Stage: 6 – 19 July : Nantes – Paris/Parc des Princes, 471.00 km
1903 Tour de France – Stage 6 started at 18:00 in the city centre of Nantes. There was a huge crowd in attendance. After the events of the previous day Garin is booed while Augereau was applauded and cheered. As the race left Nantes hundreds of other cyclists rode along along with the racers. A very fast pace was set from the start with the riders averaging 30 km/h for the first few hours. During the night around 03:00, there was an accident involving 2 motorbikes which were following the race. One of the motorcyclist was fatally injured.
Racing was banned in the city of Paris so the sprint finish for the stage was Ville-d’Avray to the west of the city. It was 14:09 in the afternoon when the first 8 riders arrived to contest a sprint which was won by Garin with Augereau in Second. The riders then went on to Parc des Princes where they road 2 ceremonial laps in front of 20,000 paying spectators.
First and Last
At the age of 32 Maurice Garin made history by winning the first Tour de France. The following day he returned by train to his home town Lens, where he was paraded through the streets in triumph. Garin’s average speed for the entire route was 25.6 km/h. He lost 2.5kg during the race. After retiring from cycling Garin ran a garage in Lens. He died in 1957.
The last placed rider was Arsène Millocheau who finished almost 61 hours slower than Garin at an average speed of 15.7 km/h. Millocheau was 36 years old at the time and had had a very successful career behind him. He had participated in the first Bordeaux-Paris and the first Paris-Brest-Paris, a grueling 1200 km event, in 1891. He completed his last Paris-Brest-Paris in 1921 aged 54. He ran a bike shop in Paris until his death in 1948.
Results of 1903 Tour de France – Stage 6
Place | Race No | Name | Nation | Time |
1 | 1 | Maurice GARIN | FRA | 18h 09′ 00″ |
2 | 39 | Fernand AUGEREAU | FRA | + 00′ 10″ |
3 | 28 | dit SAMSON Julien LOOTENS | BEL | + 00′ 10″ |
4 | 12 | Jean-Baptiste FISCHER | FRA | + 01′ 20″ |
5 | 37 | Lucien POTHIER | FRA | + 01′ 30″ |
6 | 33 | Rodolphe MULLER | ITA | + 02′ 00″ |
7 | 5 | Alexandre FOUREAUX | FRA | + 02′ 30″ |
8 | 50 | Julien GIRBE | FRA | + 02′ 35″ |
9 | 45 | François BEAUGENDRE | FRA | + 21′ 00″ |
10 | 9 | Marcel KERFF | BEL | + 53′ 00″ |
11 | 29 | René SALAIS | FRA | + 1h 15′ 30″ |
12 | 21 | Jean DARGASSIES | FRA | + 1h 21′ 20″ |
13 | 48 | Josef FISCHER | GER | + 1h 36′ 25″ |
14 | 2 | Georges PASQUIER | FRA | + 1h 51′ 15″ |
15 | 71 | Alois CATTEAU | BEL | + 2h 07′ 35″ |
16 | 62 | Ferdinand PAYAN | FRA | + 2h 34′ 16″ |
17 | 14 | Isidore LE CHARTIER | FRA | + 5h 09′ 10″ |
18 | 22 | Emile MOULIN | FRA | + 6h 35′ 40″ |
19 | 67 | Arsène MILLOCHEAU | FRA | + 10h 11′ 05″ |
20 | 53 | Georges BOROT | FRA | + 10h 11′ 05″ |
21 | 43 | Pierre DESVAGES | FRA | + 15h 48′ 20″ |
1903 Tour de France – Stage 6 General Classement
Place | Race No | Name | Nation | Time |
1 | 1 | Maurice GARIN | FRA | 94h 33′ 14″ |
2 | 37 | Lucien POTHIER | FRA | + 2h 59′ 21″ |
3 | 39 | Fernand AUGEREAU | FRA | + 4h 29′ 24″ |
4 | 33 | Rodolphe MULLER | ITA | + 4h 39′ 30″ |
5 | 12 | Jean-Baptiste FISCHER | FRA | + 5h 08′ 44″ |
6 | 9 | Marcel KERFF | BEL | + 7h 04′ 24″ |
7 | 28 | dit SAMSON Julien LOOTENS | BEL | + 9h 33′ 08″ |
8 | 2 | Georges PASQUIER | FRA | + 11h 26′ 04″ |
9 | 45 | François BEAUGENDRE | FRA | + 11h 54′ 14″ |
10 | 71 | Alois CATTEAU | BEL | + 13h 46′ 57″ |
11 | 21 | Jean DARGASSIES | FRA | + 14h 51′ 51″ |
12 | 62 | Ferdinand PAYAN | FRA | + 15h 11′ 13″ |
13 | 50 | Julien GIRBE | FRA | + 19h 19′ 03″ |
14 | 14 | Isidore LE CHARTIER | FRA | + 20h 07′ 24″ |
15 | 48 | Josef FISCHER | GER | + 21h 16′ 37″ |
16 | 5 | Alexandre FOUREAUX | FRA | + 27h 53′ 03″ |
17 | 29 | René SALAIS | FRA | + 28h 36′ 54″ |
18 | 22 | Emile MOULIN | FRA | + 45h 43′ 26″ |
19 | 53 | Georges BOROT | FRA | + 47h 38′ 00″ |
20 | 43 | Pierre DESVAGES | FRA | + 58h 54′ 16″ |
21 | 67 | Arsène MILLOCHEAU | FRA | + 60h 57′ 30″ |