1914 Peugeot ridden by Philippe Thys BEL
Thys wins his second of three Tours and again Peugeot are triumphant, with a totally dominant display which saw them take the top three places overall plus 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th.
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| The stage from Le Harve to Cherbourg passes through Pont-Audemer, a familiar town to all Lavallois-Honfleur riders |
It's hardly surprising that they were dominant, with a team consisting of 4 riders who had won, or would win, the Tour and another 4 podium finishers. But that's not the full story since Peugeot were up against a formidable field with the peloton containing 11 riders who would finish the careers having won the Tour.
This was the last Tour before the Great War and in fact the same day the riders set out from Saint Cloud on the outskirts of Paris, Serbian secret agent Gavrilo Princip assassinated Austro-Hungary's Archduke Ferdinand. The Tour was to finish exactly a week before the Nazis declared war on France and invaded Belgium. Many of the Tour riders would be lost in the war.
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