15th Tour de France 1921

Belgians Continue Tour Domination

A very strong Belgian contingent took control of the race through the early stages. The two, Belgian former champions Philippe Thys (1913,1914,1920) and Firmin Lambot (1919) struggled during stage 1 and an unmotivated Thys abandoned before the start of stage 2. Leon Scieur, little known Belgian strongman, who trained with Lambot, emerged as the “Belgian to beat” in 1921. Sceiur's only previous victory was in the 1920 Liege-Bastone-Liege.He first raced the Tour in 1913 and subsequently placed fourth in both 1919 and 1920.

After a third place finish on stage 1, Sceiur grabbed the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey) on stage 2. The Belgian rode consistently throughout the entire Tour and wore the race leader's jersey all the way to Paris.

SPECIAL NOTE: The win did not come without a scare for Leon Scieur (Bel). On stage 13 from Strasbourg to Metz, Sceiur, the race leader, broke 11 spokes on his rear wheel. He was able to get a replacement wheel, but with over 300km to the stage finish, he was faced with another problem. The TdF rules stated that each rider MUST finish the stage with all the equipment he had at the start. Bravely, Sceiur remounted his bike with the broken wheel strapped to his back. After a hard chase, he regained the group with the other leaders of the Tour. By the finish of the stage, with his back bleeding from the wheel strapped to his back, but he retained his overall lead. He would wear the scars of the stage 13 mishap for the rest of his life.

TdF 1920

TdF 1922

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