30th Tour de France 1936

Belgian Team Strength – Sylvere Wins!

Fascism was on the rise in Europe. Germany, Italy, and Spain fell under the control of Fascist leaders.

• Italian dictator Benito Mussolini used his power to send a political message by issuing an order for Italian racers to boycott the 1936 Tour de France.
• General Francisco Franco headed a fascist backed revolt against the Spanish republican government, plunging Spain into a bloody civil war.
• The infamous Adolph Hitler's fascist government had full control of Germany.

Surrounded by turmoil the 1936 TdF came as a welcome distraction for France from political tensions of Europe. The very strong Belgian National team returned with defending champion Romain Maes and high hopes of retaining the TdF championship.

SPECIAL NOTE: The founder of the Tour de France and long time race director Henri Desgrange became ill and retired after stage 2 in Charleville. Desgrange had undergone surgery earlier in the year and stubbornly tried to resume his duties as race director at the start of the Tour. At the age of 71, he was too weak to continue his duties and reluctantly turned the leadership of the Tour over to Jacques Goddet.

Tuesday, July 7, 1936 the Tour began with the 258 km stage from Paris to Lille. The early stages featured a battle between Frenchman Maurice Archambaud and Belgian Sylvere Maes. The two pushed each other until Archambaud cracked on the climbs to Briancon. Maes beat Archambaud by almost 8 minutes on stage 8 and began to take control of the General Classification. Through the Alps and across the flats leading to the Pyrenees Mountains Maes and the “Black Squadron” maintained the race lead.

The decisive stage of the Tour was the infamous from Luchon to Pau, the entry into the “Circle of Death.” Sylvere Maes destroyed the competition, winning the final 3 climbs (Col du Tourmalet, Col du Soulor, and Col d'Aubisque). He won the stage by over 13 minutes on Antonin Magne and over 20 minutes on Felicien Vervaecke. In addition to the thrashing by Maes, Vervaecke was penalized 10 minutes for using a bike with gears on the climb of the Aubisque, and Magne was penalized 5 minutes for taking an illegal feed from Victor Fortan during the stage. The race for the General Classification was over.

Sylvere Maes rode victoriously into Parc des Princes Velodrome on the final stage to give Belgium its second Tour de France victory in a row.

TdF 1935

TdF 1937

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