 Route of the 1929 Tour de France followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris | |||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 30 June – 28 July 1929 | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 22 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 5,286 km (3,285 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 186h 39' 16" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The 1929 Tour de France was the 23rd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 28 July. It consisted of 22 stages over 5,286 km (3,285 mi).
Nicolas Frantz had won two consecutive Tours, in 1927 and 1928, and was looking for a third. In addition the 1926 Tour winner, Lucien Buysse, was looking for another title.
Victor Fontan, leader of the general classification and therefore wearer of the yellow jersey, crashed in the Pyrenees during stage 10, breaking the forks to his bicycle. At that time, a rule stated that a rider must finish a stage with the bike he started it with. Fontan went house to house, looking for a bike to borrow. He eventually found one and rode 145 km to the finish line, with his broken bike strapped to his back. At the end of the day Fontan quit the race in tears. The rule was removed for the 1930 Tour de France.[1]
The Tour was won by Belgian Maurice De Waele, although he was sick during the race. The Tour organisation was not content with the outcome of the race, because the strongest team Alycon had been able to deliver the winner even though he was sick, so they changed the rules after the 1929 Tour de France, and for the next years there were no sponsored teams but only national or regional teams.[2]
- ^ McGann & McGann 2006, pp. 91–93.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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