1908 Tour de France
Route of the 1908 Tour de France
Followed clockwise, starting in Paris |
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| Race details | ||||||||||
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| Dates | 13 July – 9 August | |||||||||
| Stages | 14 | |||||||||
| Distance | 4,488 km (2,789 mi) | |||||||||
| Winning time | 36 points | |||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||
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| Winner |
 Lucien Petit-Breton (FRA)
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| Second |
 François Faber (LUX)
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| Third |
Georges Passerieu (FRA)
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The 1908 Tour de France was the sixth running of the annual Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was organized by the newspaper L'Auto, and took place between 13 July and 9 August. The Tour was split in 14 stages, with a total distance of 4,497 kilometres (2,794 mi).
The pre-race favourite was Lucien Petit-Breton, winner of the previous Tour. Petit-Breton dominated the race; he won the general classification and five of the fourteen stages, and thus became the first cyclist who won the Tour twice. For the first time, the final podium in Paris was not completely French: François Faber from Luxembourg ended as second in the general classification, after winning four stages.
The 1908 Tour de France followed nearly the same route as the 1907 Tour de France, following the borders of France clockwise. The rules were also the same; the points system was still used instead of the time system to determine the winner. Before the start, the Tour de France organisation announced that all necessary measures had been taken to prevent the regrettable incidents as in 1905, and that the 'Apaches' had 90% chance of being caught and spending time in jail. Dismountable tyres were used for the first time; this meant that cyclists could repair their bicycles easier, and a flat tire cost them less time. Because tour organiser Henri Desgrange wanted to keep the Tour de France a race between individual athletes, all cyclists had to ride on frames provided by the Tour organisation. The cyclists were not allowed to change bicycles, so the separation in two different classes in the years before had disappeared, and all cyclists started in the same category.
Before the race started, 162 cyclists had subscribed for the Tour de France, and received starting numbers. 48 cyclists did not start, so the first stage started with 114 cyclists. Cyclists entered the race individually, not in teams; nevertheless some shared the same sponsor and cooperated as if they rode in teams.
The favourite for the victory was Lucien Petit-Breton, the winner of the previous edition. He was sponsored by Peugeot, which sponsored also several other strong cyclists; in the five previous editions of the Tour de France, these Peugeot-sponsored cyclists had together won 20 stages. In addition, Petit-Breton was a skilled bicycle mechanic, which was important because the rules said that cyclists had to repair their bicycle without help. The strongest opposition was expected from the cyclists sponsored by Alcyon, led by Georges Passerieu and Gustave Garrigou.
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