1925 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1925 Tour de France was the 19th edition and was held from June 21 to July 19, 1925 over 5430 kilometers in 18 stages. Italian cyclist Ottavio Bottecchia
successfully defended his 1924
victory to win his second consecutive Tour de France
. Only 49 of the 130 participants finished the course.
. In 1925, the teams returned.
For the first time, the Tour de France started outside Paris, in le Vésinet
. The number of stages increased from 15, which had been used since 1910, to 18, thereby decreasing the average stage length.
The time bonus, given to the winner of a stage, was removed.
After Henri Pélissier
had created a controversy by quitting the 1924 Tour de France and complaining on the toughness of the race to a journalist, the Tour organisation made a new rule that said that any rider that harmed the Tour's image would be banned for the next years.
himself. There were 57 French, 34 Belgian, 28 Italian, 5 Swiss, 5 Luxembourgian and 1 Spanish cyclists.
, who surprisingly took over the lead in the third stage. Bottecchia was however only eight seconds behind in the general classification.
In the fourth stage, Henri Pélissier
, the winner of the 1923 Tour de France
, left the race. In previous years, Pélissier had left the race after a fight with tour organiser Henri Desgrange
, but this time it was because of knee problems.
In the sixth stage, Benoit punctured, and Bottechia's Automoto team rode as fast as they could to get away from Benoit. Bottecchia won the stage, and after he won the next stage too, he took over the lead.
In the eighth stage, Adelin Benoit won back eleven minutes in the first Pyrénées
stage, in what used to be Bottecchia's specialty. In the ninth stage, Bottecchia took back the lead in the rain, and this decided the race. Bottecchia did not win the stage, but his Automoto team mates had helped him to win 45 minutes on Benoit. After that stage, Nicolas Frantz
was number two, more than 13 minutes behind.
In the next stages, Bottecchia was helped by his team mate Lucien Buysse
. In return, Bottecchia allowed Buysse to win the eleventh and twelfth stage. In the twelfth stage, Bottecchia and Buysse failed to sign in at a control post, and were fined with 10 minutes penalty time. Nonetheless, the margin with runner-up Frantz had increased to 27 minutes.
In the fourteenth stage, Frantz had a flat tyre, and the Automoto team raced away from him. Frantz lost more than 37 minutes. This took Frantz completely out of contention for the victory, and Bottecchia's victory seemed secure. Italian Aimo was the new runner-up, with a margin of more than 55 minutes. Lucien Buysse was only three minutes behind Aimo, and in the sixteenth stage, Buysse took off, trying to win back time on Aimo. Nicolas Frantz, Albert Dejonghe and Hector Martin followed him, but Aimo missed that move, and lost five minutes. Buysse was now in second place, with Frantz only three seconds behind him.
In the seventeenth stage, Frantz missed the deciding escape, and Buysse and Aimo finished in the leading group, so Aimo was back in third place.
Bottecchia made his Tour victory complete by winning the last stage.
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 Bottecchia.
The champion of the 1923 Tour de France, Henri Pélissier, rode his last Tour de France in 1925.
During the race, Bottecchia had promised Lucien Buysse half his earnings, because he needed help. Buysse was content with this deal, and did not try to win the Tour himself. After the race ended, Buysse told his relatives that he was happy with how things went, but that the next year he would try and win the race, which he did.
Ottavio Bottecchia
Ottavio Bottecchia was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France. He was found dead by the roadside; the reason remains a mystery.-Origins:...
successfully defended his 1924
1924 Tour de France
The 1924 Tour de France was the 18th edition of the Tour de France and was won by Ottavio Bottecchia. He was the first Italian cyclist to win the Tour and the first rider to hold the yellow jersey the entire event. The race was held over 5,425 km with an average speed of 23.972 km/h...
victory to win his second consecutive Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. Only 49 of the 130 participants finished the course.
Changes from the 1924 Tour de France
In 1919 to 1924, the sponsored teams had been away because of the economic impact of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1925, the teams returned.
For the first time, the Tour de France started outside Paris, in le Vésinet
Le Vésinet
Le Vésinet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center....
. The number of stages increased from 15, which had been used since 1910, to 18, thereby decreasing the average stage length.
The time bonus, given to the winner of a stage, was removed.
After Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting against the conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour...
had created a controversy by quitting the 1924 Tour de France and complaining on the toughness of the race to a journalist, the Tour organisation made a new rule that said that any rider that harmed the Tour's image would be banned for the next years.
Participants
The participants were divided into two groups: 39 cyclists were riding in sponsored teams, and 91 rode as touriste-routiers. The teams did not have equal size; the largest team, J.B. Louvet, consisted of eight cyclists, while the smallest team, J.Alavoine-Dunlop, had only one cyclists, Jean AlavoineJean Alavoine
Jean Alavoine was a French professional cyclist, who won 17 stages in the Tour de France - only 8 riders have won more stages - and wore the yellow jersey for 5 days. In Daniel Marszalek's list of best road riders in history, he is ranked 96th....
himself. There were 57 French, 34 Belgian, 28 Italian, 5 Swiss, 5 Luxembourgian and 1 Spanish cyclists.
Race details
Bottecchia, who had won the previous Tour de France, started by winning the first stage. In 1924, he had had no difficulty in defending his lead, but in 1925 there was Adelin BenoitAdelin Benoit
Adelin Benoit was a Belgian road racing cyclist, born in Châtelet.Surprising newcomer in Tour de France 1925, he got the yellow jersey during 5 days, and won the stage in Luchon .-Major Victories:...
, who surprisingly took over the lead in the third stage. Bottecchia was however only eight seconds behind in the general classification.
In the fourth stage, Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier
Henri Pélissier was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting against the conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour...
, the winner of the 1923 Tour de France
1923 Tour de France
The 1923 Tour de France was the 17th Tour de France, taking place June 24 to July 22, 1923. It consisted of 15 stages over 5386 km, ridden at an average speed of 24.233 km/h. The race was won by Henri Pélissier with a convincing half hour lead to his next opponent, Italian Ottavio...
, left the race. In previous years, Pélissier had left the race after a fight with tour organiser Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
, but this time it was because of knee problems.
In the sixth stage, Benoit punctured, and Bottechia's Automoto team rode as fast as they could to get away from Benoit. Bottecchia won the stage, and after he won the next stage too, he took over the lead.
In the eighth stage, Adelin Benoit won back eleven minutes in the first Pyrénées
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
stage, in what used to be Bottecchia's specialty. In the ninth stage, Bottecchia took back the lead in the rain, and this decided the race. Bottecchia did not win the stage, but his Automoto team mates had helped him to win 45 minutes on Benoit. After that stage, Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz
Nicolas Frantz , born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career . He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous...
was number two, more than 13 minutes behind.
In the next stages, Bottecchia was helped by his team mate Lucien Buysse
Lucien Buysse
Lucien Buysse was a Belgian cyclist and a champion of the Tour de France.Born in Wontergem, Buysse began racing professionally in 1914, when he entered the Tour de France but did not finish. He resumed his career after World War I, entering but abandoning the Tour again in 1919 but placing third...
. In return, Bottecchia allowed Buysse to win the eleventh and twelfth stage. In the twelfth stage, Bottecchia and Buysse failed to sign in at a control post, and were fined with 10 minutes penalty time. Nonetheless, the margin with runner-up Frantz had increased to 27 minutes.
In the fourteenth stage, Frantz had a flat tyre, and the Automoto team raced away from him. Frantz lost more than 37 minutes. This took Frantz completely out of contention for the victory, and Bottecchia's victory seemed secure. Italian Aimo was the new runner-up, with a margin of more than 55 minutes. Lucien Buysse was only three minutes behind Aimo, and in the sixteenth stage, Buysse took off, trying to win back time on Aimo. Nicolas Frantz, Albert Dejonghe and Hector Martin followed him, but Aimo missed that move, and lost five minutes. Buysse was now in second place, with Frantz only three seconds behind him.
In the seventeenth stage, Frantz missed the deciding escape, and Buysse and Aimo finished in the leading group, so Aimo was back in third place.
Bottecchia made his Tour victory complete by winning the last stage.
Stage winners
| Stage | Date | Route | TerrainThere was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate which stages included mountains. | Length | Winner | Race leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 June | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... – Le Havre Le Havre Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total... |
 |
340 km (211.3 mi) | ||
| 2 | 23 June | Le Havre – Cherbourg | |
371 km (230.5 mi) | ||
| 3 | 25 June | Cherbourg – Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon... |
|
405 km (251.7 mi) | ||
| 4 | 26 June | Brest – Vannes Vannes Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west... |
|
208 km (129.2 mi) | ||
| 5 | 27 June | Vannes – Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:... |
|
204 km (126.8 mi) | ||
| 6 | 28 June | Les Sables-d'Olonne – Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... |
|
293 km (182.1 mi) | ||
| 7 | 29 June | Bordeaux – Bayonne Bayonne Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture... |
|
189 km (117.4 mi) | ||
| 8 | 1 July | Bayonne – Luchon |  |
326 km (202.6 mi) | ||
| 9 | 3 July | Luchon – Perpignan Perpignan -Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the... |
|
323 km (200.7 mi) | ||
| 10 | 4 July | Perpignan – Nîmes Nîmes Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:... |
|
215 km (133.6 mi) | ||
| 11 | 5 July | Nîmes – Toulon Toulon Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence.... |
|
215 km (133.6 mi) | ||
| 12 | 7 July | Toulon – Nice Nice Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of... |
|
280 km (174 mi) | ||
| 13 | 9 July | Nice – Briançon Briançon Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.... |
|
275 km (170.9 mi) | ||
| 14 | 11 July | Briançon – Evian Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains or Évian is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France... |
|
303 km (188.3 mi) | ||
| 15 | 13 July | Evian – Mulhouse Mulhouse Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after... |
|
373 km (231.8 mi) | ||
| 16 | 15 July | Mulhouse – Metz Metz Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place... |
|
334 km (207.5 mi) | ||
| 17 | 17 July | Metz – Dunkerque | |
433 km (269.1 mi) | ||
| 18 | 19 July | Dunkerque – Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
|
343 km (213.1 mi) |
General classification
In 1925, no French cyclist finished in the top ten. For the first time, two of the three riders on the podium were Italian.| Rank | Rider | Sponsor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Automoto | 219h 10' 18" |
| 2 | Automoto | +54' 20" | |
| 3 | Alcyon | +56' 37" | |
| 4 | Alcyon | +1h 11' 24" | |
| 5 | J.B. Louvet | +1h 27' 42" | |
| 6 | Thomann | +2h 24' 43" | |
| 7 | Armor | +2h 33' 38" | |
| 8 | Christophe | +2h 44' 36" | |
| 9 | Alcyon | +2h 45' 59" | |
| 10 | Meteore | +4h 06' 03" |
| Final general classification (11–49) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Rider | Sponsor | Time |
| 11 | Alcyon | +4h 26' 10" | |
| 12 | Thomann | +4h 37' 14" | |
| 13 | J.Alavoine | +4h 39' 48" | |
| 14 | J.B. Louvet | +4h 48' 44" | |
| 15 | Automoto | +5h 07' 33" | |
| 16 | Touriste | +5h 28' 07" | |
| 17 | Christophe | +6h 39' 01" | |
| 18 | J.B. Louvet | +6h 55' 31" | |
| 19 | Touriste | +7h 18' 13" | |
| 20 | Labor | +7h 30' 06" | |
| 21 | Touriste | +7h 31' 40" | |
| 22 | Alcyon | +8h 55' 18" | |
| 23 | Touriste | +9h 34' 16" | |
| 24 | Touriste | +9h 38' 06" | |
| 25 | Christophe | +9h 47' 24" | |
| 26 | Meteore | +9h 55' 12" | |
| 27 | Touriste | +10h 24' 50" | |
| 28 | Meteore | +10h 38' 43" | |
| 29 | Touriste | +11h 51' 53" | |
| 30 | Touriste | +12h 26' 04" | |
| 31 | Alcyon | +13h 26' 54" | |
| 32 | Touriste | +15h 23' 17" | |
| 33 | Touriste | +15h 49' 19" | |
| 34 | Touriste | +15h 58' 38" | |
| 35 | Labor | +16h 09' 19" | |
| 36 | Touriste | +17h 12' 16" | |
| 37 | Touriste | +19h 00' 10" | |
| 38 | Touriste | +19h 07' 32" | |
| 39 | Touriste | +20h 39' 31" | |
| 40 | Touriste | +21h 20' 40" | |
| 41 | Touriste | +23h 04' 54" | |
| 42 | Meteore | +23h 32' 54" | |
| 43 | Touriste | +25h 22' 18" | |
| 44 | Touriste | +25h 50' 56" | |
| 45 | Touriste | +27h 13' 41" | |
| 46 | Touriste | +27h 17' 45" | |
| 47 | Touriste | +30h 26' 16" | |
| 48 | Touriste | +34h 24' 36" | |
| 49 | Touriste | +36h 10' 50" | |
Other classifications
The race for touriste-routiers, cyclists who did not belong to a team and were allowed no assistance, was won by Despontin.The organing newspaper, l'Auto named a meilleur grimpeur (best climber), an unofficial precursor to the modern King of the Mountains
King of the Mountains
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
competition. This award was won by Bottecchia.
Aftermath
The 1925 Tour de France was Bottecchia's latest big victory. In 1926 he started again, but withdrew in the Pyrénées. When he was training in 1927, he was found bleeding at the side of the road close to his house, and he died some hours later.The champion of the 1923 Tour de France, Henri Pélissier, rode his last Tour de France in 1925.
During the race, Bottecchia had promised Lucien Buysse half his earnings, because he needed help. Buysse was content with this deal, and did not try to win the Tour himself. After the race ended, Buysse told his relatives that he was happy with how things went, but that the next year he would try and win the race, which he did.
Further reading
- Luxemburger Illustrierte - Edition spéciale: Tour de France (special edition from a newspaper from 1925)