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1930 Tour de France

24th edition: July 5 - July 28

Results, stages with running GC, photos and history

1930 Tour de France map

Map of the 1930 Tour de France from Le Miroir Des Sports

David L. Stanley's book Melanoma: It Started with a Freckle is available as an audiobook here.

1930 Tour Quick Facts:

4,818 km raced at an average speed of 27.978 km/hr

100 starters aligned on national teams (40 riders) and as independent touristes-routiers (60 riders) who were put on regional teams.

Fed up with trade teams he thought were corrupting his race, Tour boss Henri Desgrange put the riders on national teams riding yellow bikes the Tour provided.

He also paid for their lodging and food with the the earnings from the Tour's first publicity caravan.

The French dominated this Tour: winning the overall, putting 6 riders in the top ten and Charles Pélissier winning 8 stages.

André Leducq won the 1930 Tour despite crashing on the descent of the Galibier and falling 40 minutes behind.

With the help of his team he caught the front of the race and won the stage.

1930 Tour de France Complete Final General Classification:

André Leducq (France) 172hr 12min 16sec
Learco Guerra (Italy) @ 14min 13sec
Antonin Magne (France) @ 16min 3sec
Joseph "Jef" Demuysère (Belgium) @ 21min 34sec
Marcel Bidot (France) @ 41min 18sec
Pierre Magne (France) @ 45min 42sec
Frans Bonduel (Belgium) @ 56min 19sec
Benoît Faure (touriste-routier) @ 58min 34sec
Charles Pélissier (France) @ 1hr 4min 37sec
Adolf Schön (Germany) @ 1hr 21min 39sec
Louis Delannoy (Belgium) @ 1hr 27min 23sec
Aimé Dossche (Belgium) @ 1hr 28min 14sec
Oskar Thierbach (Germany) @ 1hr 35min 34sec
Louis Péglion (touriste-routier, Provence) @ 1hr 44min 14sec
Jan Mertens (Belgium) @ 1hr 49min 24sec
Salvador Cardona (Spain) @ 1hr 59min 43sec
Valeriano Riera (Spain) @ 2hr 23min 9sec
Marcel Mazeyrat (touriste-routier) @ 2hr 25min 23sec
Georges Laloup (Belgium) @ 2hr 31min 37sec
Giuseppe Pancera (Italy) @ 2hr 33min 51sec
Jules Merviel (France) @ 2hr 43min 42sec
Felix Manthey (Germany) @ 3hr 10min 37sec
Georges Berton (touriste-routier, Champagne) @ 3hr 17min 11sec
Vicente Trueba (Spain) @ 3hr 17min 19sec
François Moreels (touriste-routier, Ile de France) @ 3hr 20min 30sec
Jean Goulème (touriste-routier, Midi) @ 3hr 36min 31sec
Francisco Cepeda (Spain) @ 3hr 54min 47sec
François Ondet (touriste-routier, Sud Est) @ 4hr 6min 40sec
Louis Bajard (touriste-routier, Sud Est) @ 4hr 9min 9sec
Omer Taverne (Belgium) @ 4hr 23min 52sec
Marco Giutelli (Italy) @ 4hr 41min 30sec
Auguste Encrine (touriste-routier, Cote d'Azur)) @ 4hr 52min 34sec
Alfred Siegel (Germany) @ 4hr 54min 30sec
Juan Mateu (Spain) @ 5hr 11min 15sec
Lucien Laval (touriste-routier) @ 5hr 41min 42sec
José Trueba (Spain) @ 6hr 27min 47sec
Henri Touzard (touriste-routier, Normandie) @ 6hr 44min 43sec
Pierre Jouel (touriste-routier) @ 6hr 51min 13sec
Adrien Plautin (touriste-routier, Midi) @ 6hr 56min 34sec
Léopold Boisselle (touriste-routier) @ 7hr 9min 57sec
Fernand Robache (touriste-routier) @ 7hr 48min 3sec
Henri Gottrand (touriste-routier, Ile de France) @ 7hr 58min 58sec
Armand Goubert (touriste-routier, Nord) @ 8hr 10min 55sec
Paul Delbart (touriste-routier, Champagne) @ 8hr 11min 14sec
Jean Martinet (touriste-routier) @ 8hr 23min 55sec
Henri Prevost (touriste-routier) @ 8hr 23min 58sec
Marcel Tissier (touriste-routier) @ 8hr 54min 53sec
Battista Berardi (touriste-routier, Cote d'Azur) @ 9hr 10min 33sec
Guy Bariffi (touriste-routier, Champagne) @ 9hr 19min 38sec
Lucien Lange (touriste-routier, Alsace-Lorraine) @ 10hr 20min 54sec
Marcel Masson (touriste-routier, Normandie) @ 10hr 21min 4sec
Edouard Teirreire (touriste-routier, Provence) @ 10hr 23min 24sec
Jean Ampurias (touriste-routier, Cote d'Azur) @ 10hr 40min 49sec
Charles Cottalorda (touriste-routier, Cote d'Azur) @ 11hr 49min 29sec
Paulin Lanteri (touriste-routier) @ 11hr 55min 24sec
Emile Faillu (touriste routier, Ile de France) @ 12hr 57min 35sec
Georges Petit (touriste-routier) @ 14hr 14min 14sec
Pierre Bobo (touriste-routier) @ 14hr 37min 15sec
Marcel Ilpide (touriste-routier) @ 15hr 10min 18sec

1930 Tour stage results with running GC:

Stage 1: Wednesday, July 2 Paris - Caen, 206 km

Places 3 - 38 given same time and place

Charles Pélissier: 6hr 36min 1sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.
Benoît Faure @ 1min 16sec
Jues Merviel s.t.
Victor Fontan s.t.
Lucien Buysse s.t.
Oscar Tetz s.t.
Hermann Buse s.t.
Alfred Siegel s.t.
Adolf Schön s.t.

Stage 2: Thursday, July 3, Caen - Dinan, 203 km

Places 7 - 29 given same time and place

Learco Guerra: 7hr 0sec 17sec
Alfredo Binda @ 1min 28sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Georges Laloup s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Herbert Nebe s.t.
Victor Fontan, Marcel Bidot, Oscar Tietz, Antonin Magne, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 2:

Learco Guerra: 13hr 37min 34sec
Charles Pelissier @ 12sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.

Stage 3: Friday, July 4, Dinan - Brest, 206 km

Places 7 - 57 given same time and place

Charles Pélissier: 6hr 39min 18sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Omer Taverne s.t.
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Albert Barthélemy s.t.
Adolf Schön, Jean Aerts, Jules Merviel, François Ondet, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 3:

Learco Guerra: 20hr 16min 52sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.

Stage 4: Saturday, July 5, Brest - Vannes, 210 km

Places 7 - 63 given same time and place

Omer Taverne: 6hr 56min 3sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Domenico Piemontesi s.t.
Alfredo Binda s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Albert Barthélemy s.t.
Emile Faillu, Benoît Faure, Pierre Jouel, Louis Péglion, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 4:

Learco Guerra: 27hr 12min 55sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.

Stage 5: Sunday, July 6, Vannes - Les Sables d'Olonne, 202 km

Places 6 - 56 given same time and place

André Leducq: 6hr 35min 24sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Alfredo Binda s.t.
Jean Aerts s.t.
René Berton s.t.
Antonin Magne, Lucien Lange, Henri Gottrand, Odile Tailleu, Armand Goubert, etc. s.t.

GC after stage 5:

Learco Guerra: 33hr 48min 19sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.

Stage 6: Monday, July 7, Les Sables d'Olonne - Bordeaux, 285 km

Places 7 - 60 given same time and place

Alfredo Binda complained that Charles Pélissier, who crossed the line first, had pulled on his jersey. The judges agreed and relegated Pélissier to third.

Jean Aerts: 9hr 45min 41sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.
Charles Pélissier s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Jan Mertens s.t.
René Berton s.t.
Jérôme Declercq, Pierre Bobo, Henri Gottrand, Odile Tailleu, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 6:

Learco Guerra: 43hr 34min 0sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Alfredo Binda s.t.

Stage 7: Tuesday, July 8, Bordeaux - Hendaye, 222 km

Jules Merviel: 6hr 11min 22sec
Antonin Magne @ 2min 24sec
Charles Pélissier @ 2min 28sec
Learco Guerra s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Joseph Mauclair s.t.
Marcel Bidot s.t.
Frans Bonduel @ 8min 31sec
Hermann Buse s.t.

GC after stage 7:

Learco Guerra: 49hr 47min 50sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Antonin Magne @ 1min 24sec

Stage 8: Wednesday, July 9, Hendaye - Pau, 146 km

Palces 5 - 75 given same time and place

Alfredo Binda: 5hr 2min 27sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Lucien Laval, Emile Faillu, Benoît Faure, Jean-Baptiste Ampurias, Auguste Encrine, Marcel Ilpide, etc. s.t.

GC after stage 8:

Learco Guerra: 54hr 50min 17sec
Charles Pélissier @ 12sec
Antonin Magne @ 1min 24sec

Stage 9: Thursday, July 10, Pau - Luchon, 231 km

Major ascents: Aubisque, Tourmalet

Alfredo Binda: 9hr 21min 31sec
Pierre Magne s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Antonin Magne @ 5min 30sec
Benoît Faure @ 8min 22sec
Learco Guerra @ 13min 10sec
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Giuseppe Pancera s.t.
Marcel Mazeyrat s.t.
Fernand Fayolle s.t.

GC after Stage 9:

André Leducq: 64hr 13min 16sec
Antonin Magne @ 5min 26sec
Learco Guerra @ 11min 42sec

Stage 10: Saturday, July 12, Luchon - Perpignan, 322 km

Major ascents: Portet d'Aspet, Port, Puymorens

Alfredo Binda abandoned

Charles Pélissier: 11hr 57min 18sec
André Leducq s.t.
Antonin Magne s.t.
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Learco Guerra s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Lucien Buysse s.t.
Jean Aerts s.t.
Marcel Bidot s.t.
Vicente Trueba @ 2min 14sec
Benoît Faure @ 4min 47sec
Louis Péglion s.t.

GC after Stage 10:

André Leducq: 76hr 10min 34sec
Antonin Magne @ 5min 26sec
Learco Guerra @ 11min 42sec

Stage 11: Monday, July 14, Perpignan - Montpellier, 164 km

Charles Pélissier: 4hr 55min 19sec
Learco Guerra @ 2min 54sec
Antonin Magne s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Herbert Nebe s.t.
Fernand Robache s.t.
Lucien Buysse s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Jules Merviel @ 6min 29sec
Alfred Siegel @ 8min 38sec

GC after Stage 11:

André Leducq: 81hr 8min 47sec
Antonin Magne @ 5min 26sec
Learco Guerra @ 11min 42sec

Stage 12: Tuesday, July 15, Montpellier - Marseille, 209 km

Places 7 - 30 given same time and place

Antonin Magne: 6hr 41min 42sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Omer Taverne s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Jan Mertens s.t.
Louis Péglion s.t.
Marcel Bidot, Jules Merviel, Pierre Jouel, Oskar Thierbach, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 12:

André Leducq: 87hr 50min 29sec
Antonin Magne @ 5min 26sec
Learco Guerra @ 13min 24sec

Stage 13: Wednesday, July 16, Marseille - Cannes, 181 km

Places 4 - 37 given same time and place

Learco Guerra: 6hr 21min 47sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Lucien Lange, François Ondet, Pierre Magne, André Leducq, Antonin Magne, Marcel Bidot, Jules Merviel, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 13:

André Leducq: 94hr 12min 16sec
Antonin Magne @ 5min 26sec
Learco Guerra @ 13min 24sec

Stage 14: Thursday, July 17, Cannes - Nice. 132 km

Major ascents: Braus, Castillon

Louis Péglion: 4hr 33min 51sec
André Leducq @ 4min 57sec
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Oskar Thierbach s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Benoît Faure s.t.
Fernand Fayolle s.t.
Marcel Bidot @ 6min 12sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Louis Delannoy @ 7min 42sec

GC after Stage 14:

André Leducq: 98hr 51min 4sec
Antonin Magne@ 14min 13sec
Jef Demuysère @ 15min 3sec

Stage 15: Saturday, July 19, Nice - Grenoble, 333 km

Major ascents: Allos, Bayard

Learco Guerra: 13hr 48min 58sec
Benoît Faure s.t.
André Leducq @ 5min 58sec
Pierre Magne @ 9min 48sec
Antonin Magne s.t.
Louis Delannoy s.t.
Marcel Bidot s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Louis Péglion @ 16min 17sec
Fernand Fayolle s.t.

GC after stage 15:

André Leducq: 112hr 46min 0sec
Learco Guerra @ 16min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 18min 3sec

Stage 16: Monday, July 21, Grenoble - Evian, 331 km

Major ascents: Lauteret, Galibier, Aravis

Places 5 - 30 given same time and place

André Leducq: 13hr 39min 23sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
Aimé Dossche s.t.
Jef Demuyére s.t.
Auguste Encrine, Adolf Schön, Oskar Thierbach, Louis Bajard, Marcel Bidot, Antonin Magne, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 16:

André Leducq: 126hr 25min 23sec
Learco Guerra @ 16min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 18min 3sec

Stage 17: Wednesday, July 23, Evian - Belfort, 282 km

Major ascents: Faucille, Ballon d'Alsace

Places 6 - 10 given same time and place

Frans Bonduel: 9hr 56min 28sec
Charles Pélissier s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Antonin Magne s.t.
Learco Guerra s.t.
Adolf Schön, Benoît Faure, Vicente Trueba, Jules Merviel, Pierre Magne s.t.

11. Louis Péglion @ 2min 16sec
12. Louis Delannoy @ 2min 30sec

GC after Stage 17:

André Leducq: 136 hr 21min 51sec
Learco Guerra @ 16min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 18min 3sec

Stage 18: Thursday, July 24, Belfort - Metz, 223 km

Places 4 - 31 given same time and place

Charles Pélissier: 8hr 27min 43sec
André Leducq s.t.
Learco Guerra s.t.
Alfred Siegel, Félix Manthey, Jules Merviel, Marcel Bidot, Antonin Magne, Pierre Magne, Jean Goulème, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 18:

André Leducq: 144hr 49min 34sec
Learco Guerra @ 16min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 18min 3sec

Stage 19: Friday, July 25, Metz - Charleville, 159 km

Tour Encyclopedie says: Separate starting order: Since three of his teammates were waiting for him - whereas the rules fixed a maximum of only two-, Leducq (like Pélissier, P. Magne and Merviel) receives a penalty of two minutes.

Charles Pélissier: 5hr 5min 23sec
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Learco Guerra s.t.
Omer Taverne s.t.
Aimé Dossche s.t.
Jef Demuysère s.t.
Jan Mertens s.t.
Louis Delannoy s.t.
Georges Laloup s.t.
Salvador Cardona s.t.

GC after Stage 19:

André Leducq: 149hr 56min 57sec
Learco Guerra @ 14min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 16min 3sec

Stage 20: Saturday, July 26, Charleville - Malo les Bains, 271 km

Places 5 - 34 given same time and place

Charles Pélissier: 10hr 5min 10sec
Frans Bonduel s.t.
Antonin Magne s.t.
Learco Guerra s.t.
Pierre Jouel, Auguste Encrine, Marcel Bidot, Oskar Thierbach, André Leducq, Pierre Magne, etc. s.t.

GC after Stage 20:

André Leducq: 160hr 2min 7sec
Learco Guerra @ 14min 13sec
Antonin Magne @ 16min 3sec

Stage 21 (final stage): Sunday, July 27, Malo les Bains - Paris, 300 km

Places 7 - 19 given same time and place

Charles Pélissier: 12hr 10min 19sec
Learco Guerra s.t.
André Leducq s.t.
Jules Merviel s.t.
Omer Taverne s.t.
Benoît Faure s.t.
Alfred Siegel, Marcel Mazeyrat, Jef Demuysère, Marcel Bidot, etc. s.t.

Complete Final 1930 Tour de France General Classification

The Story of the 1930 Tour de France

This excerpt is from "The Story of the Tour de France", Volume 1 If you enjoy it we hope you will consider purchasing the book, either print, eBook or audiobook. The Amazon link here will make the purchase easy.

Tour boss Henri Desgrange was steaming over the 1929 Tour. Maurice De Waele, even though he had taken ill in the Alps, had emerged the victor. At one point during the '29 Tour De Waele was unable to eat solid food and could only swallow water with a little sugar dissolved in it. His all-powerful Alcyon team had protected him, pushing him up mountains and blocking attacks. Collusion with other teams was assumed. Feeling that the trade teams were ruining his race and its integrity, Desgrange set about recasting the Tour de France.

Desgrange was never one to stick stubbornly to a formula that didn't work, even if it were his own brainchild. Desgrange searched for a new way to inject sparkle and competition into his race. He found it. He dispensed with the trade teams he hated so much. Not until 1962 would bicycle companies and other manufacturers again sponsor teams in the Tour de France. In the place of trade teams, he created a system of national and regional teams. Riders would now ride for France, Italy, Spain and other countries. To fill out the race, when needed, regional teams such as Normandy and Alsace-Lorraine also rode. At the inception of this system the riders would ride identical, yellow (of course) anonymous bikes.

The public instantly greeted the national team proposal as a fine idea. The team sponsors grumbled that they lost publicity during the most important race of the season. Moreover, they were still obliged to continue to pay the racer's salaries.

This presented a huge problem and a huge risk. No longer would the team sponsors pay the substantial expenses of running the teams during the Tour. The Tour organization would be responsible for transport, food and lodging, a huge undertaking. Where would the money come from? And suppose the bicycle manufacturers became sufficiently angry at Desgrange's move and withdrew their advertising from his newspaper and Tour sponsor, L'Auto? L'Auto was born out of just such an advertiser's rebellion 30 years before.

Desgrange had an audacious idea. He invented the publicity caravan. Companies could pay the Tour a fee to follow the Tour with their logo'd trucks and cars, advertising their products.

The publicity caravan took a while to get going. The Menier Chocolate company was the first to sign up, and was 1 of only 3 companies that participated in the caravan the first year. Today, even with trade teams back in the race, the caravan continues to be an important part of the color and magic of watching the Tour.

Desgrange also disposed of his team time trial format and went back to mass-starts. He dispensed with the riders-must-do-their-own-repairs and finish-with-the-starting-bike rules. Now a rider could get a bike from a following vehicle and receive assistance from his teammates. As we will see in the 1930 Tour, this had a huge effect on the outcome. With these changes Desgrange had officially recognized that professional bicycle racing is a sport contested by teams and won by individuals.

With the best French riders now all on one team, French teams were able to begin a run of 5 straight wins. At the time France possessed cycling talent with real depth. The 1930 team was filled with great riders: Charles Pélissier, André Leducq, Antonin and Pierre Magne, Victor Fontan and Marcel Bidot.

The Italian team included immortal riders Alfredo Binda and Learco Guerra. Belgium sent Joseph Demuysére, Aimé Dossche and Louis Delannoy. This was a race with truly worthy competitors.

The touriste-routier classification of independent riders was retained, with some of them put into regional teams.

Desgrange cut the distance from the 5,276 kilometers of 1929 to 4,818 kilometers. He also reduced the number of stages from a high of 24 in 1927 and 22 in 1929 to 21 in 1930. This gave him an average stage length of 229 kilometers. Compare this to 1916's (about the same in 1923) 360 kilometers and it becomes clear that the Tour was becoming a race with greater emphasis on speed and less on brute endurance.

The youngest of the 3 Pélissier brothers, Charles, was now an accomplished professional and a superb field sprinter. He beat Alfredo Binda to the line in Caen to notch the first win in the newly redesigned Tour. 3 years after his brother Frances held and lost the Yellow Jersey and 7 years after brother Henri won the Tour, another of the remarkable Pélissiers was in yellow.

28-year old Learco Guerra was in the second year of his professional career. He was already Champion of Italy and had placed ninth in the Giro that year, winning 2 stages. This was a man to be watched, but watching was not enough. Guerra escaped from the pack on stage 2 and beat Alfredo Binda, who led in the field, by 1 minute, 28 seconds. The young Italian with the thick, black shock of hair was the leader of the Tour de France.

Charles Pélissier was on a tear. He won the 57-man sprint in stage 3, beating Binda to the line in Brest. Guerra was still in yellow with Pélissier and Binda tied at the same time in second and third places. Pélissier was a determined sprinter who was not afraid to get rough in the final dash to the line. The judges relegated him to third place after he won the sprint in stage 6 in Bordeaux, for having given Binda's jersey a tug.

Binda's hopes for a win in the Tour were ruined when he crashed in stage 7, losing an hour. But Binda was a champion. Undeterred by his misfortune, the great man finally beat Pélissier in a sprint the next day.

So, after stage 8 and before the Pyrenees, here was the General Classification:

1. Learco Guerra

2. Charles Pélissier @ 12 seconds

3. Antonin Magne @ 1 minute 24 seconds

Stage 9 from Pau to Luchon crossed the Aubisque and the Tourmalet. Benoît Faure, riding as a touriste-routier on the regional France South-East team set a hot pace. Nearly all were dropped including Guerra. Faure led over the crests of both the Aubisque and the Tourmalet but was eventually dropped by Binda, André Leducq, and Pierre and Antonin Magne. Binda won the stage and Guerra came in more than 13 minutes later. Charles Pélissier lost over 23 minutes that day.

The new General Classification:

1. André Leducq

2. Antonin Magne @ 5 minutes 26 seconds

3. Learco Guerra @ 11 minutes 42 seconds


Stage 9: Antonin Magne descends the Tourmalet

The second day in the Pyrenees didn't change anything. All the leaders finished together behind Pélissier. The notable occurrence was Binda's abandonment.

Binda's entry in the 1930 Tour is interesting. He won the 1925, 1927, 1928 and 1929 Giros. The Giro organizers didn't want Binda to ride the 1930 edition, fearing he would make it uninteresting with his domination. They paid him the equivalent of the winner's purse to stay away.

Desgrange, meanwhile, wanted the magnificent Italian to ride the Tour. Binda demurred. Now, with no Giro in his 1930 schedule, Binda entertained offers from Desgrange to ride the Tour if Desgrange would pay him. A secret contract was agreed upon, which Binda revealed only in 1980, 6 years before his death. Binda's real objective for the year was to regain the World Road Championship, which he had been the first ever to win, in 1927. He succeeded that fall and went on to win it a third time in 1932.

Alfredo Binda is another in a long list of great Italian riders who did not find the structure and rhythm of the Tour to their liking. We'll meet Binda again later as the manager of the Italian team. It was he who had the difficult job of running the team that contained the hard to manage duo of Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.

Both Guerra and Antonin Magne lost some time on stage 14 to Nice with its Braus and Castillon climbs. Guerra won the next day and made up some of the loss.

So, before the Alps, this was how things stood:

1. André Leducq

2. Learco Guerra @ 16 minutes 13 seconds

3. Antonin Magne @ 18 minutes 3 seconds


Stage 15: Leducq leads Benoit Faure and Learco Guerra up the Côte des Crozets

Stage 16 from Grenoble to Évian with the Lautaret, Galibier, Télégraphe and Aravis passes is one of those days in racing in which a champion is forged on the anvil of misfortune. Let's take a look at this remarkable and famous day.

Fernand Robache, a Frenchman riding as a completely independent touriste-routier, was first over the Lautaret. Pierre Magne led over the Galibier with Benoît Faure, the touriste-routier, right with him. Guerra was only 6 seconds behind, followed by André Leducq, another 9 seconds back.

Leducq, throwing caution to the winds, flew down the Galibier and crashed. Sensing opportunity, Guerra kept going as fast as he dared.

Leducq had lost consciousness in the crash. Upon Leducq's awakening, Pierre Magne managed to get him back on his bike and rolling down the hill, his teammates riding with him. At the base of the next climb, the Télégraphe, Leducq broke a pedal and crashed again. Leducq wept, calling for his mother. Teammate Bidot managed to get a pedal from a spectator's bike. Leducq's leg was a bloody mess from the crash. He was probably suffering from shock after the 2 falls.

Surrounded by his teammates, he talked of abandoning. Pélissier would hear none of it. Jean-Paul Ollivier in Maillot Jaune relates:

"You don't give up when you've got the Yellow Jersey to take care of. Are you listening to me Dédé [Leducq's nickname]? We're all going to go flat out; you'll stick with us and we'll take you up to Guerra."

"There is also Demuysére," objected Leducq, thinking of the high-placed capable Belgian who was with Guerra.

Marcel Bidot answered, "Demuysére is an old nag! Come on, get on the saddle! I've had enough of seeing you blubbering like that. You're not a woman after all! Let's have a look at your knee! Stretch out your leg...now bend it...there's nothing broken. Let's go then, you'll warm up on the way!"

What man could resist such esprit-de-corps, such dedicated teammates desperate to help? Leducq remounted and the chase was on.

Guerra meanwhile was lashing himself and his breakaway companions, doing all he could to get as much time as possible on the chasing Frenchmen behind him. When Leducq restarted for the second time Guerra had a 15-minute lead, enough to give him the Yellow Jersey.

But, there were still 60 kilometers to the finish line in Évian. Guerra begged for more help from the others with him, but after four Alpine climbs and 270 kilometers, no one had any more to give.

Behind him, the French team was mobilized. As they had promised, Pierre and Antonin Magne, Charles Pélissier and Marcel Bidot, dragging the bloody Leducq, were riding like fiends possessed. After 2 hours of desperate, hard chasing, they caught Guerra near the finish. To make Guerra's misery complete, Pélissier led out Leducq who won the stage.

So here was the new General Classification

1. André Leducq

2. Learco Guerra @ 16 minutes 13 seconds

3. Antonin Magne @ 18 minutes 3 seconds

The fight for the General Classification was basically over at that point. Charles Pélissier continued his incredible sprinting streak by winning all of the final 4 stages.

The French team won the Tour, won 12 of the 21 stages and put 6 of their riders in the top 10 in the General Classification. Needless to say, the French were well pleased with the new format. Charles Pélissier, giving almost daily lessons in sprinting to the other racers, had won 8 stages.

Final 1930 Tour de France General Classification:

1. André Leducq (France): 172 hours 12 minutes 16 seconds

2. Learco Guerra (Italy) @ 14 minutes 13 seconds

3. Antonin Magne (France) @ 16 minutes 3 seconds

4. Joseph Demuysére (Belgium) @ 21 minutes 34 seconds

5. Marcel Bidot (France) @ 41 minutes 18 seconds

6. Pierre Magne (France) @ 45 minutes 42 seconds

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1930 Tour de France

24th edition: July 5 - July 28

Results, stages with running GC, photos and history

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