1904 Tour de France

July 2 to July 24

Results, stages with running GC, photos and history

1904 Tour Quick Facts:

2,388 km raced at an average speed of 24.85 km/hr

88 starters and 15 classified finishers

The 1904 Tour was a mess. The passions raised by the first Tour caused protests, road blockages (often nails spread on the road) and even physical attacks on riders. The misbehaving spectators were usually motivated by regional partisanship on behalf of certain riders. In addition, rider cheating was rampant. It was so bad that in November of 1904 the French Cycling Union disqualified the first four riders finishing the Tour.

Tour boss Henri Desgrange was so troubled by the entire scandal that he vowed never to put on the Tour again. He then immediately went to planning the 1905 edition.

At 19 years, 11 months, Henri Cornet is the youngest-ever Tour winner.

1904 Tour de France Compelte Final General Classification:

Before the disqualification, the top 5 General Classification riders were:

1. Maurice Garin 93hr 6min 24sec

2. Lucien Pothier @ 3hr 28min

3. Cesar Garin @ 1hr 51min 13sec

4. Hippolyte Aucouturier @ 2hr 52min 26sec

5. Henri Cornet @ 2hr 59min 31sec

Corrected and official complete final General Classification:

Henri Cornet: 96hr 5min 55sec
Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 2hr 16min 14sec
Aloïs Catteau @ 9hr 1min 25sec
Jean Degarssies @ 13hr 4min 30sec
Julien Maitron @ 19hr 6min 15sec
Auguste Daumain @ 22hr 44min 36sec
Louis Coolsaet @ 23hr 44min 20sec
Achille Colas @ 25hr 9min 50sec
René Saget @ 25hr 55min 16sec
Gustave Drioul @ 30hr 54min 49sec
Henri Paret @ 32hr 18min 39sec
Auguste Gauthier @ 33hr 14min 2sec
Auguste Rist @ 35hr 1 min 20sec
Damelincourt @ 48hr 39min 3sec
Antoine Deflotiere @ 101hr 28min 52sec

1904 Tour Stage results with running GC.

I've listed the results as they were first recorded. I've noted the official stage winner, according to the final November 1904 ruling. Disqualified riders have their names in parenthesis. The running GC results are rectified and reflect the November disqualifications

Stage 1: Saturday, July 2, Paris - Lyon, 467 km.

1. (Maurice Garin): 17hr 7min 6sec

2. (Lucien Pothier) @ 24sec

3. (Pierre Chevalier) @ 19min 54sec

4. Michel Frédérick @ 37min 54sec - Stage Winner

5. Giovanni Gerbi @ 43min 29sec

6. (Cesar Garin) @ 1hr 4min 54sec

7. François Beaugendre s.t.

8. Emile Lombard @ 1hr 5min 24sec

9. Henri Gauban @ 1hr 6min 9sec

10. Alfred Faure @ 2min 2min 54sec

Rectified GC after stage 1:

1. Michel Frédérick

2. Giovanni Gerbi

3. François Beaugendre

Stage 2: Saturday, July 9, Lyon - Marseille, 374 km

Major Ascent: Col de la Républic

1. (Hyppolite Aucouturier): 15hr 9min

2. (Cesar Garin) s.t.

3. (Lucien Pothier) @ 1sec

4. (Maurice Garin) s.t.

5. Alfred Faure @ 2sec - Stage Winner

6. Emile Lombard s.t.

7. Henri Cornet @ 3sec

8. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq s.t.

9. (Chaput) @ 4sec

10. Alois Catteau @ 40sec

GC after stage 2:

1. Emile Lombard

2. Alfred Faure @ 57min 30sec

3. François Beaugendre @ 1hr 21min 28sec

Stage 3: Wednesday, July 13, Marseille - Toulouse, 424 km

1. (Hyppolite Aucouturier) 15hr 43min 55sec

2. Henri Cornet s.t. - Stage Winner

3. François Beaugendre @ 8min 11sec

4. (Lucien Pothier) @ 8min 12sec

5. (Maurice Garin) @ 8min 13sec

6. Camille Fily @ 25min 8sec

7. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 52min 7sec

8. Alois Catteau @ 43min 5sec

9. (Cesar Garin) @ 51min 41sec

10. Philippe Jousselin @ 1hr 30min 37sec

GC after Stage 3

1. Henri Cornet

2. François Beaugendre @ 5min 8sec

3. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 1hr 28min 59sec

Stage 4: Sunday, July 17, Toulouse - Bordeaux, 268 km

1. (Lucien Pothier) 8hr 40min 6sec

2. (Cesar Garin) s.t.

3. François Beaugendre s.t. - Stage Winner

4. (Maurice Garin) @ 1sec

5. Philippe Jousselin @ 15min 56sec

6. (Hyppolite Aucouturier) @ 30min 59sec

7. Henri Cornet s.t.

8. Julien Maitron @ 40min 24sec

9. Alois Catteau @ 50min 9sec

10. Julien Gabory @ 1hr 8min 14sec

GC after stage 4:

1. François Beaugendre

2. Henri Cornet @ 25min 51sec

3. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 2hr 48min 53sec

Stage 5: Wednesday, July 20, Bordeaux - Nantes, 425 km

1. (Hyppolite Aucouturier): 16hr 49min 50sec

2. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 4sec - Stage Winner

3. (Cesar Garin) s.t.

4. Henri Cornet @ 11sec

5. (Maurice Garin) s.t.

6. (Lucien Pothier) @ 18sec

7. Philippe Jousselin @ 24sec

8. Charles Prevost @ 30sec

9. Julien Gabory @ 1hr 10sec

10. Camille Fily @ 1hr 47min 10sec

GC after stage 5:

1. Henri Cornet

2. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 2hr 22min 54sec

3. Alos Catteau @ 6hr 48min 14sec

6th and Final Stage: Saturday, July 23, Nantes - Paris

1. (Hyppolite Aucouturier) 19hr 28min

2. (Maurice Garin s.t.

3. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 10sec - Stage Winner

4. (Lucien Pothier) @ 3min

5. (Cesar Garin) s.t.

6. Louis Coolsaet @ 4min

7. Henri Cornet @ 11min 50sec

8. Julien Lootens "Samson" @ 18min 34sec

9. Achille Colas @ 20min

10. Philippe Jousselin @ 43min

Complete 1904 Tour de France Final General Classification

Roster of Starting Riders

Joseph Achten (B)

Hyppolite Aucouterier (F)

Francois Beaugendre (F)

Adrien Blanqui (F)

Felix Boyer (F)

H. Boyer (F)

Eugene Brange (F)

Maurice Carrere (F)

Alois Catteau (F)

Chaput (F)

Pierre Chevalier (F)

Cist (F)

Pierre Cnops (B)

Colas (F)

Louis Colsaet (B)

Henri Cornet (F)

Damelincourt (F)

Jean Dargassies (F)

Maurice Dartigue (F)

Daumain (F)

Philippe Deballade (F)

Antoine Deflotriere (F)

Eugene Delhaye (B)

Delmilhac (F)

Pierre Desvages (F)

V. Deveze (F)

Dome (B)

Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq (F)

Octave Doury (F)

Gustave Drioul (B)

P. Dufraix (F)

Durant (F)

Antoine Faure (F)

Camille Fily (F)

Georges Fleury

Michel Frederick (Switzerland)

Julien Gabory (F)

Cesar Garin (F)

Maurice Garin (F)

Henri Gauban (F)

Gauthier (F)

Eugene Geay (F)

Giovanni Gerbi (Italy)

Grimenwald (F)

Leon Habets (F)

P. Hibon (F)

Jean-Baptiste Jacquet (F)

Antoine Jaeck (Switzerland)

Dieudonne Jamar (B)

Philippe Jousselin (F)

Charles Laeser (Switzerland)

Lamboef (F)

Lamouline (F)

Lapree (F)

Romain Lardillier (F)

Louis Lecouna (F)

Legaux (B)

Albert Leroy (F)

Lipman (F)

Emile Lombard (B)

Julien Lootens, raced as "Samson" (B)

Maisonneuve (F)

Julien Maitron (F)

Marcastel (F)

Memo (B)

Monin (F)

Emile Moulin (F)

Albert Niepceron (F)

Henri Paret (F) At 50, oldest racer of the Tour

Ferdinand Payan (F)

Edouard Pillon (F)

Lucien Pothier (F)

Emile Poupin (F)

Charles Prevost (F)

Eugene Prevost (F)

Noel Prevost (F)

Reidenbach (F)

Leon Riche (F)

A. Rist (F)

Giovanni Rossignoli (Italy)

Saget (F)

Jules Sales (B)

Sylvain (F)

Tachet (F)

L. Treuvelot (F)

Ange Varalde (F)

Vassela (F)

Eugene Ventresque (F)

The Story of the 1904 Tour de France

This excerpt is from "The Story of the Tour de France", Volume 1 If you enjoy it we hope you will consider purchasing the book, either print or electronic. The Amazon link here will make either purchase easy

Desgrange and Lefèvre had a tiger by the tail. Their race was immensely popular. The 1904 version followed the same 6-stage clockwise route again, and took about three weeks in July. There was no shortage of racers this year. 88 took off from Paris on Saturday, July 2. The best riders from the first Tour, Garin, Pothier (both riding for La Française) and Aucouturier were considered the favorites.

It was a strange Tour and no one is sure exactly what happened. Because the stages were so long, the riders were required to ride at night. Even with Desgrange's men doing what they could to watch the race, cheating was easy. Some riders were accused of hopping in a car. Others took trains. Moreover, Desgrange's race had lit fires of passion among racing fans that were almost the ruin of the race. Partisan mobs hindered and helped various riders.

Early in the first stage, Hippolyte Aucouturier, riding for Peugeot, suffered a substantial time loss because of numerous flat tires and crashes. The inexplicable bad luck seemed to be the result of sabotage. Before the stage even ended he was out of contention. He ended up finishing the stage two and a half hours behind the winner and the other favorite, Maurice Garin.

Garin had his own troubles. Towards the end of the first stage, coming into Lyons, Garin and Lucien Pothier were riding away from the others when a carload of thugs tried to run them off the road. Garin was able to get by them and still win the stage.

It was thought that Garin was getting illegal feeds from race officials. It turns out that Garin was pressuring Lefèvre to help him. Lefèvre, even though he was a race official, did not want to endanger the participation of the Tour's genuine star by having Garin drop out from hunger. Lefèvre succumbed to the pressure to break the rules. As we'll see, this bit of official corruption is very unusual in the Tour. This rarity is one of the reasons the Tour is the most important race in the world.




		Sign-in at the end of a stage

The news of Garin's cheating further inflamed the fanatical crowds. During the second stage, on the Col de la Républic, a group of hoodlums waited in hiding for the racers. They planned on beating or knifing the leaders to help their local favorite, Antoine Faure. After first being warned by angry race fans driving in a car alongside Garin and Italian Giovanni Gerbi, this mob attacked the pair. Gerbi suffered broken fingers and was forced to return to Italy. After race officials intervened to break up the mob Garin pressed on. Eventually Aucouturier, Pothier, and César and Maurice Garin made it just about together to the finish, with Faure only a couple of seconds behind.

The hooliganism continued into the third stage. Ferdinand Payan was disqualified for taking pace from riders not entered in the race. When the race went through Nîmes, near Payan's home town of Ales there was another riot. The racers fought with the crowd that had traveled from Ales to obstruct the race. Barricades were set up and some of the riders had to defend themselves against armed spectators. Tour officials had to fire a revolver to disperse the crowd. All along the 1904 Tour route, nails were continually strewn on the roads.



The end of stage 4 in Bordeaux. Note that this is an Italian sports magazine showing that the Tour was of international interest from the beginning.

Aucouturier won the last 2 stages but he had lost too much time, starting with that big loss the first stage, to make up the difference to the very powerful Maurice Garin.

At the end of the race, Maurice Garin was ahead by a far smaller margin than in 1903, probably because of all the crashes and flats caused by the saboteurs. At first, his victory of a little over 3 minutes seemed to stand. Then an inquiry was initiated into the abuses of the race. The UVF (Union Vélocipédique Française) carefully waited until December to announce its judgment, well aware of the passions aroused by the race. The UVF disqualified the first 4 riders, disciplined a total of 29 riders and awarded the Tour victory to the youngest winner in Tour history, 20 year old Henri Cornet. To the end of his life, even though he probably cheated by taking a train and getting illegal feeds, Garin publicly maintained that he was robbed and that he was the rightful winner of the 1904 Tour.



The initial 1904 Tour podium. From the left, Lucien Pothier (2nd), Maurice Garin (1st) and his brother César Garin (3rd). They would all be later disqualified. Note that they have toe clips, but no straps.

But wait....it's not quite that simple. Garin maintained a public face but in his old age was a bit more honest to his friends. Again I refer to Les Woodland and his Unknown Tour de France. Woodland tracked down an aging friend of Garin's and asked him about the scandalous Tour and the accusations against Garin. "He admitted it. He was amused about it, certainly not embarrassed, not after all those years. There wasn't the same significance to the Tour then, of course, and he used to laugh and say, 'well I was young, quoi...' Maybe at the time he said he didn't, but when he got older and it no longer mattered so much."

The man who was awarded the victory, young Henri Cornet, was also guilty of cheating. He had been warned not to take further liberties with the rules after he got a lift in a car. The race was just completely out of the control of the organizers.

At first Desgrange despaired. "The Tour de France is over. Its second edition, I very much fear will have been its last. It will have died of its success."

After he was finished moaning and the sanctions were administered by the UVF, he set about planning the 1905 Tour.

The 1904 General classification as of July 23:

1. Maurice Garin, 93 hours 6 minutes 24 seconds

2. Lucien Pothier @ 3 minutes 28 seconds

3. César Garin @ 1 hour 51 minutes 13 seconds

4. Hippolyte Aucouturier @ 2 hours 52 minutes 26 seconds

5. Henri Cornet @ 2 hours 59 minutes 31 seconds

The final 1904 Tour de France General Classification after the UVF judgment on December 2, 1904:

1. Henri Cornet, 96 hours 5 minutes 55 seconds

2. Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq @ 2 hours 16 minutes 14 seconds

3. Aloïs Catteau @ 9 hours 1 minute 25 seconds

4. Jean Dargassies @ 13 hours 4 minutes 30 seconds

5. Julien Maitron @ 19 hours 6 minutes 15 seconds