Tour de France yellow jersey Louison Bobet gets ready to start the time trial in the 1953 edition; winning the stage and the race overall. These two rare clips in colour have emerged of the race in 1953 and 1954.
Here’s two great short clips from the Tour de France in the 1950s that we’re bringing to you just because we can, and because the race looks so cool.
The clips were recorded in 1953 and 1954, both of which were won overall by Louison Bobet.
They’ve been given the colour treatment and even the cavalcade looks stunningly stylish.
The first film just below is of the 1953 Tour passing a stretch of road somewhere in north east France.
The field is being led by Dutch rider Hein "Tarzan" van Breenen. The clip was shown in 2009 to some of the Dutch riders in the race on the day, including Jan Nolten and Gerrit Voorting.
Advertisement
Nolten died last year aged 84 years. He won stage 8 in the 1953 edition of the Tour and also took stage 12 the previous year. He went on to take a stage in the Giro d’Italia in 1956.
Voorting died in January at the aged of 92. He was very successful in the Tour, winning stage 4 in the 1953 edition featured in the first clip below.
He also won stage 2 of the Tour in 1958 and held the yellow jersey for three days that year, as well as for one day in 1956.
Voorting was also a silver medalist in the road race at the 1948 Olympic Games.
Riding for France in 1953, Bobet took the first of three consecutive wins by 14:18 from compatriot Jean Malléjac (West France), with Giancarlo Astrua (Italy) in 3rd place, 15:02 down.
Bobet took the yellow jersey from Malléjac in the Alps in stage 18; romping clear to win solo by 12 minutes.
The second clip below features the start of the time trial in 1954; a 72km trek from Epinal to Nancy on July 30th, the third last stage of the race.
The riders had already taken in a morning road race that day of 134km.
Bobet started the afternoon test in the yellow jersey and cemented his position as the best in the race by winning the time trial; his third stage victory that year.
Related News
In the end, he took the race by 15:49 from Ferdi Kübler of Switzerland, with fellow Swiss Fritz Schär at 21:05.
Tour de France 1953
Tour de France 1954 time trial start
Les photos, 1953
Health and safety wasn't what it is today, clearly...
Forget the riders, these cars would have been worth turning out to see.
The publicity caravan ahead of the race had already developed novelty vehicles.
The riders approach in a scene that hasn't change much in the intervening six decades.
The riders have their spares over their shoulders if you look closely.
A couple of men trying to get back on, followed by a fleet of team vehicles. Check out some of the doors of the cars open (vehicle far left) and the spare wheels on the front of the car on the right closest to camera.
In the pre air conditioning age, the white race vehicles on the left are buggies rather than cars.
The ambulance and other support vehicles at the back of the cavalcade.
The sidecar looks dynamite!
Topics
