page_title: Tour de France
section_title: The first Tour de France (1903)
hierarchical_section_title: Tour de France / History / The first Tour de France (1903)
caption_attribution_description: Spaarnestad Photo, SFA001006411 Finish van de eerste Tour de France. Rechts winnaar Marice Garin. De renner links naast hem is waarschijnlijk Leon Georget. Parijs, juli 1903. Tour de France 1903. Collectie SPAARNESTAD PHOTO/Fotograaf onbekend The finish of the first Tour. At the right: the first winner, Maurice Garin. At the left: probably Leon Georget (not sure). Tour de France 1903. Voor meer informatie en voor meer foto’s uit de collectie van Spaarnestad Photo, bezoek onze Beeldbank: www.spaarnestadphoto.nl/ U kunt ons helpen onze kennis van de fotocollecties te verrijken door tags en commentaren toe te voegen. Herkent u mensen of locaties of heeft u een bijzonder verhaal te vertellen bij één van de foto’s, laat dan een reactie achter (als u ingelogd bent bij Flickr) of stuur een mailtje naar: hhamelink@spaarnestadphoto.nl You can help us gain more knowledge on the content of our collection by simply adding a comment with information. If you do not wish to log in, you can write an e-mail to: hhamelink@spaarnestadphoto.nl
context_page_description: 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, it consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days. It has been described as "the world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle race."
  The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper L'Auto and is currently run by the Amaury Sport Organisation. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened and its reach began to extend around the globe. Participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers invite. It has become "the world's biggest annual sporting event." A women's Tour de France was held under different names between 1984 and 2009.
context_section_description: The first Tour de France was staged in 1903. The plan was a five-stage race from 31 May to 5 July, starting in Paris and stopping in Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Nantes before returning to Paris. Toulouse was added later to break the long haul across southern France from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. Stages would go through the night and finish next afternoon, with rest days before riders set off again. But this proved too daunting and the costs too great for most and only 15 competitors had entered. Desgrange had never been wholly convinced and he came close to dropping the idea. Instead, he cut the length to 19 days, changed the dates to 1 to 19 July, and offered a daily allowance to those who averaged at least 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) on all the stages, equivalent to what a rider would have expected to earn each day had he worked in a factory. He also cut the entry fee from 20 to 10 francs and set the first prize at 12,000 francs and the prize for each day's winner at 3,000 francs. The winner would thereby win six times what most workers earned in a year. That attracted between 60 and 80 entrants – the higher number may have included serious inquiries and some who dropped out – among them not just professionals but amateurs, some unemployed, and some simply adventurous.
  Desgrange seems not to have forgotten the Dreyfus Affair that launched his race and raised the passions of his backers. He announced his new race on 1 July 1903 by citing the writer Émile Zola, whose open letter J'Accuse…! led to Dreyfus's acquittal, establishing the florid style he used henceforth.
  The first Tour de France started almost outside the Café Reveil-Matin at the junction of the Melun and Corbeil roads in the village of Montgeron. It was waved away by the starter, Georges Abran, at 3:16 p.m. on 1 July 1903. L'Auto hadn't featured the race on its front page that morning.
  Among the competitors were the eventual winner, Maurice Garin, his well-built rival Hippolyte Aucouturier, the German favourite Josef Fischer, and a collection of adventurers including one competing as "Samson".
  Many riders dropped out of the race after completing the initial stages as the physical effort the tour required was just too much. Only a mere 24 entrants remained at the end of the fourth stage. The race finished on the edge of Paris at Ville d'Avray, outside the Restaurant du Père Auto, before a ceremonial ride into Paris and several laps of the Parc des Princes.  Garin dominated the race, winning the first and last two stages, at 25.68 kilometres per hour (15.96 mph). The last rider, Millocheau, finished 64h 47m 22s behind him.
  L'Auto's mission was accomplished as throughout the race circulation of the publication doubled, making the race something much larger than Desgrange had ever hoped for.
caption: Maurice Garin, winner of the first Tour de France standing on the right. The man on the left is possibly Leon Georget (1903)[23]
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Wielrennen, Tour de France 1903. Finish van de 1e Tour de France, links [Leon Georget] en rechts de eerste winnaar Maurice Garin. Parijs, juli 1903.", "Image Artist": "Fotograaf onbekend", "Image Copyright": "Collectie SPAARNESTAD PHOTO", "Image DateTime": "2009:06:30 15:28:18", "Image Software": "Memorix - pictura-dp.nl"}