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1951 Tour de France

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2019}}

{{Infobox cycling race report

| name = 1951 Tour de France

| image = Route of the 1951 Tour de France.png

| image_caption = Route of the 1951 Tour de France followed counterclockwise, starting in Metz and finishing in Paris

| image_alt =

| image_size = 350px

| date = 4–29 July 1951

| stages = 24

| distance = 4690

| unit = km

| time = 142h 20' 14"

| first = Hugo Koblet

| first_nat = SUI

| first_color = yellow

| first_team = Switzerland

| second = Raphaël Géminiani

| second_nat = FRA

| second_team = France

| third = Lucien Lazaridès

| third_nat = FRA

| third_team = France

| team = France

| mountains = Raphaël Géminiani

| mountains_nat = FRA

| mountains_team = France

| previous = 1950

| next = 1952

}}

The 1951 Tour de France was the 38th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 4 to 29 July. It consisted of 24 stages over {{convert|4690|km|0|abbr=on}}. The race started outside Île-de-France for the first time since 1926; a change that remained permanent beyond 1951 with the exceptions of 1963, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 2003.

The race was won by Swiss cyclist Hugo Koblet. Koblet used his time-trial abilities to win large amounts of time. Dutch cyclist Wim van Est gained fame, not only by becoming the first Dutch cyclist to lead the Tour de France, but more by falling down a ravine in the leader's jersey.

Teams

{{main list|List of teams and cyclists in the 1951 Tour de France}}

As was the custom since the 1930 Tour de France, the 1951 Tour de France was contested by national and regional teams. The three major cycling countries in 1951, Italy, Belgium and France, each sent a team of 12 cyclists. Other countries sent teams of 8 cyclists: Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Spain. The French regional cyclists were divided into four teams of 12 cyclists: Paris, Île-de-France/North-West, East/South-East and West/South-West. The last team of eight cyclists was made up out of cyclists from the French North African colonies. In the end, Luxembourg only sent 7 cyclists, so altogether this made 123 cyclists. There were 68 French cyclists (of which 1 French-Moroccan and 7 French-Algerian), 12 Italian, 12 Belgian, 8 Dutch, 8 Spanish, 8 Swiss and 7 Luxembourgian cyclists.{{cite web|title=The history of the Tour de France – Year 1951 – The starters|url=http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1951/partants.html|work=Tour de France|publisher=Amaury Sport Organisation|access-date=2 April 2020}}

The teams entering the race were:

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

  • Switzerland
  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Luxembourg
  • Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Paris
  • Île-de-France/North-West
  • East/South-East
  • West/South-West
  • North Africa

{{div col end}}

Route and stages

The 1951 Tour de France started in Metz; it was the second time after the 1926 Tour de France that the start of the Tour de France was not in or near Paris.

Unlike in previous years, the route was no longer around the perimeter of France, and the Massif Central mountains were visited for the first time.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}} There were two rest days, in Limoges and Montpellier.{{sfn|Augendre|2016|p=42}}

The highest point of elevation in the race was {{convert|2360|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the summit of the Col d'Izoard mountain pass on stage 20.{{sfn|Augendre|2016|p=178}}{{cite news|title=Twee ton voor Tour-karavaan|trans-title=Two tons for Tour caravan|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010852587:mpeg21:p005|work=De Waarheid|date=2 July 1951|page=5|language=nl|via=Delpher}}

class="wikitable"

|+ Stage characteristics and winners{{cite web|title=38ème Tour de France 1951|trans-title=38th Tour de France 1951|url=http://memoire-du-cyclisme.eu/eta_tdf/tdf1951.php|work=Mémoire du cyclisme|access-date=6 April 2020|language=fr}}{{sfn|Augendre|2016|p=42}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/top_ten.html#1951 |title=Tour de France GC top ten |first=Arian |last=Zwegers |publisher=CVCC |access-date=4 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516071832/http://www.cvccbike.com/tour/top_ten.html |archive-date=16 May 2008 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=The history of the Tour de France – Year 1951 – The stage winners|url=http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1951/vainqueurs.html|work=Tour de France|publisher=Amaury Sport Organisation|access-date=2 April 2020}}

scope="col" | Stage

! scope="col" | Date

! scope="col" | Course

! scope="col" | Distance

! scope="col" colspan="2" | Type

! scope="col" | Winner

scope="row" |1

| style="text-align:center;" | 4 July

| Metz to Reims|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|185|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Giovanni Rossi|SUI}}

scope="row" |2

| style="text-align:center;" | 5 July

| Reims to Ghent (Belgium)|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|228|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Jean Diederich|LUX}}

scope="row" |3

| style="text-align:center;" | 6 July

| Ghent (Belgium) to Le Tréport|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|219|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Georges Meunier|FRA}}

scope="row" |4

| style="text-align:center;" | 7 July

| Le Tréport to Paris|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|188|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Roger Lévêque|FRA}}

scope="row" |5

| style="text-align:center;" | 8 July

| Paris to Caen|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|215|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Serafino Biagioni|ITA}}

scope="row" |6

| style="text-align:center;" | 9 July

| Caen to Rennes|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|182|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Édouard Muller|FRA}}

scope="row" |7

| style="text-align:center;" | 10 July

| La Guerche-de-Bretagne to Angers|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|85|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Time Trial.svg || Individual time trial ||{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}

scope="row" |8

| style="text-align:center;" | 11 July

| Angers to Limoges|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|241|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|André Rosseel|BEL}}

scope="row" |

| style="text-align:center;" | 12 July

| colspan="2" | Limoges

|

| colspan="2" | Rest day

scope="row" |9

| style="text-align:center;" | 13 July

| Limoges to Clermont-Ferrand|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|236|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Raphaël Géminiani|FRA}}

scope="row" |10

| style="text-align:center;" | 14 July

| Clermont-Ferrand to Brive|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|216|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Bernardo Ruiz|ESP|1945}}

scope="row" |11

| style="text-align:center;" | 15 July

| Brive to Agen|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|177|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}

scope="row" |12

| style="text-align:center;" | 16 July

| Agen to Dax|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|185|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Wim van Est|NED}}

scope="row" |13

| style="text-align:center;" | 17 July

| Dax to Tarbes|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|201|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Serafino Biagioni|ITA}}

scope="row" |14

| style="text-align:center;" | 18 July

| Tarbes to Luchon|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|142|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}

scope="row" |15

| style="text-align:center;" | 19 July

| Luchon to Carcassonne|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|213|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|André Rosseel|BEL}}

scope="row" |16

| style="text-align:center;" | 20 July

| Carcassonne to Montpellier|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|192|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}

scope="row" |

| style="text-align:center;" | 21 July

| colspan="2" | Montpellier

|

| colspan="2" | Rest day

scope="row" |17

| style="text-align:center;" | 22 July

| Montpellier to Avignon|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|224|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Louison Bobet|FRA}}

scope="row" |18

| style="text-align:center;" | 23 July

| Avignon to Marseille|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|173|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Fiorenzo Magni|ITA}}

scope="row" |19

| style="text-align:center;" | 24 July

| Marseille to Gap|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|208|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Armand Baeyens|BEL}}

scope="row" |20

| style="text-align:center;" | 25 July

| Gap to Briançon|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|165|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Fausto Coppi|ITA}}

scope="row" |21

| style="text-align:center;" | 26 July

| Briançon to Aix-les-Bains|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|201|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Bernardo Ruiz|ESP|1945}}

scope="row" |22

| style="text-align:center;" | 27 July

| Aix-les-Bains to Geneva|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|97|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Time Trial.svg || Individual time trial ||{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}

scope="row" |23

| style="text-align:center;" | 28 July

| Geneva to Dijon|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|197|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Mountainstage.svg || Stage with mountain(s) ||{{flagathlete|Germain Derycke|BEL}}

scope="row" |24

| style="text-align:center;" | 29 July

| Dijon to Paris|| style="text-align:center;" | {{convert|322|km|0|abbr=on}}

| File:Plainstage.svg || Plain stage ||{{flagathlete|Adolphe Deledda|FRA}}

scope="row" |

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center"| Total

| colspan="4" style="text-align:center"| {{convert|4690|km|0|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Augendre|2016|p=109}}

{{reflist|group="notes"}}

Race overview

File:Hugo Koblet (1951)-a.jpg winner Hugo Koblet pictured on stage one]]

On the first stage, Hugo Koblet attacked almost immediately from the start. The peloton got back to him after {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Koblet stayed calm for the next stages, until the individual time trial in stage seven, which he won.{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/Aug06/Aug_Cover_Feature2.htm|publisher=Cycling revealed|access-date=1 March 2010|first=Graham|last=Jones|title=Great Escapes|date=August 2006}} Initially, Bobet was reported to have won the time trial by one second. Koblet protested against the result, and argued that the intermediate timings showed that Bobet could not have won. The Tour de France jury agreed that Bobet's time was off by one minute, and Koblet was given the stage victory by 59 seconds.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}}{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1951/07/11/MD19510711-001.pdf|title=Koblet vencedor en la etape contra reloj - Se comprobó el error de cronometraja que había dado ganador a Bobet por un segundo|date=11 July 1951|language=es|work=Mundo Deportivo|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006192048/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1951/07/11/MD19510711-001.pdf|archive-date=6 October 2019|url-status=live}} Koblet's rival Raphaël Géminiani after the stage said: "If there were two Koblets in the sport I would retire from cycling tomorrow."{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|p=177}}

In the eleventh stage, Koblet attacked after {{convert|37|km|mi|abbr=on}}. He was followed by Louis Deprez for a short while, but when Deprez fell back, Koblet was on his own. It was a hot day, and the other cyclists did not believe that Koblet's escape had any chance. When the peloton heard that Koblet was already three minutes ahead, they started to chase him. They worked together for more than 100 km, but couldn't reach Koblet, who won the stage with a margin of more than two and a half minutes. Directly after Koblet finished, he used a stopwatch to measure the time gap, because he did not trust the Tour's time keepers anymore.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}} The other cyclists were amazed that Koblet had been able to defend his lead against all the other cyclists.

In the twelfth stage, Dutch cyclist Wim van Est escaped, won the stage and took the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. He was the first Dutch cyclist to do so. Van Est was inexperienced in the mountains that showed up in the thirteenth stage, but did his best to defend his lead. Going up the Aubisque, Van Est punctured and lost time. He tried to gain back time on the descent by following Magni, a fast descender. Van Est could not follow, and crashed. He remounted and rode down again, but took too much risk and fell down a ravine. His fall was broken by trees, 75 meters down. Spectators helped him to climb back, by handing him a rope made from inner tubes.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=7274|publisher=Daily Peloton|title=Cycling Legends - Pédaleur de Charme|date=25 October 2004|access-date=7 May 2010|author= Podofdonny}} In the next stage, Van Est fell down a ravine while defending his position, and had to abandon the race. Gilbert Bauvin took over the lead. Géminiani crossed the finish line first in that stage, but he was set back to fourth place by the jury.{{cite web|url=http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1947_1977/tdf1951_13.php|publisher=Mémoire du cyclisme|title=37ème Tour de France 1951 - 13ème étape|language=fr|access-date=7 May 2010}}

In the fourteenth stage, Coppi attacked. Koblet punctured, but chased back and reached Coppi, and outsprinted him to win the stage, and thanks to the minute bonification time as stage winner took over the lead.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}} In the sixteenth stage, that seemed not too hard because there were almost no mountains, Coppi collapsed and lost more than half an hour. This was said to be caused by grief over his brother's death, although other accounts said it was because of food poisoning. His teammates and former rivals Gino Bartali and Fiorenzo Magni helped him until the end of the stage.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}}

The Mont Ventoux was climbed in the seventeenth stage for the first time in Tour de France history. Bobet escaped and won the stage, while Koblet was able to stay with his competitors. After that stage, second-placed rider Géminiani was no longer trying to beat Koblet, but instead focussed on defending his second place against Bobet.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}} Koblet stayed out of problems for the rest of the race, and won the time trial in the 22nd stage with a large margin; he even overtook Bartali who had started 8 minutes earlier.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}}{{cite web|url=http://memoire-du-cyclisme.net/eta_tdf_1947_1977/tdf1951_22.php|publisher=Mémoire du cyclisme|title=37ème Tour de France 1951 - 22ème étape|language=fr|access-date=7 May 2010}}

Classification leadership and minor prizes

The time that each cyclist required to finish each stage was recorded, and these times were added together for the general classification. If a cyclist had received a time bonus, it was subtracted from this total; all time penalties were added to this total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|pp=452–453}} Of the 123 cyclists that started the 1951 Tour de France, 66 finished the race.

Points for the mountains classification were earned by reaching the mountain tops first.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=454}} The system was almost the same as in 1950: there were two types of mountain tops: the hardest ones, in category 1, gave 10 points to the first cyclist, the easier ones, in category 2, gave 6 points to the first cyclist, and the easiest ones, in category 3, gave 3 points. Raphaël Géminiani won this classification.

The team classification was calculated by adding the times in the general classification of the best three cyclists per team.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=455}} It was won by the French team, with a large margin over the Belgian team. The other three teams that started, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and North Africa, did not finish with three cyclists so were not eligible for the team classification. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Lautaret on stage 21. This prize was won by Gino Sciardis.{{cite news|title=Tour de France 1951: Spaanse klimmer Ruiz won de etappe der vijf grote Alpentoppen|trans-title=Tour de France 1951: Spanish climber Ruiz won the stage of the five major Alpine peaks|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010416379:mpeg21:p003|work=Limburgs Dagblad|date=27 July 1951|page=3|language=nl|via=Delpher}} The special award for the best regional rider was won by eighth-placed Gilbert Bauvin.{{sfn|Augendre|2016|p=42}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:smaller; clear:both;"

|+Classification leadership by stage{{cite web|last=van den Akker|first=Pieter|title=Informatie over de Tour de France van 1951|trans-title=Information about the Tour de France from 1951|url=http://www.tourdefrancestatistieken.nl/tour.php?jaar=1951|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302050058/http://www.tourdefrancestatistieken.nl/tour.php?jaar=1951|archive-date=2 March 2019|language=nl|website=TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl|access-date=2 March 2019|url-status=live}}

scope="col" style="width:1%;"| Stage

! scope="col" style="width:24%;"| Winner

! scope="col" style="width:24%;"| General classification
File:Jersey yellow.svg

! scope="col" style="width:24%;"| Mountains classification{{efn|name=mountains-jersey|No jersey was awarded to the leader of the mountains classification until a white jersey with red polka dots was introduced in 1975.{{sfn|Nauright|Parrish|2012|p=454}}}}

! scope="col" style="width:24%;"| Team classification

scope="row" | 1

| Giovanni Rossi

| style="background:#FFEB64;"| Giovanni Rossi

| rowspan="8"| no award

| rowspan="2"|

scope="row" | 2

| Jean Diederich

| style="background:#FFEB64;" rowspan="3"| Jean Diederich

scope="row" | 3

| Georges Meunier

| Luxembourg

scope="row" | 4

| Roger Lévêque

| France

scope="row" | 5

| Serafino Biagioni

| style="background:#FFEB64;"| Serafino Biagioni

| Italy

scope="row" | 6

| Édouard Muller

| style="background:#FFEB64;" rowspan="6"| Roger Lévêque

|

scope="row" | 7

| Hugo Koblet

| rowspan="5"| France

scope="row" | 8

| André Rosseel

scope="row" | 9

| Raphaël Géminiani

| Raphaël Géminiani

scope="row" | 10

| Bernardo Ruiz

| Bernardo Ruiz

scope="row" | 11

| Hugo Koblet

| rowspan="14"| Raphaël Géminiani

scope="row" | 12

| Wim van Est

| style="background:#FFEB64;"| Wim van Est

| West/South-West

scope="row" | 13

| Serafino Biagioni

| style="background:#FFEB64;"| Gilbert Bauvin

|

scope="row" | 14

| Hugo Koblet

| style="background:#FFEB64;" rowspan="11"| Hugo Koblet

| rowspan="11"| France

scope="row" | 15

| André Rosseel

scope="row" | 16

| Hugo Koblet

scope="row" | 17

| Louison Bobet

scope="row" | 18

| Fiorenzo Magni

scope="row" | 19

| Armand Baeyens

scope="row" | 20

| Fausto Coppi

scope="row" | 21

| Bernardo Ruiz

scope="row" | 22

| Hugo Koblet

scope="row" | 23

| Germain Derijcke

scope="row" | 24

| Adolphe Deledda

colspan="2" | Final

! style="background:#FFDB00;"|Hugo Koblet

! Raphaël Géminiani

! France

Final standings

=General classification=

class="wikitable" style="width:38em;margin-bottom:0;"

|+ Final general classification (1–10){{cite web|title=The history of the Tour de France – Year 1951 – Stage 24 Dijon > Paris|url=http://histo.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1951/2400/etape.html|work=Tour de France|publisher=Amaury Sport Organisation|access-date=2 April 2020}}

scope="col" | Rankscope="col" | Riderscope="col" | Teamscope="col" | Time
scope="row" |1

| {{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | 142h 20' 14"

scope="row" |2

| {{flagathlete|Raphaël Géminiani|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 22' 00"

scope="row" |3

| {{flagathlete|Lucien Lazaridès|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 24' 16"

scope="row" |4

| {{flagathlete|Gino Bartali|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 29' 09"

scope="row" |5

| {{flagathlete|Stan Ockers|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 32' 53"

scope="row" |6

| {{flagathlete|Pierre Barbotin|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 36' 40"

scope="row" |7

| {{flagathlete|Fiorenzo Magni|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 39' 14"

scope="row" |8

| {{flagathlete|Gilbert Bauvin|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 45' 53"

scope="row" |9

| {{flagathlete|Bernardo Ruiz|ESP|1945}} || Spain || style="text-align:right;" | + 45' 55"

scope="row" |10

| {{flagathlete|Fausto Coppi|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 46' 51"

class="collapsible collapsed wikitable" style="width:38em;margin-top:-1px;"
scope="col" colspan="4" | Final general classification (11–66)
scope="col" | Rankscope="col" | Riderscope="col" | Teamscope="col" | Time
scope="row" |11

| {{flagathlete|Nello Lauredi|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 57' 19"

scope="row" |12

| {{flagathlete|Jean Diederich|LUX}} || Luxembourg || style="text-align:right;" | + 59' 29"

scope="row" |13

| {{flagathlete|Marcel De Mulder|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 04' 18"

scope="row" |14

| {{flagathlete|Edward Van Ende|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 07' 18"

scope="row" |15

| {{flagathlete|Serafino Biagioni|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 08' 52"

scope="row" |16

| {{flagathlete|Georges Meunier|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 13' 36"

scope="row" |17

| {{flagathlete|Roger Decock|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 13' 57"

scope="row" |18

| {{flagathlete|Marcel Verschueren|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 14' 36"

scope="row" |19

| {{flagathlete|Pierre Cogan|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 15' 30"

scope="row" |20

| {{flagathlete|Louison Bobet|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 24' 09"

scope="row" |21

| {{flagathlete|Jean-Marie Goasmat|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 31' 27"

scope="row" |22

| {{flagathlete|Aloïs De Hertog|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 35' 04"

scope="row" |23

| {{flagathlete|Jean Dotto|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 36' 23"

scope="row" |24

| {{flagathlete|Georges Aeschlimann|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 39' 45"

scope="row" |25

| {{flagathlete|André Rosseel|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 42' 22"

scope="row" |26

| {{flagathlete|Bernard Gauthier|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 51' 09"

scope="row" |27

| {{flagathlete|Jean Robic|FRA}} || Paris || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 55' 35"

scope="row" |28

| {{flagathlete|Hans Sommer|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 58' 47"

scope="row" |29

| {{flagathlete|Franco Franchi|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 59' 13"

scope="row" |30

| {{flagathlete|Roger Lévêque|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 01' 51"

scope="row" |31

| {{flagathlete|Lucien Teisseire|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 08' 05"

scope="row" |32

| {{flagathlete|Adolphe Deledda|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 09' 29"

scope="row" |33

| {{flagathlete|Vincent Vitetta|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 09' 45"

scope="row" |34

| {{flagathlete|Paul Giguet|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 12' 23"

scope="row" |35

| {{flagathlete|Marcel Huber|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 13' 36"

scope="row" |36

| {{flagathlete|Pierre Brambilla|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 18' 29"

scope="row" |37

| {{flagathlete|Louis Deprez|FRA}} || Île-de-France/North-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 25' 44"

scope="row" |38

| {{flagathlete|Andrea Carrea|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 28' 01"

scope="row" |39

| {{flagathlete|Roger Buchonnet|FRA}} || East/South-East|| style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 31' 33"

scope="row" |40

| {{flagathlete|Armand Baeyens|BEL}} ||Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 34' 04"

scope="row" |41

| {{flagathlete|Édouard Muller|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 39' 02"

scope="row" |42

| {{flagathlete|Hilaire Couvreur|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 47' 01"

scope="row" |43

| {{flagathlete|Germain Derijcke|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 47' 16"

scope="row" |44

| {{flagathlete|Manolo Rodríguez|ESP|1945}} || Spain || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 49' 29"

scope="row" |45

| {{flagathlete|Louis Caput|FRA}} || Paris || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 53' 38"

scope="row" |46

| {{flagathlete|André Labeylie|FRA}} || Île-de-France/North-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 54' 06"

scope="row" |47

| {{flagathlete|Joseph Mirando|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 58' 29"

scope="row" |48

| {{flagathlete|Luciano Pezzi|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 58' 38"

scope="row" |49

| {{flagathlete|Joseph Morvan|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 59' 11"

scope="row" |50

| {{flagathlete|Gottfried Weilenmann|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 01' 15"

scope="row" |51

| {{flagathlete|Gino Sciardis|FRA}} || Île-de-France/North-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 09' 00"

scope="row" |52

| {{flagathlete|Ettore Milano|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 11' 03"

scope="row" |53

| {{flagathlete|Angelo Colinelli|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 11' 58"

scope="row" |54

| {{flagathlete|Virgilio Salimbeni|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 12' 23"

scope="row" |55

| {{flagathlete|Willy Kemp|LUX}} || Luxembourg || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 19' 02"

scope="row" |56

| {{flagathlete|Jean Baldassari|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 20' 40"

scope="row" |57

| {{flagathlete|Roger Walkowiak|FRA}} || West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 21' 30"

scope="row" |58

| {{flagathlete|Dalmacio Langarica|ESP|1945}} || Spain || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 24' 24"

scope="row" |59

| {{flagathlete|Francisco Masip|ESP|1945}} || Spain || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 40' 13"

scope="row" |60

| {{flagathlete|Léo Weilenmann|SUI}} || Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 48' 32"

scope="row" |61

| {{flagathlete|Jean Guéguen|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 49' 47"

scope="row" |62

| {{flagathlete|Aloïs Van Steenkiste|BEL}} || Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 3h 56' 05"

scope="row" |63

| {{flagathlete|Jean-Louis Carle|FRA}} || Paris || style="text-align:right;" | + 4h 08' 53"

scope="row" |64

| {{flagathlete|Émile Baffert|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 4h 45' 26"

scope="row" |65

| {{flagathlete|Manuel Mayen|FRA}} || North Africa || style="text-align:right;" | + 4h 56' 59"

scope="row" |66

| {{flagathlete|Abd-el-Kader Zaaf|FRA}} || North Africa || style="text-align:right;" | + 4h 58' 18"

{{columns-start}}

=Mountains classification=

class="wikitable"

|+ Final mountains classification (1–10){{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1951/07/29/MD19510729-003.pdf|title=La Vuelta Ciclista a Francia|trans-title=The Cycling Tour of France|work=Mundo Deportivo|page=3|date=29 July 1951|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004000459/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1951/07/29/MD19510729-003.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2019|url-status=live}}

scope="col" | Rankscope="col" | Riderscope="col" | Teamscope="col" | Points
scope="row" |1

| {{flagathlete|Raphaël Géminiani|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | 60

scope="row" |2

| {{flagathlete|Gino Bartali|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" | 59

scope="row" rowspan="3"|3

| {{flagathlete|Fausto Coppi|ITA}} || Italy || style="text-align:right;" rowspan="3" | 41

{{flagathlete|Hugo Koblet|SUI}}Switzerland
{{flagathlete|Bernardo Ruiz|ESP|1945}}Spain
scope="row" |6

| {{flagathlete|Lucien Lazaridès|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" | 37

scope="row" |7

| {{flagathlete|Jean Robic|FRA}} || Paris || style="text-align:right;" | 23

scope="row" rowspan="2" |8

| {{flagathlete|Bernard Gauthier|FRA}} || France || style="text-align:right;" rowspan="2" | 22

{{flagathlete|Jean Dotto|FRA}}East/South-East
scope="row" |10

| {{flagathlete|Robert Buchonnet|FRA}} || East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | 18

{{column}}

=Team classification=

class="wikitable"

|+ Final team classification{{cite news|url=http://krantenarchief.concentra.be/vw/article.do?code=GVA&date=19510730&id=GVA-19510730-01010003|title=Het eindigde als een Vlaamse Kermis|trans-title=It ended up as a Flemish Fair|language=nl|work=Gazet van Antwerpen|date=30 July 1951|page=10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004000455/http://krantenarchief.concentra.be/vw/article.do?code=GVA&date=19510730&id=GVA-19510730-01010003|archive-date=4 October 2019|url-status=live}}

scope="col" | Rankscope="col" | Teamscope="col" | Time
scope="row" |1

| France || style="text-align:right;" | 426h 47' 36"

scope="row" |2

| Belgium || style="text-align:right;" | + 44' 37"

scope="row" |3

| Italy || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 22' 16"

scope="row" |4

| East/South-East || style="text-align:right;" | + 1h 48' 00"

scope="row" |5

| West/South-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 15' 38"

scope="row" |6

| Switzerland || style="text-align:right;" | + 2h 49' 55"

scope="row" |7

| Spain || style="text-align:right;" | + 4h 45' 19"

scope="row" |8

| Île-de-France/North-West || style="text-align:right;" | + 5h 30' 39"

scope="row" |9

| Paris || style="text-align:right;" | + 6h 05' 29"

{{columns-end}}

Aftermath

Hugo Koblet would be unable to defend his title in the 1952 Tour de France, as he was injured. After that, Koblet never reached the heights that he was able to reach in 1951. Second-placed Géminiani said that he regarded himself as the winner, because Koblet did not count because he was not human.{{sfn|McGann|McGann|2006|pp=159–165}}

Van Est, who fell down a ravine wearing the leader's yellow jersey, starred in an advert for watch-making company Pontiac, that said "His heart stopped but his Pontiac kept time."

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

  • {{cite web|first=Jacques|last=Augendre|author-link=Jacques Augendre|url=http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf|title=Guide historique|trans-title=Historical guide|year=2016|language=fr|access-date=27 October 2016|format=PDF|work=Tour de France|location=Paris|publisher=Amaury Sport Organisation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817121602/http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cyclisme/le-tour/2016/histoire/TDF16_GH_Interactif-PROD.pdf|archive-date=17 August 2016|url-status=live}}
  • {{cite book|last1=McGann|first1=Bill|last2=McGann|first2=Carol|title=The Story of the Tour de France: 1903–1964|volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxq20JskqMUC|publisher=Dog Ear Publishing|location=Indianapolis, IN|year=2006|isbn=978-1-59858-180-5}}
  • {{cite book|last1=Nauright|first1=John|last2=Parrish|first2=Charles|title=Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkLYDgTnMxEC|year=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-1-59884-300-2}}

Further reading

  • {{cite book|title=Mapping Le Tour|first=Ellis|last=Bacon|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|location=Glasgow|year=2014|pages=102–103|isbn=9780007543991|oclc=872700415}}

External links

{{commons category-inline}}

{{1951 Challenge Desgrange-Colombo}}

{{Tour de France}}

{{Cycling stage recaps|1951 Tour de France|1|12|13|24}}

{{Tour de France general classification winners}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1951 Tour De France}}

Category:Tour de France by year

Tour De France, 1951

Category:1951 in road cycling

Tour de France

Tour de France