On this day back in 1903, a humble former chimney sweep named Maurice Garin pedaled his way into history—and into the hearts of sports fans everywhere. 🚲
The setting was Paris, and the occasion was the finish of the very first Tour de France—a race dreamt up by a scrappy newspaper called L’Auto, hoping to gain a little extra attention. No one quite knew what to expect. The race was a wild, daring experiment: six grueling stages stretched out over nearly 1,500 miles, most of it on rough, dusty roads that would rattle even the bravest soul.
Picture it: one single stage was almost 300 miles long. Riders fought the sleepiness of midnight hours, pedaling on heavy, awkward bicycles with none of the sleek engineering we see today. When the sun went down, they forged ahead, lanterns flickering, bumping along roads more suited to ox carts than bicycles.
There were no teams to lean on, no mechanics standing by. If your bike broke, you got down on your knees and fixed it yourself—right there by the roadside, fingers stained with grease, not a soul in sight.
Maurice Garin didn’t just win—the man ran away with the victory, finishing nearly three hours before anyone else. His astonishing endurance and sheer willpower lit the torch for an event that, over the years, would become the greatest cycling race on earth.
Looking back, it’s hard not to feel a sense of wonder at what those early riders accomplished—with grit, guts, and a touch of old-world magic. 🏆
