Race Details
The first stage was won by Robert Jacquinot, who had also won the first stage of the 1922 Tour de France. In the second stage, Ottavio Bottecchia, at that moment a little-known Italian cyclist, won the sprint. Bottecchia had finished in second place in the first stage, and now took over the lead. He was the first Italian cyclist to wear the yellow jersey.
In the third stage, the Pélissier brothers showed their dominance. The race was won by Henri, with Francis in second place. Bottecchia had a flat tire after 300 km in the race and lost some minutes, but he fought back and only lost 37 second on the finish line.
In the fourth stage, Henri Pélissier received a two-minute penalty, for throwing away a tyre. Bottecchia punctured again and lost the lead to Romain Bellenger.
In the Pyrénées, French Jean Alavoine was the dominant cyclist, as he won three stages. In the sixth stage, Robert Jacquinot, who was primarily known as a sprinter, rode away and topped the first three mountains first. He seemed to go on and win the stage and took over the lead, but the last mountain was too much for Jacquinot, and he fell off his bike climbing the Peyresourde. Alavoine passed Jacquinot and went on to win the stage, while Bottecchia won back enough time to regain his lead from Bellenger, who lost a lot of time. When Alavoine won his third stage in Nice, Bottecchia was leading the race, with Alavoine in second place and Henri Pélissier in third place, almost half an hour behind.
In the tenth stage, the high alps were climbed. Francis Pélissier was riding with an injured knee, but together with Lucien Buysse, he was planning to help Henri Pélissier take over the lead from their team mate Bottecchia. Although the race was neutralized on the Vars, Henri Pélissier still won the stage with a large margin to Alavoine and Bottecchia, and took over the lead. The experience of Pélissier helped him: Bottecchia was riding in too big a gear, which Pélissier saw. In order to change gears, Bottecchia would have had to dismount his bicycle, so Pélissier sped away, and Bottecchia could not follow. In the eleventh stage, the Pélissier brothers left all other cyclists behind, with only Bellenger staying within ten minutes. Alavoine had to abandon the race after an accident, which put Bottecchia in second place. At that point, all the stages left were flat stages where it is difficult to win much time, and with an almost 30 minutes lead over his team mate Bottecchia, Pélissier was assured of the victory.
Read more about this topic: 1923 Tour De France
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