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By Barry Boyce
CyclingRevealed Historian
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“The Victory of a Moribund”
The intent of the previous 2 years' “individual team departure” (ITD) stages clearly had NOT worked and race director Henri Desgrange abandoned the format for the 1929 Tour de France.
Popular Frenchman Victor Fortan donned the Maillot Jaune after stage 9 but after a string of accidents on stage 10 abandoned the race. Second placed Maurice Dewaele (Bel) became the overall leader.
Potential disaster struck the Alcyon team one hour before the start of stage 15, when Dewaele became violently ill. Unable to mount his bicycle, abandonment of the new race leader seemed to be the only option. Not wanting to relinquish the overall lead, his teammates virtually dragged Dewaele to the starting line.
Most of his team rode on the front of the peloton blocking the entire road and preventing all attacks. The rest of the team surrounded Dewaele, pushing him over all the climbs. By the end of the stage Dewaele's Alcyon teammates amazingly got him to the finish line in 11th place, 13 minute and 25 seconds behind the stage winner. He retained the lead General Classification. The following day was a rest day and Dewaele began to recover. By stage 16, he rode well enough to stay in the main pack, with only Charles Pelissier (Fra) escaping and taking the stage win.
Slowly over the remaining stages Dewaele got stronger, he managed to finish in the same pack as his main rivals on each stage. Maurice Dewaele and Alcyon rode into Paris for the 1929 TdF victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: An outraged Henri Desgrange denounced the results as the “victory of a moribund.” “How can such a soft touch retain the Yellow Jersey?” he wrote, “Why didn't his rivals attack him with more resolutely?” Desgrange acclaimed that the final overall classification was not true to reality.
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 PARIS-CAEN, 206 km |
Aime Dossche (Bel) |
Aime Dossche (Bel) |
Stage 2 CAEN-CHERBOURG, 140 km |
Andre Leducq (Fra) |
Aime Dossche (Bel) |
Stage 3 CHERBOURG-DINAN, 199 km |
Omer Taverne (Bel) |
Aime Dossche (Bel) |
Stage 4 DINAN-BREST, 206 km |
Louis Delannoy (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 5 BREST-VANNES, 208 km |
Gus Van Slembrouck (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 6 VANNES-LES SABLES D'OLONNE, 204 km |
Paul Le Drogo (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 7 LES SABLES D'OLONNE-BORDEAUX, 285 km |
Nicolas Frantz (Lux) |
Nicolas Frantz (Lux) |
Stage 8 BORDEAUX-BAYONNE, 182 km |
Julien Moineau (Fra) |
Gaston Rebry (Bel) |
Stage 9 BAYONNE-LUCHON, 363 km |
Salvador Cardona (Spa) |
Victor Fontan (Fra) |
Stage 10 LUCHON-PERPIGNAN, 323 km |
Jef Demuysere (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 11 PERPIGNAN-MARSEILLE, 366 km |
Andre Leducq (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 12 MARSEILLE-CANNES, 191 km |
Marcel Bidot (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 13 CANNES-NICE, 133 km |
Benoit Faure (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 14 NICE-GRENOBLE, 333 km |
Gaston Rebry (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 15 GRENOBLE-EVIAN, 329 km |
Julien Vervaecke (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 16 EVIAN-BELFORT, 283 km |
Charles Pelissier (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 17 BELFORT-STRASBOURG, 145 km |
Andre Leducq (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 18 STRASBOURG-METZ, 165 km |
Andre Leducq (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 19 METZ-CHARLEVILLE, 159 km |
Bernard Van Rysselberghe (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 20 CHARLEVILLE-MALO LES BAINS, 270 km |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 21 MALO LES BAINS-DIEPPE, 234 km |
Andre Leducq (Fra) |
Maurice Dewaele (Bel) |
Stage 22 DIEPPE-PARIS/Parc des Princes, 332 km |
Nicolas Frantz (Lux) |
 Maurice Dewaele (Bel)
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| TdF June 30-July 28, 1929 |
| 5,257 Km |
1.
Maurice DEWAELE (Bel) 186h39'15" |
2.
Giuseppe Pancera (Ita) +44'23" |
3.
Jef Demuysere (Bel) * +57'10" |
| Starters: 155 |
| Finishers: 60 |
| Average Speed: 28.319 km/h |
TdF 1928
TdF 1930
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23rd Tour de France 1929
