Race Details
On the rest day between the sixth and seventh stage in Nice, cyclist Adolphe Hélière died whilst swimming. He was the first victim of the Tour de France. In the ninth stage, four mountains were climbed, and Desgrange saw how much trouble the cyclists had on these mountains. The tenth stage would include the Pyrenees mountains, so Desgrange left the race and made Victor Breyer the director of the stage. In that tenth stage, the Tourmalet was climbed, the highest point of the 1910 Tour de France. Octave Lapize reached the top first, followed by Gustave Garrigou. Garrigou was the only cyclist who reached the top without dismounting, and received an extra prize of 100 francs for that. The next climb was the Aubisque. Lapize struggled there, and regional rider François Lafourcade lead the race. The organizers had a car standing in top, and when Lafourcade passed them, they did not recognize him, and when they found out it was Lafourcade, they were surprised that such an unknown rider had been able to pass all the 'cracks'. When Lapize passed the organizer's car, he screamed "Assassins!", and announced that he would give up during the descent. Downhill, he refound his strength and was able to catch up Lafourcade, and even win the stage.
After the 12th stage, Faber was leading the race by only one point. In that stage to Brest, Faber punctured, and Lapize took over the lead, helped by Garrigou.
In the 14th stage, Faber sped away almost from the start in what could be his last chance to win the Tour de France. It seemed that he had a chance, until a flat tyre caused him to lose time, and Lapize could get back to him, helped by Garrigou. Lapize improved his lead by winning the stage, and had a six point margin before the last stage. In that last stage, it was Lapize who suffered from a flat tyre, shortly after the start. Faber raced away, but could not pull off the stunt: he had a flat tyre. He still finished ahead of Lapize, but won back only two points, so the 1910 Tour de France was won by Lapize.
Read more about this topic: 1910 Tour De France
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