In the 1920s, the Tour de France was fierce competition. Belgium were in the lead with four wins and French morale was low.

The Tour de France had become the toughest sport in the world. When the non-cycling journalist, Albert Lourdes, covered the event in 1924, he found that the cyclists had surprisingly low morale, acting like men he had written about being imprisoned in French penal colonies. He referred to the riders as Les Forcats de la Route, convicts of the road. The race seemed to run only to sell newspapers. Morale was low and the lack of a French winner did not help. The first four races after the World Cup were won by the Belgians. Finally, in 1923, Henri Pelissier won, the host country’s only victory between 1910 and 1930. Thus began the host country’s love/hate affair with the breed. This attitude continues today. For example, during the doping scandals of the 1990s, many French people felt more sympathy than disgust for it.

The yellow jersey

The famous yellow jersey was first worn after the First World War. Although it is now the most coveted garment in cycling, the first cyclist it was offered to turned it down. He didn’t want to become a moving target for his rivals.

Winners:

* 1919 Firmin Lambot (Belgium)

* 1920 Philippe Thys (Beautiful)

* 1921 Leon Scieur (Bel)

* 1922 Firmin Lambot (Belgium)

* 1923 Henri Pelissier (France)

* 1924 Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)

* 1925 Ottavio Bottecchia (Ita)

* 1926 Lucien Buysse (bel)

* 1927 Nicholas Frantz (Lux)

* 1928 Nicholas Frantz (Lux)

* 1929 Maurice De Waele (Beautiful)

By 1920, the race was now 5,500 kilometers long, with long night stages and crazy, draconian rules. For example, cyclists still had restrictions on obtaining external technical assistance and could not change their bike or even their clothes. The runners must finish each stage with everything they had started. Defending 1924 champion Henri Pelissier and his brothers dropped out of the race. His problem was clothes. Racing started very early in the day when it was still cool, but the race continued into the heat of the day. No wonder bikers stripped down in layers. Pelissier resigned in disgust.

The races during the 1920s said a lot about the Europe of the time. In 1924 and again a year later, he won Ottavio Bottecchia of Italy. He became one of the leading sports figures in his country. Then, in 1927, he was assassinated while training. It became clear that not everyone appreciated his success. Some even feared it. Years later, a deathbed confession confirmed what many had long suspected. He had been killed by fascists.

The 1920s were overshadowed by the overt commercialism of the race. It also didn’t help that the French had only won once, in 1923. Team time trials and national squads were experimented with. Substitute running backs could come off the bench if a running back was injured. They all had to ride identical bikes. The tour’s popularity had begun to wane. All of these changes were short-lived, but had great benefit. They allowed France to build a strong force. France won the first five rounds of the 1930s.

Technological advances

In 1937, the exchange system was introduced. This allowed riders to change gear without having to remove the wheels. Previously, riders had to dismount to change their wheel from downhill to uphill mode. The Tour de France had shown that he could adapt to survive. He had regained national appeal and respect.