25th Tour de France 1931

Two Victories in a Row for Team France

National pride was on the line when the very strong Belgian and Italian teams returned to battle the defending Tour de France champion Andre Leducq (Fra) and his French National team.

With defending champion Leducq struggling, teammate Antonin “Tonin” Magne took leadership of the French team on stage 9. Magne matched the aggressive attacks in the mountains and broke away from his lead group to win the very tough stage by more than 4 minutes. The margin of victory gave Magne the race leadership.

Antonin “Tonin” Magne climbing away on Stage 9

Athletes are notoriously superstitious and Magne was no exception. He considered fan mail unlucky and did not open it until after the race was finished. Between stages, an oversized letter peaked his curiosity and against his superstition he opened it. The letter was from an avid French fan who was visiting Belgian challenger Jef Demuysere's hometown. The fan had over heard several of the town's people talking of a plan for Jef Demuysere to attack Magne on the cobbled roads of Northern France. Demuysere trailed Magne by mere 12'56” and garnered a great deal of Magne's attention from the start of stage 23.

Just as the fan predicted, Demuysere attacked on the famous “pave of the North” (cobblestone roads) with the race leader glued to his wheel. The two were joined in a breakaway by Paris-Roubaix winner Gaston Rebry (Bel) and they dance across cobbles to the finish. With the weather deteriorating the cobbles got very slick. The race leader locked in a decisive battle skids while 'bunny-hopping' a railway crossing and fell. Quickly Magne remounts his bicycle and set a rapid pace chasing Demuysere and Rebry. At the finish in Malo-les-Bains, Rebry won the three-rider sprint and grabbed the stage win. The big winner of the day was Magne, who held the race lead over Demuysere. For Magne a small tip from an avid fan proved to be a blessing.

On the final stage into Paris Magne rode victoriously around Parc des Princes Velodrome as the joyous French fans invaded the track to celebrate the French victory.

Special note: Tour history was made on stage 2 when little known, but very talented Austrian Max Bulla won the stage in a 3-man breakaway and took the Maillot Jaune. This marked the first time in the TdF that a touristes-routier (individual rider) had worn the race leader's jersey. Bulla did go on to win 2 other stages, but lost the Maillot Jaune on stage 3 after he finished in 37th place, over 29 minutes off the winning time. Short-lived fame, but even one day in the Maillot Jaune can make a rider's career.

TdF 1930

TdF 1932

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