1936 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1936 Tour de France was the 30th 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...

, taking place July 7 to August 2, 1936. It was composed of 21 stages with a total length of 4,418 km, ridden at an average speed of 31.108 km/h. Because of health problems, Henri Desgrange stopped as Tour director, and was succeeded by Jacques Goddet.

The race was won by Belgian cyclist Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.- Palmarès :1932...

. In the early stages, he battled with French Maurice Archambaud
Maurice Archambaud
Maurice Archambaud was a French professional cyclist from 1932 to 1944. His short stature earned him the nickname of le nabot, or "the dwarf", but colossal thighs made him an exceptional rider....

, until Archambaud lost many minutes on the eighth stage. Maes was then able to create a large margin with his new closest competitor Magne and team mate Vervaecke.

The team classification was won by the Belgian team, and Spanish cyclist Julián Berrendero won the mountains classification. There was also a one-time classification, based on points, that was won by Sylvère Maes.

Changes from the 1935 Tour de France

For the first time, a stage was divided into three parts.
The race director at the start of the race was still 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...

, who had been race director since the first Tour de France in 1903. Desgrange, who was already 71 years old, had had kidney surgery weeks before the start of the Tour, but was determined to follow the Tour, and rode in a car full of cushions. After the second stage, he stopped, and made Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986....

 director.
The individuals category which had been used in 1935 was not used in 1936.

The introduction of the summer holiday in France in 1936 meant that the number of spectators on the roadside increased.

The bonification system was the same as in 1935. This meant that the winner of a stage received 90 seconds, and the second cyclist 45 seconds. In addition, the winner received a bonification equal to the margin between him and the second cyclist, with a maximum of 2 minutes. The last bonification system was also used for the first cyclist to reach a mountain top that counted for the mountains classification.

Participants

The riders were divided into two categories: the national teams and the touriste-routiers. There were four big national teams with 10 cyclists each: the Belgian team, the German team, the Spanish/Luxembourgian team and the French team. There were also five small teams of 4 cyclists each: the Swiss team, the Dutch team, the Yugoslavian team, the Romanian team and the Austrian team. For the Dutch, Yugoslavian and Romanian teams, it was the first participation ever. The Italian team was absent for political reasons (the Second Italo-Abyssinian War
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...

). An Italian team consisting of Italians living in France had been allowed to the race and even had jersey numbers designated, but finally the Tour organisers changed their minds.

Race details

Swiss Paul Egli
Paul Egli
Paul Egli was a Swiss professional road bicycle racer. He is most known for his silver and bronze medals in respectively the 1938 and the 1937 Road World Championships.- Palmares :1932...

 won the first stage, and thereby became the first Swiss cyclist to lead the general classification in the Tour de France. That first stage was run in terrible rain.
In the second stage, the cyclists were split in two parts, and Egli was in the second part. Archambaud then took over the lead. Archambaud lost it to Luxembourgian Mersch in the next stage, but recaptured the lead when he won the fourth stage.
The competition really started in the mountains of the seventh stage. Belgian Romain Maes
Romain Maes
Romain Maes was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey of leadership from beginning to end....

, the winner of the 1935 Tour, was first over the first mountain, but then gave up, a victim of chronic bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis
Chronic bronchitis is a chronic inflammation of the bronchi in the lungs. It is generally considered one of the two forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...

. On the next climb, Georges Speicher
Georges Speicher
Georges Speicher was a French cyclist who won the 1933 Tour de France along with three stage wins, and the 1933 World Cycling Championship.- Palmarès :19311932...

, winner of the 1930 Tour, gave up. Archambaud was still in the lead after that stage. The stage was won by Theo Middelkamp, who became the first Dutch cyclist to win a Tour stage. Before the 1936 Tour, Middelkamp had never seen a mountain in his life.

In the eighth stage, Archambaud could not follow anymore, and Sylvère Maes took over the lead. In third place was Antonin Magne
Antonin Magne
Antonin Magne was a French cyclist who won the Tour de France in 1931 and 1934. He raced as a professional from 1927 to 1939 and then became a team manager...

, who had a good chance to win the race.
Magne attacked on the next stage, but could not drop Maes. Later, Magne had to let the leading group get away, and lost a minute to Maes.

The stages between the Alps and the Pyrénées were partly run as team time trial
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...

s. The Belgian team was superior here, and Magne lost more time. When it was time for the Pyrénées, he was eight minutes behind Maes.

In stage 15, the podium did not change, so it had to happen in stage 16, the last mountain stage. Magne attacked, but was unable to win back time. Maes was better, and including time bonuses Maes won eighteen minutes on Magne in that stage.

In that stage, Belgian Félicien Vervaecke had borrowed a bicycle with derailleur. It was allowed for touriste-routiers, but not for national team members, and he was fined with ten minutes penalty time in the general classification. Magne also got 10 minutes penalty time, for having received food when it was not allowed. Due to this penalty, Vervaecke lost his second place in the general classification, which Magne took over.

In the last part of the race, Maes extended his lead thanks to the team time trials, although the French team was finally also able to win one.

Stages

Stages 13B, 14B, 18B, 19B and 20B were all run in the team-time-trial format.
Stage results
Stage Date Route TerrainThe icons shown here indicate whether the stage was run as a team time trial, the stage was flat or the stage included mountains that counted for the mountains classifications. Length Winner
1 7 July Paris – Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

 
Plain stage
258 km (160.3 mi)
2 8 July Lille – Charleville
Charleville, Marne
Charleville is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France....

 
Plain stage
192 km (119.3 mi)
3 9 July Charleville – 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...

 
Plain stage
161 km (100 mi)
4 10 July Metz – Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...

 
Stage with mountain(s)
220 km (136.7 mi)
5 11 July Belfort – Évian-les-Bains
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...

 
Plain stage
298 km (185.2 mi)
6 13 July Évian-les-Bains – Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains
Aix-les-Bains is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It is situated on the shore of Lac du Bourget, by rail north of Chambéry.-Geography:...

 
Stage with mountain(s)
212 km (131.7 mi)
7 14 July Aix-les-Bains – Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

 
Stage with mountain(s)
230 km (142.9 mi)
8 15 July Grenoble – 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....

 
Stage with mountain(s)
194 km (120.5 mi)
9 16 July Briançon – Digne 
Stage with mountain(s)
220 km (136.7 mi)
10 18 July Digne – Nice 
Plain stage
156 km (96.9 mi)
11 19 July Nice – Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

 
Stage with mountain(s)
126 km (78.3 mi)
12 21 July Cannes – Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 
Plain stage
195 km (121.2 mi)
13A 22 July Marseille – 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:...

 
Plain stage
112 km (69.6 mi)
13B Nîmes – Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

 
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
52 km (32.3 mi)
14A 23 July Montpellier – Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

 
Plain stage
103 km (64 mi)
14B Narbonne – 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...

 
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
63 km (39.1 mi)
15 25 July Perpignan – Luchon 
Stage with mountain(s)
325 km (201.9 mi)
16 27 July Luchon – Pau 
Stage with mountain(s)
194 km (120.5 mi)
17 29 July Pau – 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...

 
Plain stage
229 km (142.3 mi)
18A 30 July Bordeaux – Saintes
Saintes
Saintes is a French commune located in Poitou-Charentes, in the southwestern Charente-Maritime department of which it is a sub-prefecture. Its inhabitants are called Saintaises and Saintais....

 
Plain stage
117 km (72.7 mi)
18B Saintes – La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

 
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
75 km (46.6 mi)
19A 31 July La Rochelle – La Roche-sur-Yon
La Roche-sur-Yon
La Roche-sur-Yon is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.It is the capital of the department. Its inhabitants are called Yonnais.-History:...

 
Plain stage
81 km (50.3 mi)
19B La Roche-sur-Yon – Cholet
Cholet
Cholet is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. It was the capital of military Vendée.-Geography:Cholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the fifteenth century...

 
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
65 km (40.4 mi)
19C Cholet – Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....

 
Plain stage
67 km (41.6 mi)
20A 1 August Angers – Vire
Vire
Vire is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.- History :In 1123, Henri I Beauclerc, King of England and Duke of Normandy, had a redoubt constructed on a rocky hill top, which was surrounded by the Vire river...

 
Plain stage
204 km (126.8 mi)
20B Vire – Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
55 km (34.2 mi)
21 2 August Caen – Paris
Plain stage
234 km (145.4 mi)

Classification leadership

Stage General classification
Mountains classification Classification for touriste-routiers Team classification
Team classification
The team classification is a prize given in the Tour de France to the best team in the race. It has been awarded since 1930, and the calculation has changed throughout the years.-Calculation:...

1 no award
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9  /  Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

/Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

10
11
12
13a
13b
14a
14b
15
16
17
18a
18b
19a
19b
19c
20a
20b
21
Final

Final general classification

Final general classification (1–10)
RankRiderTeamTime
1
Belgium 142h 47' 32"
2 France +26' 55"
3 Belgium +27' 53"
4 Spain/Luxembourg +42' 42"
5 Spain/Luxembourg +52' 52"
6 Spain/Luxembourg +1h 03' 04"
7 Spain/Luxembourg +1h 10' 44"
8 Switzerland +1h 19' 13"
9 Belgium +1h 22' 25"
10 Touriste-routier +1h 27' 57"

Final team classification

The team classification
Team classification
The team classification is a prize given in the Tour de France to the best team in the race. It has been awarded since 1930, and the calculation has changed throughout the years.-Calculation:...

was calculated in 1936 by adding up the times of the best three cyclists of a team; the team with the least time was the winner.
Team classification (1–5)
RankTeamTime
1 430h 12' 54"
2  Spain/ +48' 20"
3 +2h 19' 40"
4 +5h 23' 28"
5 +9h 54' 01"

The other teams that started the race, the German, Swiss, Yugoslavian, Romanian and Austrian teams, did not finish with the minimum three cyclists to be eligible for the team classification.

Mountains classification

For the mountain classification, 16 mountains were selected by the Tour organisation:
Mountains in the 1936 mountains classification
StageNameHeightMountain rangeWinner
4 Ballon d'Alsace 1178 metres (3,864.8 ft) Vosges Federico Ezquerra
6 Aravis 1498 metres (4,914.7 ft) Alps Federico Ezquerra
7 Galibier 2556 metres (8,385.8 ft) Alps Federico Ezquerra
8 Côte de Laffrey 900 metres (2,952.8 ft) Alps Julián Berrendero
9 Izoard 2361 metres (7,746.1 ft) Alps Sylvère Maes
9 Vars 2110 metres (6,922.6 ft) Alps Julián Berrendero
9 Allos 2250 metres (7,381.9 ft) Alps Julián Berrendero
11 Braus 1002 metres (3,287.4 ft) Alps-Maritimes Félicien Vervaecke
11 La Turbie 555 metres (1,820.9 ft) Alps-Maritimes Federico Ezquerra
15 Puymorens 1920 metres (6,299.2 ft) Pyrénées Federico Ezquerra
15 Col de Port 1249 metres (4,097.8 ft) Pyrénées Félicien Vervaecke
15 Portet d'Aspet 1069 metres (3,507.2 ft) Pyrénées Sauveur Ducazeaux
16 Peyresourde 1569 metres (5,147.6 ft) Pyrénées Julián Berrendero
16 Aspin 1489 metres (4,885.2 ft) Pyrénées Yvan Marie
16 Tourmalet 2115 metres (6,939 ft) Pyrénées Sylvère Maes
16 Aubisque 1709 metres (5,607 ft) Pyrénées Sylvère Maes


On the top of these mountains, ten points were given for the first cyclist to pass, nine points to the second cyclist, and so on, until the tenth cyclist who got one point.
Mountains classification (1–5)
RankRiderTeamPoints
1 Spain/Luxembourg 132
2 Belgium 112
3 Spain/Luxembourg 99
4 Belgium 95
5 France 65

Classification for 100.000 francs

There was also a points classification, for which the winner received 100.000 French Francs.
Final standings (1–3)
RankRiderTeamPoints
1 Belgium 11
2 Spain/Luxembourg 8
2 Touriste-routier 8

Aftermath

The stage victory of the Dutch team convinced the Tour organisation to invite them in 1937 again.
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