1922 Tour de France
Route of the 1922 Tour de France
Followed counterclockwise, starting in Paris |
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| Race details | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 25 June – 23 July | ||||||||||||
| Stages | 15 | ||||||||||||
| Distance | 5,375 km (3,340 mi) | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 222h 08' 06" | ||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Firmin Lambot (BEL)
|
(1st class) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second |
 Jean Alavoine (FRA)
|
(1st class) | |
| Third |
Félix Sellier (BEL)
|
(1st class) |
The 1922 Tour de France was the 16th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 23 July. The 1922 Tour consisted of 15 stages covering a total of 5,375 kilometres (3,340 mi). The race was won by the Belgian Firmin Lambot. It was the second time Lambot had won the overall Tour de France title; he had previously won the 1919 Tour de France.
The first part of the race showcased the tactics of Robert Jacquinot, and some action from Eugène Christophe. During the Pyrenees stages, the climber Jean Alavoine became the leader after three consecutive stage wins: Bayonne, Luchon, and Perpignan. Lambot was 48 minutes behind Christophe at one point, but then plowed ahead to his win in Paris.
Alavoine's success appeared to be written in stone as they raced through the southern part of the race. This was especially true when he increased his lead to more than 22 minutes in Briancon. On the stage to Geneva the frigid weather and several mechanical issues bore down on Alavoine. Thus it was not Lambot who attacked, but Heusghem (who had been second for the last two years). It appeared that this was going to be his shining Tour, however his bicycle broke on the ride to Metz. Heusghem made a prohibited bike change to stay in race for first. However, this defied the rules during this time, and he was docked one hour by race officials, dropping him to fourth overall. This is when Lambot noticed his change and took over in Dunkerque. Amidst all this Lambot took his second win of the Tour de France at the age of 36, becoming the first to win the Tour de France without winning a stage.
In the 1921 Tour de France, the Belgians had again been dominating, which the French audience did not like. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange did not like the cooperation between cyclists, because he wanted the Tour de France to be a display of individual strength. He had sworn to change the format for the 1922 Tour de France, but this did not happen, and the formula remained the same.
Although World War I was already a few years ago, its economic impact was not yet over. The cycling companies were still not able to sponsor the cyclists in the way they did before the war, so as in 1919, 1920 and 1921 they bundled their forces under the nick La Sportive. The cyclists were divided in two categories, this time named 1ère classe (first class), the professionals, and 2ème classe (second class), the amateurs.
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