King of the Mountains competition. This award was won by Victor Fontan.[13]

There was also a team trophee. The team trophee for teams was won by Alcyon, the Champagne-regional team won the team trophee for regional teams.[3] This team trophee was not the same as the team classification that has been run since 1930.

Aftermath

The team time trial method had not given the desired result; in the 1929 Tour de France it was only used if the previous stage had been too slow, and after 1929 it disappeared. The rule with replaced cyclists did not even make it until the next year.[14]

Some riders had been grouped in regional teams; this was considered successful; in 1930 the system would change to the national team system, where riders were grouped in national or regional teams.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ The flat stages, 1 to 8 and 15 to 21, indicated by the clock icon, were run as team time trials. The other stages, indicated by the other icons, were run individually, and the icons show whether the stage included mountains.

References

  1. ^ a b Augendre, Jacques (2009). Tour de France Guide Historique. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-27. Retrieved 25 September 2009. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h McGann, Bill (2006). The Story of the Tour De France Volume 1:1903-1964. Dog Ear Publishing. pp. 87–91. ISBN 1-59858-180-5. Retrieved 24 September 2009. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "22ème Tour de France 1928" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  4. ^ The first Australian cyclists rode the Tour de France in 1914, but not as a team.
  5. ^ a b "The Tour - Year 1928". Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
  6. ^ Tom James (15 August 2003). "1928: Frantz on a woman's bike". Veloarchive. Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 24 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Kennett, Jonathan (2004). Ride: the story of cycling in New Zealand. Kenneth Brothers. p. 124. ISBN 095834907. Retrieved 2009-09-25. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "8e etappe: Bordeaux - Hendaye 225 km - 24-06-1928". Archived from the original on 2009-09-27. Retrieved 25 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Barry Boyce (2004). "Frantz! Start to Finish". Cycling revealed. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Bouillet, remplaçant, gagne l'étape Malo-Les-Bains–Dieppe dont Antonin Magne est le vainquer" (PDF). l'Ouest-Eclair (in French). 16 July 1928. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
  11. ^ Arian Zwegers. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 24 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Ronnie van den Bogaart (15 July 2009). "Drie wielrenners van één ploeg op het tourpodium" (in Dutch). Sportgeschiedenis. Archived from the original on 2009-09-27. Retrieved 25 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Michiel van Lonkhuyzen. "Tour-giro-vuelta". Archived from the original on 2009-09-26. Retrieved 24 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "23ème Tour de France 1929" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  15. ^ "24ème Tour de France 1930" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
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