article by Nicholas Pucci
When the 25th edition of the Tour de France sets off from Le Vesinet on 30 June 1931at the gates of Paris, an entire country is glued to the radio waiting for news of its two most acclaimed champions. André Leducqa 27-year-old from Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, won the year before (after being second in 1928 behind Luxembourg’s Nicolas Frantz) and aims to confirm himself as king of France, Antoninus Magnejust 12 days longer “elderly“, by Ytrac and third in 1930, lulls the illusion of succeeding him on the throne. AND the transalpines, who feed on cycling, are ready to divide in the name of a rivalry on the pedals destined to make history.
Effectively, Leducq and Magne are the captains of France (who instead focuses on Charles Pelissier for the stage victories), which probably will have to deal with Italyled by Francesco Camusso fresh from victory in the Giro d’Italia and which also makes use of the fighting spirit of Antonio Pesenti and the fast wheel of Raffaele Di Paco, and with Belgium, which has its men of tip. And the most anticipated protagonists do not betray the passionate transalpine public, who have the opportunity to applaud a thrilling edition of the most important race.
With the Tour adopting the national team formula for the second consecutive year (and it will be at least until 1961) and assigning a three-minute time bonus to whoever wins alone with at least a three-minute advantage over the second-placed rider, we therefore start from Paris, destination Caen, for a stage which after 208 kilometers dresses the Belgian Alfred Hamerlinck, who in the sprint gets the better of Pelissier and Di Paco, of the first yellow jersey. It then falls to the Austrian Max Bulla, who runs independently, to win the following day in Dinan, equaling the Flemish (stage and record insignia) and marking a historic moment in French racing, the first runner not from a neighboring country (France, Italy , Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany) to achieve partial success. He won’t be the only one either, given that the Viennese boy will win again in Marseille and Aix-les-Bains, also deserving a very honorable 15th position in the final standings.
In the meantime, Fabio Battesini gives Italy their first victory, in Brest, with Di Paco in turn taking over the yellow jersey in Vannes, keeping it for four days and then handing it over to Pelissier, the very two riders who with five victories each will be the winners of the 1931 Tour. And if Magne is faithful to his rank, always present at the outposts of the group, in anticipation of the mountain stages “le roi” Leducq reports less than optimal formgiving up to his teammate, to whom he is linked by a sincere friendship, almost 3 minutes in the Bayonne stage, recovering two the following day with an attempted escape from afar towards Pau on the day in which, precisely, Pelissier wears yellow. And on July 8, in the 238 kilometer Pau-Luchon, there is Aubisque, Tourmalet and Peyresourde to climb.
Following the advice of the former great rider Victor Fontan (who retired at the end of the 1930 Tour de France), Magne lets a small group of attackers, composed of the Belgians Demuysere, Schepers and Dewaele, the Italian Pesenti and the Swiss Albert Buchi, attempt a breakaway from afar and face Aubisque and Tourmalet with a good lead, returning under the fugitives in the descent of this last hill. Leducq, meanwhile, as well as Rebry and Vervaecke, is significantly delayed, when Magne, taking advantage of his skills as an excellent grimpeur and taking advantage of a puncture from the Belgian, takes off over Peyresourde, crossing the finish line in blissful solitude with 4’42” over Pesenti and 7’44” over Demuysere, who, with the addition of the 3 minute bonus, puts him at the top of the ranking with over 9 minutes ahead of the Italian.
Master, now, of the situation, as well finally awarded the rank of captain of FranceMagne can face the stages of Perpignan, Montpellier, Marseille and Cannes with relative tranquility, which give wings to Di Paco, Bulla and Pelissier, but Italy has not really laid down its arms, and towards Nice it launches a decisive attack on the leader. Pesenti, supported by Felice Gremo and Eugenio Gestri, orchestrates an action from afar, forcing Magne to lead alone a prolonged chase that in the evening costs him over 4 minutes. And if the next day Demuysere tries to do the same towards Gapattacking on the Col d’Allos, Magne, victim of some mechanical accidents, has to thank the help of Pelissier if, at the end of the stage, he is only 2 minutes late, so much so that the provisional ranking, once the first 15 efforts have been completed, reads: Magne yellow jersey, Pesenti second at 5’28”, Demuysere third at 13’44”. With the other contenders for the final victory over half an hour away, it will probably be the first three who will compete for the last yellow jersey in Paris.
With Pelissier (first in Grenoble), Bulla (who, in fact, repeated in Aix-les-Bains) and Di Paco (the fastest in Belfort, Metz and Charleville) confirming themselves as relentless hunters of partial successes, Demuysere himself attempted luck in Evian gaining 48″ on Magne, and Leducq giving a taste of his faded class in Colmar, we reach the penultimate stage, Charleville-Malo del Bains271 kilometers that represent the last chance to subvert the pre-established ranking order. And Belgium plays its cards to the end, attacking in the pouring rain and on cobbled roads after just 100 kilometers with Demuysere and Rebry and forcing Magne into overtime, forced to sweat the proverbial sweats to now chase the one, now the other and save the yellow jerseywhile Pesenti, tired, rolls in the rear, delayed by a good 17’34” in the evening. At the finish, Rebry is first, but Magne, glued to Demuysere’s wheel at only 11″ from the leader, withstands the assault and effectively seals his first triumph at the Tour de France.
Al Princes Park of Paris, on 26 July 1931, at the end of a last stage of 313 kilometers (and 13h15m38sec of extreme fatigue), Pelissier finished in glory, accompanying the winners on stage Antonin Magne, who succeeds André Leducq in the roll of honor, with Demuysere second at 12’56” and Pesenti third at 22’51”. Very true, “the king is dead, long live the king“…
2024-06-27 11:06:00
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