1950 Tour de France

The 1950 Tour de France was the 37th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 13 July to 7 August. It consisted of 22 stages over 4,773 km (2,966 mi).

1950 Tour de France
Route of the 1950 Tour de France followed counterclockwise, starting and finishing in Paris
Race details
Dates13 July – 7 August
Stages22
Distance4,773 km (2,966 mi)
Winning time145h 36' 56"
Results
Winner  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) (Switzerland)
  Second  Stan Ockers (BEL) (Belgium)
  Third  Louison Bobet (FRA) (France)
  Mountains  Louison Bobet (FRA) (France)
  Team Belgium

Gino Bartali, captain of the Italian team, threatened and assaulted by some French supporters accusing him to have caused Jean Robic's fall on the Col d'Aspin, retired after winning the 12th stage from Pau to Saint-Gaudens and left the race together with all the other Italian riders (including Fiorenzo Magni, who was wearing the yellow jersey).[1] The lead transferred to Swiss cyclist Ferdinand Kübler, who was able to keep the lead until the end of the race. Kübler became the first Swiss winner of the Tour de France.

The mountains classification was won by Louison Bobet, while the Belgian team won the team classification.

Algerian-French cyclist Abdel-Kader Zaaf became famous in this Tour de France by being so disoriented that he rode in the wrong direction.

Innovations and changes

The "interest" for the yellow jersey (the prize money for the leader of the general classification after each stage) was increased to 100.000 French Francs.[1] In 1949, the French TV had reported every evening about the Tour de France, and in 1950, live coverage of every stage was given.[2] The time cut-offs, the maximum time a cyclist was allowed to finish a stage, was reduced.[3]

In the previous years, the Tour de France had been decided in the mountains. The organisation wanted the other aspects of the race to be more important, so some mountains were not visited in 1950, and the time bonification for cyclists that reached mountain tops first was reduced. from 1 minute in 1949 to 40 seconds in 1950.[4]

The riders had sometimes been helped by team assistants who directly assisted the riders by pushing them from within the team cars, under the pretence of supplying them with a drink. In 1950, the Tour organisation paid extra care for this, and penalised the cyclists if it happened.[5]

The prize for winning a stage was increased from 30.000 French Francs to 50.000 French Francs.[4]

Teams
For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 1950 Tour de France.
The Dutch team at the start of the race in Paris

As was the custom since the 1930 Tour de France, the 1950 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. The three major cycling countries in 1950, Italy, Belgium and France, each sent a team of 10 cyclists. Other countries sent teams of 6 cyclists: Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Italy and Belgium also sent two extra teams of young riders of 6 cyclists each. The French regional cyclists were divided into five teams of 10 cyclists: Paris, Île-de-France/North-East, West, Centre/South-West and South-East. Originally, the plan was to have one extra international team of six cyclists with Spanish cyclists,[6] but this extra team became a North African team, with Moroccan and Algerian cyclists; at the time, portions of Morocco were a French protectorate, and Algeria was an integral part of France. This was the first African team to compete in the Tour de France.[7] Altogether this made 116 cyclists.[8]

There were 60 French cyclists (of which 2 French-Moroccan and 4 French-Algerian), 22 Italian, 16 Belgian, 6 Dutch, 6 Luxembourg and 6 Swiss cyclists.[9] On the first day of the race, before the Tour had started, French cyclist Charles Coste was replaced by Paul Giguet.[4]

The teams entering the race were:[9]

  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Switzerland
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Italy Cadets
  • Belgium Aiglons
  • Paris
  • Île-de-France/North-East
  • West
  • Centre/South-West
  • South-East
  • North Africa

Pre-race favourites

The winner of the previous Tour de France, Fausto Coppi, was injured during the 1950 Giro d'Italia, so he could not defend his title.[1] Still the Italians were favourites, especially Gino Bartali, who had come second in the 1950 Giro d'Italia behind Hugo Koblet, who did not enter the 1950 Tour de France. Other candidates for the victory were Bobet, Kübler, Ockers and Geminiani.[10] Two days before the Tour started, the organisation held a poll amongst 25 journalists, who each gave their eight favourites for the victory. Bartali was on the most lists, 23. Robic was written on 20 lists, Lauredi on 19, Bobet and Goldschmidt on 17.[11]

Route and stages

The 1950 Tour de France started on 13 July, and had four rest days, in Dinard, Pau, Nice and Saint-Étienne.[1] The route had been revealed in January 1950.[12] The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,360 m (7,740 ft) at the summit of the Col d'Izoard mountain pass on stage 18.[13][14]

Stage characteristics and winners[8][1][15][16]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 13 July Paris to Metz307 km (191 mi) Plain stage Jean Goldschmit (LUX)
2 14 July Metz to Liège (Belgium)241 km (150 mi) Plain stage Adolfo Leoni (ITA)
3 15 July Liège (Belgium) to Lille232.5 km (144 mi) Plain stage Alfredo Pasotti (ITA)
4 16 July Lille to Rouen231 km (144 mi) Plain stage Stan Ockers (BEL)
5 17 July Rouen to Dinard316 km (196 mi) Plain stage Giovanni Corrieri (ITA)
18 July Dinard Rest day
6 19 July Dinard to Saint-Brieuc78 km (48 mi) Individual time trial Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)
7 20 July Saint-Brieuc to Angers248 km (154 mi) Plain stage Nello Lauredi (FRA)
8 21 July Angers to Niort181 km (112 mi) Plain stage Fiorenzo Magni (ITA)
9 22 July Niort to Bordeaux206 km (128 mi) Plain stage Alfredo Pasotti (ITA)
10 23 July Bordeaux to Pau202 km (126 mi) Plain stage Marcel Dussault (FRA)
22 July Pau Rest day
11 25 July Pau to St. Gaudens230 km (143 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Gino Bartali (ITA)
12 26 July Saint-Gaudens to Perpignan233 km (145 mi) Plain stage Maurice Blomme (BEL)
13 27 July Perpignan to Nîmes215 km (134 mi) Plain stage Marcel Molinès (FRA)
14 28 July Nîmes to Toulon222 km (138 mi) Plain stage Custodio Dos Reis (FRA)
15 29 July Toulon to Menton[lower-alpha 1]205.5 km (128 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Jean Diederich (LUX)
16 30 July Menton to Nice96 km (60 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)
31 July Nice Rest day
17 1 August Nice to Gap229 km (142 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Raphaël Géminiani (FRA)
18 2 August Gap to Briançon165 km (103 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Louison Bobet (FRA)
19 3 August Briançon to Saint-Étienne291 km (181 mi) Stage with mountain(s) Raphaël Géminiani (FRA)
4 August Saint-Étienne Rest day
20 5 August Saint-Étienne to Lyon98 km (61 mi) Mountain time trial Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)
21 6 August Lyon to Dijon233 km (145 mi) Plain stage Gino Sciardis (FRA)
22 7 August Dijon to Paris314 km (195 mi) Plain stage Émile Baffert (FRA)
Total 4,773 km (2,966 mi)[17]

    Race overview

    The start of the 1950 Tour de France was given on 13 July by Orson Welles.[1] Things started well for the Italian team, as they won five of the first ten stages,[18] although the yellow jersey for the leader of the general classification was exchanged between Luxembourgian Jean Goldschmit and French Bernard Gauthier.

    Ferdinand Kübler (pictured in 1954) won three stages on his way to winning the general classification

    The sixth stage was won by Swiss cyclist Ferdinand Kübler. During the race, Kübler had changed jerseys, which gave him 25 seconds penalty time.[19]

    In the eleventh stage, the first mountain stage of the race, Gino Bartali was away together with French Jean Robic. There was a lot of crowd, and they pressed forward to see the cyclist coming.[20] This caused Bartali to fall down during the descent of the Col d'Aspin, and this caused Robic to also fall down.[18] Bartali got up and won the stage, but felt threatened by spectators, who punched and kicked him. One spectator had threatened Bartali with a knife.[20] Bartali told his team manager Alfredo Binda that he was leaving the Tour de France, and that all Italian cyclists should abandon the race.[21] Not all Italian cyclists wanted to leave: the members from the second Italian team (the Italian Cadets) and Adolfo Leoni wanted to stay. Some Italian cyclists said they wanted to stay in the race to help Magni defend the leading position.[21] Magni felt bad about giving up the chance to win the Tour de France, but accepted the decision.[22] The Tour organisation wanted to keep the Italian cyclists in the race, and among other compromises offered to give them neutral gray jerseys, so the spectators would not recognize them.[21] None of this helped, and both Italian teams left the race. As a consequence, the fifteenth stage, that was originally scheduled to end in Italy (Sanremo), was rescheduled to end in Menton.[3]

    General classification after stage 11 (1–6)[23]
    RankRiderTeamTime
    1  Fiorenzo Magni (ITA) Italy73h 23' 11"
    2  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)Switzerland+ 2' 31"
    3  Louison Bobet (FRA)France+ 3' 20"
    4  Raphaël Géminiani (FRA)France+ 3' 25"
    5  Stan Ockers (BEL)Belgium+ 3' 37"
    6  Gino Bartali (ITA)Italy+ 4' 17"

    With Magni out of the race, Swiss Ferdinand Kübler became the new leader of the general classification, closely followed by Bobet and Geminiani. Out of respect for Magni, Kübler did not wear the yellow jersey (indicating the leader in the general classification) in the 12th stage. In the twelfth stage, all the favourites finished together. That stage was won by Belgian Maurice Blomme, but not without difficulties: he was so exhausted that he mistook a dark shadow for the finish line, and stopped racing. The secretary of the Tour de France, Jean Garnault, had to put him back on his bicycle so he would ride the last meters of the stage.[24]

    In that stage thirteen, the temperature was extremely high. Two riders from the North African team, Marcel Molinès and Abdel-Kader Zaaf, broke away after 15 kilometers, and created a large gap, also because the other cyclists were more occupied with getting drinks.[25] Some 20 kilometers from the finish, Zaaf started to zigzag across the road. A safety official pulled him from the race, afraid for his safety, and Molinès rode through alone. Zaaf did not agree with the safety official, and mounted his bicycle again. He quickly fell off his bicycle and fell asleep, and spectators moved him into the shade of a tree.[25] When he woke up, he realised that he was in a race, got on his bicycle again and rode away, but going into the wrong direction. An ambulance was called, and Zaaf was taken away. Zaaf claimed that he had received wine from a spectator, and as a Muslim he was not used to the alcohol.[21] Behind the two North-African cyclists, Kübler had attacked, and left his rivals Raphaël Géminiani and Louison Bobet minutes behind.[18] Of the favourites, only Ockers managed to stay with Kübler.

    In stage fifteen, it was still hot, and the riders were not motivated to race. They stopped during the race to cool down in the Mediterranean Sea, but were quickly ordered by Jacques Goddet to continue the race.[21] The journalists that followed the race reported on this in a humorous way, and the organisation therefore fined them.[26]

    In the sixteenth stage, Ockers and Bobet finished shortly after Kübler. The Tour de France jury said Bobet came in second, and gave him the 30 seconds bonification time, but the Belgian team manager Sylvère Maes protested against this decision, because he argued that Ockers came in second. Maes threatened to take the Belgian team out of the race, but the Tour direction did not change their decision. In the end, the Belgian team stayed in the race.[27]

    Second placed rider in the general classification, Ockers was unable to win back time in later stages, so Kübler stayed in the lead for the rest of the race, and became the first Swiss winner of the Tour de France.

    Kübler's victory is seen as partially his own accomplishment, but also partially due to the absence of Fausto Coppi and the withdrawal of the Italian teams.[28] According to Kübler, it became more difficult to win the race after the Italians had left the race, because the attention was no longer focussed on the Italians, but on Kübler. Kübler felt that he would have been able to win the 1950 Tour de France if the Italians would have not abandoned, because he was the best in the time trials.[29]

    Classification leadership and minor prizes
    The team classification trophy for 1950, won by the Belgium team

    The time that each cyclist required to finish each stage was recorded, and these times were added together for the general classification. If a cyclist had received a time bonus, it was subtracted from this total; all time penalties were added to this total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.[30] The total prize money in the 1950 Tour de France was 14 million French Francs; 1 million French Francs were for the winner of the general classification.[1] Of the 116 cyclists that started the 1959 Tour de France, 51 finished the race.

    Points for the mountains classification were earned by reaching the mountain tops first.[31] The system was the same as in 1949: there were two types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category 1, gave 10 points to the first cyclist, the easier ones, in category 2, gave 5 points to the first cyclist, and the easiest ones, in category 3, gave 3 points. Louison Bobet won this classification after having led the classification almost the entire race, although he only reached 2 of the 14 mountain tops first.[8]

    The team classification was calculated by adding the times in the general classification of the best three cyclists per team.[32] It was won by the Belgian team, with a large margin over the French team. Of the other four teams that started, the two Italian teams had abandoned the race, and the North African team finished with only two riders and the Dutch team with only one rider, therefore they were ineligible for the team classification. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Lautaret on stage 19. This prize was won by Apo Lazaridès.[33] The special award for the best regional rider was won by sixth-placed Kléber Piot.[1]

    Classification leadership by stage[34]
    Stage Winner General classification
    		 Mountains classification[lower-alpha 2] Team classification
    1 Jean Goldschmit Jean Goldschmit no award Luxembourg
    2 Adolfo Leoni
    3 Alfredo Pasotti Bernard Gauthier South-East
    4 Stan Ockers
    5 Giovanni Corrieri
    6 Ferdinand Kübler Jean Goldschmit Belgium
    7 Nello Lauredi Bernard Gauthier South-East
    8 Fiorenzo Magni
    9 Alfredo Pasotti
    10 Marcel Dussault
    11 Gino Bartali Fiorenzo Magni Louison Bobet Italy
    12 Maurice Blomme Ferdinand Kübler France
    13 Marcel Molinès Belgium
    14 Custodio Dos Reis
    15 Jean Diederich
    16 Ferdinand Kübler
    17 Raphaël Géminiani Jean Robic
    18 Louison Bobet Louison Bobet
    19 Raphaël Géminiani
    20 Ferdinand Kübler
    21 Gino Sciardis
    22 Émile Baffert
    Final Ferdinand Kübler Louison Bobet Belgium

    Final standings

    General classification
    Final general classification (1–10)[35]
    RankRiderTeamTime
    1  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)Switzerland145h 36' 56"
    2  Stan Ockers (BEL)Belgium+ 9' 30"
    3  Louison Bobet (FRA)France+ 22' 19"
    4  Raphaël Géminiani (FRA)France+ 31' 14"
    5  Jean Kirchen (LUX)Luxembourg+ 34' 21"
    6  Kléber Piot (FRA)Île-de-France/North-East+ 41' 35"
    7  Pierre Cogan (FRA)Centre/South-West+ 52' 22"
    8  Raymond Impanis (BEL)Belgium+ 53' 34"
    9  Georges Meunier (FRA)Centre/South-West+ 54' 29"
    10  Jean Goldschmit (LUX)Luxembourg+ 55' 21"

    Mountains classification

    Final mountains classification (1–10)[36][37]
    RankRiderTeamPoints
    1  Louison Bobet (FRA)France58
    2  Stan Ockers (BEL)Belgium42
    3  Jean Robic (FRA)West41
    4  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI)Switzerland39
    5  Kléber Piot (FRA)Île-de-France/North-East36
    6  Raphaël Géminiani (FRA)France33
    7  André Brulé (FRA)Île-de-France/North-East19
    8  Georges Meunier (FRA)Centre/South-West14
    9  Raymond Impanis (BEL)Belgium12
    10  Pierre Brambilla (FRA)South-East10

    Team classification

    Final team classification[38]
    RankTeamTime
    1 Belgium438h 54' 21"
    2 France+ 38' 05"
    3 Luxembourg+ 41' 05"
    4 Île-de-France/North-East+ 1h 12' 28"
    5 South-East+ 1h 32' 22"
    6 Centre/South-West+ 1h 53' 16"
    7 Belgium Aiglons+ 2h 01' 34"
    8 Switzerland+ 3h 09' 12"
    9 West+ 3h 28' 56"
    10 Paris+ 5h 51' 48"

    Aftermath

    The French-Algerian cyclist Zaaf, who fell out in the thirteenth stage after riding into the wrong direction, became famous, and got to ride in many criteriums, until he left two years later to Algeria.[25] Kübler did not enter the next three Tours de France, but when he returned in 1954, he finished in second place, and won the green jersey for the points classification.

    Notes
    1. The 15th stage was originally scheduled to end in Sanremo, but after the Italian teams left the race, the route was changed to avoid entering Italy.
    2. No jersey was awarded to the leader of the mountains classification until a white jersey with red polka dots was introduced in 1975.[31]
    gollark: As soon as I work out how to update.
    gollark: At last my evil plan can begin.
    gollark: OOoo, you expanded the world border?
    gollark: You're being very icosahedral here, all of you.
    gollark: Let us die!

    References
    1. Augendre 2016, p. 41.
    2. Thompson, p.46
    3. "The Tour - Year 1950". Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    4. "La XXXVII Vuelta a Francia" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 14 July 1950. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2012.
    5. "Tour de France 1950" (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 13 July 1950. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    6. "De Tour de France in 1950" (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 13 July 1950. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    7. Barry Ryan (2 July 2015). "Retro: The 1950 Tour de France and the forgotten first African team". Cycling News. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
    8. "37ème Tour de France 1950" [37th Tour de France 1950]. Mémoire du cyclisme (in French). Retrieved 6 April 2020.
    9. "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1950 – The starters". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
    10. Amels 1984, pp. 61–62.
    11. "Gino Bartali, de grote favoriet voor de Tour". Dagblad voor Amersfoort (in Dutch). Archief Eemland. 11 July 1950. p. 3. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2010.
    12. "Il Tour de France é pronto" [The Tour de France is ready]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 24 January 1950. p. 3. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
    13. Augendre 2016, p. 178.
    14. "Tour de France beheerst Parijs" [Tour de France masters Paris]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 12 July 1950. p. 5 – via Delpher.
    15. Arian Zwegers. "Tour de France GC top ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    16. "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1950 – The stage winners". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
    17. Augendre 2016, p. 109.
    18. Tom James (14 August 2003). "1950: Kübler wins after the Italians withdraw". Veloarchive. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    19. "Kübler won de tijdrit en Goldschmidt kreeg de gele trui" (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 20 July 1950. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    20. Barry Boyce (2004). "The "Suisse Cowboy" Inherits the Win". Cycling revealed. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    21. McGann & McGann 2006, pp. 165–173.
    22. Valeria Paoletti and Bill McGann. "Fiorenzo Magni, a bridge between the legendary past and the modern era of cycling". Bike Race Info. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    23. "37ème Tour de France 1950 - 11ème étape" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
    24. "Belg Blomme won 12e etappe" (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 27 July 1950. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    25. Tom Vandenbussche. "Abdel-Kader Zaaf" (in Dutch). Cyclingwebsite. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    26. Thompson, p.217
    27. "Dreigement van Sylver Maes" (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 1 August 1950. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    28. Whittle 2003, p. 113.
    29. "Ferdy Kübler, 1950 Tour Winner, Answers Some Questions". Bike Race Info. 23 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
    30. Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 452–453.
    31. Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 454.
    32. Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 455.
    33. "Bobet diep ontgoocheld na grootse vlucht" [Bobet deeply disappointed after a great flight]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 4 August 1950. p. 5 – via Delpher.
    34. van den Akker, Pieter. "Informatie over de Tour de France van 1950" [Information about the Tour de France from 1950]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
    35. "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1950 – Stage 22 Dijon > Paris". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
    36. "Kübler schudde concurrent Ockers in tijdrace los" [Kübler shook off competitor Ockers in time race]. De Gooi- en Eemlander (in Dutch). 7 August 1950. p. 3 – via Delpher.
    37. "Ferdi Kübler loopt zes minuten uit op Ockers, in fraaie tijdrace" [Ferdi Kübler ends six minutes on Ockers in a nice time race]. De Waarheid (in Dutch). 7 August 1950. p. 4 – via Delpher.
    38. "België wint het landenklassement" [Belgium wins the country ranking]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 8 August 1950. p. 8. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019.

    Bibliography

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