1904 Tour de France
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The 1904 Tour de France was the second Tour de France, held from July 2 to July 24. The route was the same as in 1903, and Maurice Garin repeated his win of the previous year by a small margin over Lucien Pothier. Hippolyte Aucouturier won four of the six stages.
However, the race itself was a victim of its own success, plagued by scandals.
During the race, nine riders were excluded because of, among other actions, illegal use of cars or trains. The French cycling union (UVF) investigative committee heard testimony from dozens of competitors and witnesses, and in December 1904, disqualified (because of illegal agreements) all the stage winners and the first four finishers (Maurice Garin, Lucien Pothier, César Garin, and Hippolyte Aucouturier). Fifth-placed Henri Cornet, aged 20, became the youngest winner of the Tour. Ten of those disqualified were banned for one year, Garin for two years and the remaining two for life.[citation needed]
The race organiser, Henri Desgrange, said he would never run the race again because it had been overtaken by the "blind emotions" of those who attacked or helped riders as they passed. At one point mobs had surrounded and beaten riders and had to be dispersed by the sound of gun shots.[citation needed] Desgrange was also upset that the Union Vélocipédique Française had imposed judgment on his race when he had already disciplined riders as he saw fit.
An angry exchange ensued between Desgrange and the UVF but the letters and the detailed complaints that led to the UVF's actions were lost when the Tour de France archives were transported south in 1940 to avoid the German invasion and were never seen again.
Stages
| Stage | Date | Route | Length (km) | Winner | Time | Race leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 July | Montgeron - Lyon | 467 | Michel Frédérick | 17h 45' 00" | Michel Frédérick |
| 2 | 9 July | Lyon - Marseille | 374 | André Faure | 15h 09' 02" | Emile Lombard |
| 3 | 13 July | Marseille - Toulouse | 424 | Henri Cornet | 15h 43' 55" | Henri Cornet |
| 4 | 17 July | Toulouse - Bordeaux | 268 | François Beaugendre | 8h 40' 06" | François Beaugendre |
| 5 | 20 July | Bordeaux - Nantes | 425 | Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq | 16h 49' 54" | Henri Cornet |
| 6 | 23 July | Nantes - Paris | 471 | Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq | 19h 28' 10" | Henri Cornet |
