Riding The Tour De France
The first Tour de France started at Montgeron, south of Paris. By Toulouse he was one of 30 left in the race. With them he left the city in the night and led the race as it passed through his village. Lefèvre reported: "The whole of Grisolles is by the side of the road. They're here to see Dargassies, the champion of the region. When he rode by, every voice shouted in encouragement, in a long avenue of people all the way to Montauban."
Dargassies was three minutes behind the leaders as he came through Montauban and his front fork had broken. As a blacksmith, he had no trouble finding a colleague to make a repair. In Paris he finished 11th, 13 hours behind the winner, Maurice Garin. His prize: 145 francs. When he got home to Grisolles he sent a telegram to Lefèvre: "Got back home today. All my compatriots are crazy, crazier than me. Everybody at the station, music, flowers, speech. Fame! Fame!" He rode the Tour again in 1904 and finished fourth, lifted from 10th by disqualifications of the best riders for cheating. This time he won 1,000 francs.
Read more about this topic: Jean Dargassies
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