# 1947 Tour de France

The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race distance was 21 stages over 4,642 km (2,884 mi). It was the first Tour since 1939, having been cancelled during World War II, although some Tour de France-like races had been held during World War II.
Because the previous races had been canceled, there was no real favourite for the final victory. When René Vietto, the runner-up of 1939, captured the yellow jersey after his victory on the second stage, many thought he could remain first until the last day. Vietto, a climber, was less optimistic and lost his first place to Italian Pierre Brambilla after the time trial in stage 19. With only two stages to go, many now believed that Brambilla would win the race. On the last stage, there was an unexpected attack, and little-known French cyclist Jean Robic captured the lead. Robic had won the Tour de France without ever wearing the yellow jersey during the race, the first time that happened. (In 1953 Robic would lead the race for one more day).

## Background

After the 1939 Tour de France, the Second World War had made it impossible to organise a big cycling event in France, although some attempts had been taken. The rights on the Tour de France, previously owned by l'Auto, had been transferred to the French government. There were two newspapers interested in taking over these rights, so they both organised cycling events. The event organised by l'Équipe, "La Course du Tour de France", was more successful, and l'Équipe was given the right to organise the 1947 Tour de France.

## Teams

The national teams format, which had been in use before the Second World War, was used again in 1947. The German team was not invited, and the Italian team was made up of Franco-Italians living in France, as the peace treaty between France and Italy was not yet official, so the countries were technically still at war.
The Tour organisers invited ten teams of ten cyclists each. Besides the Italian team, there was also a French team and a Belgian team, and a combined Swiss/Luxembourgian team. The plan was to have a joint Dutch-British team, but the Dutch cyclists protested because the British cyclists were too inexperienced, and the British cyclists were replaced by "French strangers". There were also five French regional teams: Île-de-France, West, North-East, Centre/South-West and South-East. Of the 100 cyclists, 53 finished the race.
The teams entering the race were:
* Belgium
* Netherlands/Strangers of France
* Italy
* Switzerland/Luxembourg
* France
* Île-de-France
* West
* North-East
* Centre/South-West
* South-East

## Route and stages

The 1947 Tour de France started on 25 June, and had five rest days, in Besançon, Briançon, Nice, Luchon and Vannes. The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,556 m (8,386 ft) at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on stage 8.
Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 25 June | Paris to Lille | 236 km (147 mi) | | Plain stage | Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) |
| 2 | 26 June | Lille to Brussels (Belgium) | 182 km (113 mi) | | Plain stage | René Vietto (FRA) |
| 3 | 27 June | Brussels (Belgium) to Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) | 314 km (195 mi) | | Plain stage | Aldo Ronconi (ITA) |
| 4 | 28 June | Luxembourg City (Luxembourg) to Strasbourg | 223 km (139 mi) | | Plain stage | Jean Robic (FRA) |
| 5 | 29 June | Strasbourg to Besançon | 248 km (154 mi) | | Plain stage | Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) |
| | 30 June | Besançon | Besançon | | Rest day | Rest day |
| 6 | 1 July | Besançon to Lyon | 249 km (155 mi) | | Plain stage | Lucien Teisseire (FRA) |
| 7 | 2 July | Lyon to Grenoble | 172 km (107 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Jean Robic (FRA) |
| 8 | 3 July | Grenoble to Briançon | 185 km (115 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Fermo Camellini (ITA) |
| | 4 July | Briançon | Briançon | | Rest day | Rest day |
| 9 | 5 July | Briançon to Digne | 217 km (135 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | René Vietto (FRA) |
| 10 | 6 July | Digne to Nice | 255 km (158 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Fermo Camellini (ITA) |
| | 7 July | Nice | Nice | | Rest day | Rest day |
| 11 | 8 July | Nice to Marseille | 230 km (143 mi) | | Plain stage | Édouard Fachleitner (FRA) |
| 12 | 9 July | Marseille to Montpellier | 165 km (103 mi) | | Plain stage | Henri Massal (FRA) |
| 13 | 10 July | Montpellier to Carcassonne | 172 km (107 mi) | | Plain stage | Lucien Teisseire (FRA) |
| 14 | 11 July | Carcassonne to Luchon | 253 km (157 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Albert Bourlon (FRA) |
| | 12 July | Luchon | Luchon | | Rest day | Rest day |
| 15 | 13 July | Luchon to Pau | 195 km (121 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Jean Robic (FRA) |
| 16 | 14 July | Pau to Bordeaux | 195 km (121 mi) | | Plain stage | Giuseppe Tacca (ITA) |
| 17 | 15 July | Bordeaux to Les Sables-d'Olonne | 272 km (169 mi) | | Plain stage | Éloi Tassin (FRA) |
| 18 | 16 July | Les Sables-d'Olonne to Vannes | 236 km (147 mi) | | Plain stage | Pietro Tarchini (SUI) |
| | 17 July | Vannes | Vannes | | Rest day | Rest day |
| 19 | 18 July | Vannes to Saint-Brieuc | 139 km (86 mi) | | Individual time trial | Raymond Impanis (BEL) |
| 20 | 19 July | Saint-Brieuc to Caen | 235 km (146 mi) | | Plain stage | Maurice Diot (FRA) |
| 21 | 20 July | Caen to Paris | 257 km (160 mi) | | Plain stage | Briek Schotte (BEL) |
| | Total | Total | 4,642 km (2,884 mi) | 4,642 km (2,884 mi) | 4,642 km (2,884 mi) | 4,642 km (2,884 mi) |

## Race overview

After Ferdinand Kübler had won the first stage, René Vietto took the lead by winning the second stage. After the third stage only Aldo Ronconi was within 90 seconds of Vietto, and the third man in the general classification was already more than eight minutes behind.
In the seventh stage, when the Alps mountains were climbed, Ronconi took over the lead, but two stages later Vietto took back the lead, helped by Apo Lazaridès.
Jean Robic had lost six minutes in that ninth stage, and lost more time in the tenth stage. He was already more than 25 minutes behind, and was no longer considered a favourite, but Robic was convinced that he would win the Tour.
In the fourteenth stage, Albert Bourlon escaped directly after the start. He stayed away until the end of the stage, 253 km (157 mi) later. This is the longest escape in the Tour de France after the second World War.
In the fifteenth stage, Robic escaped in the Pyrénees, and beat the other by more than ten minutes. Because of the time bonuses for reaching the mountain tops first, he even won back more than fifteen minutes. In the general classification, Robic rose to fifth place. With only three stages to go in the Tour, Vietto was still in the lead, 94 seconds ahead of Pierre Brambilla. The nineteenth stage was an individual time trial, the longest in Tour history. In that stage, Vietto lost considerable time, and Brambilla took over the lead in the general classification. Vietto performed worse than expected; there was speculation about why he performed so badly, and some said it was because of the motorcycle accident of a friend, while others said it was because he drank a bottle of cider during the time trial.
General classification before stage 21 :
| Rank | Cyclist | Team | Time |
| 1 | Pierre Brambilla (ITA) | Italy | 140h 44' 38" |
| 2 | Aldo Ronconi (ITA) | Italy | + 53" |
| 3 | Jean Robic (FRA) | West | + 2' 58" |
| 4 | René Vietto (FRA) | France | + 5' 16" |
| 5 | Édouard Fachleitner (FRA) | France | + 6' 56" |
The last stage was flat, which makes it hard for escapers to win time. In that last stage, there was a hilltop prime, where money could be won by the first cyclist that passed. Although a group had already passed that hill, Robic was not aware of this, and sprinted for this prime. When he reached the top, Brambilla had been dropped. Robic and Fachleitner, fifth in the general classification, started to work together, and left Brambilla and Ronconi minutes behind. Around 140 km before the finish, they were three minutes ahead of Brambilla, which made Robic the virtual leader of the race. At that point Robic told Fachleitner: "You can not win the Tour, because I will not let you escape. If you ride with me, I will pay you 100.000 Francs."
When they reached Paris, they had won 13 minutes on them, enough to make Robic the winner of the Tour de France.

## Classification leadership and minor prizes

The cyclist to reach the finish in the least time was the winner of the stage. The time that each cyclist required to finish the stage was recorded. For the general classification, these times were added together. 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. With his victory, Robic won 500.000 francs. Additionally, future exhibitions and endorsements due to the Tour victory would give him another 3 to 4 million francs.
Additionally, there was the mountains classification, which did not have a jersey associated with it in 1947. Sixteen mountains were selected by the Tour organisation, divided in two classes. In the first-class mountains, the ten first cyclists received points, with 10 points for the first, 9 for the second, and so forth, to 1 point for the tenth. In the second-class mountains, only the first five cyclists received points, 5 for the first one to 1 for the fifth one. The mountains classification was won by Pierre Brambilla.
The team classification was calculated in 1947 by adding up the times of the best three cyclists of a team; the team with the least time was the winner.
The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass a point by his final residence, the "Villa Mia" in Beauvallon, Grimaud, on the French Riviera on stage 11. This prize was won by Raymond Impanis.
Classification leadership by stage :
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Mountains classification | Team classification |
| 1 | Ferdinand Kübler | Ferdinand Kübler | no award | France-West |
| 2 | René Vietto | René Vietto | no award | Belgium |
| 3 | Aldo Ronconi | René Vietto | no award | Italy |
| 4 | Jean Robic | René Vietto | no award | Italy |
| 5 | Ferdinand Kübler | René Vietto | no award | Italy |
| 6 | Lucien Teisseire | René Vietto | no award | Italy |
| 7 | Jean Robic | Aldo Ronconi | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 8 | Fermo Camellini | Aldo Ronconi | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 9 | René Vietto | René Vietto | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 10 | Fermo Camellini | René Vietto | Apo Lazaridès | Italy |
| 11 | Édouard Fachleitner | René Vietto | Apo Lazaridès | Italy |
| 12 | Henri Massal | René Vietto | Apo Lazaridès | Italy |
| 13 | Lucien Teisseire | René Vietto | Apo Lazaridès | Italy |
| 14 | Albert Bourlon | René Vietto | Apo Lazaridès | Italy |
| 15 | Jean Robic | René Vietto | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 16 | Giuseppe Tacca | René Vietto | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 17 | Éloi Tassin | René Vietto | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 18 | Pietro Tarchini | René Vietto | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 19 | Raymond Impanis | Pierre Brambilla | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 20 | Maurice Diot | Pierre Brambilla | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| 21 | Briek Schotte | Jean Robic | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |
| Final | Final | Jean Robic | Pierre Brambilla | Italy |

## Final standings
### General classification

Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jean Robic (FRA) | West | 148h 11' 25" |
| 2 | Édouard Fachleitner (FRA) | France | + 3' 58" |
| 3 | Pierre Brambilla (ITA) | Italy | + 10' 07" |
| 4 | Aldo Ronconi (ITA) | Italy | + 11' 00" |
| 5 | René Vietto (FRA) | France | + 15' 23" |
| 6 | Raymond Impanis (BEL) | Belgium | + 18' 14" |
| 7 | Fermo Camellini (ITA) | Netherlands/Strangers of France | + 24' 08" |
| 8 | Giordano Cottur (ITA) | Italy | + 1h 06' 03" |
| 9 | Jean-Marie Goasmat (FRA) | West | + 1h 16' 03" |
| 10 | Apo Lazaridès (FRA) | South-East | + 1h 18' 44" |
Final general classification (11–53) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 11 | Lucien Teisseire (FRA) | France | + 1h 32' 16" |
| 12 | Pierre Cogan (FRA) | West | + 1h 44' 55" |
| 13 | Briek Schotte (BEL) | Belgium | + 1h 56' 45" |
| 14 | Giuseppe Tacca (ITA) | Italy | + 2h 06' 07" |
| 15 | Jean Diederich (LUX) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 2h 10' 43" |
| 16 | Daniel Thuayre (FRA) | Île-de-France | + 2h 13' 04" |
| 17 | Gottfried Weilenmann Jr. (SUI) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 2h 18' 23" |
| 18 | Jean Kirchen (LUX) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 2h 20' 26" |
| 19 | Paul Giguet (FRA) | South-East | + 2h 26' 25" |
| 20 | Jean Goldschmidt (LUX) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 2h 32' 24" |
| 21 | Albert Bourlon (FRA) | Centre/South-West | + 2h 38' 18" |
| 22 | Bernard Gauthier (FRA) | South-East | + 2h 52' 45" |
| 23 | Primo Volpi (ITA) | Italy | + 3h 02' 48" |
| 24 | Roger Lévêque (FRA) | Centre/South-West | + 3h 05' 04" |
| 25 | Kléber Piot (FRA) | France | + 3h 10' 48" |
| 26 | Antoine Latorre (FRA) | Centre/South-West | + 3h 14' 40" |
| 27 | Florent Mathieu (BEL) | Belgium | + 3h 16' 28" |
| 28 | Raoul Rémy (FRA) | South-East | + 3h 20' 31" |
| 29 | Marius Bonnet (FRA) | South-East | + 3h 21' 20" |
| 30 | Henri Massal (FRA) | France | + 3h 25' 49" |
| 31 | Egidio Feruglio (ITA) | Italy | + 3h 43' 04" |
| 32 | Jefke Janssen (NED) | Netherlands/Strangers of France | + 3h 57' 11" |
| 33 | Ange Le Strat (FRA) | West | + 4h 06' 23" |
| 34 | Édouard Klabinski (POL) | Netherlands/Strangers of France | + 4h 06' 36" |
| 35 | Louis Déprez (FRA) | North-East | + 4h 09' 29" |
| 36 | Édouard Muller (FRA) | Île-de-France | + 4h 17' 28" |
| 37 | Éloi Tassin (FRA) | West | + 4h 23' 49" |
| 38 | René Oreel (BEL) | Belgium | + 4h 29' 06" |
| 39 | Pascal Gnazzo (FRA) | South-East | + 4h 34' 09" |
| 40 | Joseph Neri (FRA) | Centre/South-West | + 4h 36' 27" |
| 41 | René Barret (FRA) | Île-de-France | + 4h 38' 31" |
| 42 | Maurice Mollin (BEL) | Belgium | + 4h 42' 27" |
| 43 | Roger Gyselinck (BEL) | Belgium | + 4h 43' 47" |
| 44 | Raymond Lucas (FRA) | Île-de-France | + 4h 45' 07" |
| 45 | Jean Breuer (BEL) | Belgium | + 4h 45' 14" |
| 46 | Jean de Gribaldy (FRA) | North-East | + 4h 51' 44" |
| 47 | Victor Joly (BEL) | Netherlands/Strangers of France | + 4h 52' 18" |
| 48 | Alexandre Pawlisiak (FRA) | North-East | + 5h 04' 06" |
| 49 | Maurice Diot (FRA) | Île-de-France | + 5h 20' 43" |
| 50 | Gaston Rousseau (FRA) | East | + 5h 34' 01" |
| 51 | Gaston Audier (FRA) | North-East | + 5h 37' 55" |
| 52 | Leo Weilenmann (SUI) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 6h 05' 34" |
| 53 | Pietro Tarchini (SUI) | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 7h 48' 18" |

### Mountains classification

Mountains in the mountains classification :
| Stage | Rider | Height | Mountain range | Class | Winner |
| 7 | l'Epine | 987 metres (3,238 ft) | Alps | 2 | Apo Lazaridès |
| 7 | Granier | 1,132 metres (3,714 ft) | Alps | 1 | Pierre Brambilla |
| 8 | Croix de Fer | 2,066 metres (6,778 ft) | Alps | 1 | Fermo Camellini |
| 8 | Télégraphe | 1,566 metres (5,138 ft) | Alps | 1 | Fermo Camellini |
| 8 | Galibier | 2,556 metres (8,386 ft) | Alps | 1 | Fermo Camellini |
| 9 | Izoard | 2,361 metres (7,746 ft) | Alps | 1 | Jean Robic |
| 9 | Vars | 2,110 metres (6,920 ft) | Alps | 1 | Jean Robic |
| 9 | Allos | 2,250 metres (7,380 ft) | Alps | 1 | René Vietto |
| 10 | Braus | 1,002 metres (3,287 ft) | Alps-Maritimes | 2 | Apo Lazaridès |
| 10 | La Turbie | 555 metres (1,821 ft) | Alps-Maritimes | 2 | Fermo Camellini |
| 14 | Port | 1,250 metres (4,100 ft) | Pyrenees | 2 | Albert Bourlon |
| 14 | Portet d'Aspet | 1,069 metres (3,507 ft) | Pyrenees | 2 | Albert Bourlon |
| 15 | Peyresourde | 1,569 metres (5,148 ft) | Pyrenees | 1 | Jean Robic |
| 15 | Aspin | 1,489 metres (4,885 ft) | Pyrenees | 1 | Jean Robic |
| 15 | Tourmalet | 2,115 metres (6,939 ft) | Pyrenees | 1 | Jean Robic |
| 15 | Aubisque | 1,709 metres (5,607 ft) | Pyrenees | 1 | Jean Robic |
Final mountains classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Pierre Brambilla (ITA) | Italy | 98 |
| 2 | Apo Lazaridès (FRA) | South-East | 89 |
| 3 | Jean Robic (FRA) | West | 70 |
| 4 | Fermo Camellini (ITA) | Netherlands/Strangers of France | 63 |
| 4 | Aldo Ronconi (ITA) | Italy | 63 |
| 6 | René Vietto (FRA) | France | 38 |
| 7 | Édouard Fachleitner (FRA) | France | 35 |
| 8 | Jean-Marie Goasmat (FRA) | West | 27 |
| 9 | Giordano Cottur (ITA) | Italy | 25 |
| 10 | Lucien Teisseire (FRA) | France | 19 |

### Team classification

Final team classification (1–6) :
| Rank | Team | Time |
| 1 | Italy | 446h 01' 25" |
| 2 | France | + 23' 57" |
| 3 | West | + 1h 33' 48" |
| 4 | Belgium | + 4h 04' 17" |
| 5 | South-East | + 5h 10' 44" |
| 6 | Switzerland/Luxembourg | + 5h 22' 22" |

## Aftermath

Robic never wore the yellow jersey as leader in the general classification in 1947, because he only became leader in the final stage. Only Jan Janssen has repeated that, in the 1968 Tour de France. Later in his career, Robic wore the yellow jersey for one day in the 1953 Tour de France.