2019 HIGHWAY MAP OF DORDOGNE FRANCE TRIAL

He beat the second place winner, Lucien Pothier, by 2 hours 49 minutes, which is still the record for the greatest margin. The winner was Maurice Garin who won 6,075 francs in prize money and averaged 25km/hr. The first Tour du France was in 1903, 60 people participated but only 21 completed the race. Le Tour de France is not just a race, it is a celebration of all things French the rural villages, the stunning scenery, the cheering crowds, the sportsmanship and, finally, the grande finale in Paris. The idea of publicising this new venture with a cycle race was to be in direct competition with the Paris-Brest race organised by Le Vélo the Paris-Brest race continues to this day and is still popular, but does not hold the iconic status of Le Tour de France. Dion Car Works, Le Vélo’s biggest advertiser, disagreed strongly with the newspaper and as a result withdrew their advertising and started their own publication, L’Auto. Le Vélo was France’s most dominant sporting newspaper of the time, but unfortunately the editor’s view was not shared by all.

2019 HIGHWAY MAP OF DORDOGNE FRANCE TRIAL

The outcome of the trial appeared to be heavily influenced by the fact that Dreyfus was Jewish, and many people, including the editor of Le Vélo, believed him to have been innocent. The 'Dreyfus Affair' divided opinion in France at the end of the 19th century when French soldier, Albert Dreyfus, was found guilty of selling secrets to the Germans and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The origins of the race date back to the early 1900s and two rival sports newspapers.

2019 highway map of dordogne france