charliedid
07-21-2013, 11:02 AM
Cleaner, free of nonsense and hooliganism and much more sporting.
http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/la-tour.html
'As a cultural event, the Tour was wildly successful. In addition to selling a lot more newspapers, fans showed up to watch the various stages with around 20,000 spectators gathering near the Vélodrome in Paris to watch Garin win. This first race was so successful that a second race was planned almost immediately for the next year.
The second year was harder on the racers than the first with fans deliberately knocking down trees to delay specific racers. In some cases, bicyclists were even assaulted by the fans of rival racers. Garin, initially anyway, won in 1904, but was stripped of his title for cheating. He, and several other riders, were accused of riding in or being pulled by cars. Unfortunately, the records for the early races were lost during World War II so the full story will never be known'
http://www.ultimatehistoryproject.com/la-tour.html
'As a cultural event, the Tour was wildly successful. In addition to selling a lot more newspapers, fans showed up to watch the various stages with around 20,000 spectators gathering near the Vélodrome in Paris to watch Garin win. This first race was so successful that a second race was planned almost immediately for the next year.
The second year was harder on the racers than the first with fans deliberately knocking down trees to delay specific racers. In some cases, bicyclists were even assaulted by the fans of rival racers. Garin, initially anyway, won in 1904, but was stripped of his title for cheating. He, and several other riders, were accused of riding in or being pulled by cars. Unfortunately, the records for the early races were lost during World War II so the full story will never be known'