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The 1904 Tour de France was the second Tour de France, held from July 2 to July 24. The route was the same as in 1903, and Maurice Garin seemed to repeated his win of the previous year by a small margin over Lucien Pothier, while Hippolyte Aucouturier won four of the six stages. The race was a victim of its own success, plagued by scandals.[2] Four months later, cyclists including the first four of the final classification and all stage winners were disqualified, and the Tour de France victory was given to little-known Henri Cornet, originally fifth.[3]
[edit] BackgroundThe initial Tour de France of 1903 had been a large success, and it was quickly decided to organize it again in 1904. The route was identical, with the same six stages. The rules were the same as in 1903, with one exception: cyclists could not enter in just one stage, but had to join for the entire race. The favourites for the victory were Garin, Pothier and Aucouturier, who had performed well in the 1903 Tour de France.[4][5] Among the competitors was Henri Paret, who with 50 years still holds the record of oldest Tour de France cyclist. [edit] Race incidentsIn the first stage, Maurice Garin and Lucien Pothier were attacked by four masked men in a car.[2] Hyppolyte Aucouturier had many flat tires and crashes, seemingly the results of sabotage, causing a time loss of several hours.[5] In that first stage, Garin had asked the race official Lefèvre for food, which was against the rules. Lefèvre, who knew that Garin was the star of the race, broke the rules and gave him the food, because he did not want to be responsible for Garin leaving the race because of hunger.[5] Garin won that first stage. The news that Garin had received illegal help quickly spread, and caused the fanatical crowd to take action.[5] During the second stage, rider André Fauré was leading the race close to his hometown, and 200 fans tried to stop the rest of the cyclists from following him. The situation was only solved after race officials fired shots in the air. Garin had hurt his hand during the incident, and Paul Gerbi had been knocked unconscious.[2] When the Tour reached Nimes, local fans were angry because their favourite Ferdinand Payan had been disqualified after being helped by a motor,[6] and threw rocks at the riders.[2] In the fifth stage, nails had been thrown on the road, causing punctures. Mechanical assistance was not allowed, and Henri Cornet had to finish the last 40 km with two flat tires.[2] [edit] Initial results before disqualificationsInitially, Maurice Garin was the winner, having lead the race from start to end, although his margin was only a few minutes this time, compared to the hours of 1903.[5] Hippolyte Aucouturier won 4 stages. In total, 27 cyclists finished.[7] 
[edit] DisqualificationDuring the race, nine riders had already been excluded because of, among other actions, illegal use of cars or trains. The Tour organizers were happy with the result, but the French cycling union (UVF) started an investigation after complaints from other cyclist. Their investigative committee heard testimony from dozens of competitors and witnesses, and in December 1904, disqualified all the stage winners and the first four finishers (Maurice Garin, Lucien Pothier, César Garin, and Hippolyte Aucouturier). Ten of those disqualified were banned for one year, Garin for two years and the remaining two for life.[2] In total, 29 riders were punished.[5] The reasons for the disqualification were never made public.[8] Fifth-placed Henri Cornet, aged 19, then became the youngest winner of the Tour.[9] Cornet himself had also been warned after he had received a lift by a car.[5] Only 15 cyclists from the original 27 that finished were not disqualified.[10] Following the disqualifications, the Tour de France came nearest in history to being permanently cancelled.[11] The race organiser, Henri Desgrange, said he would never run the race again because it had been overtaken by the "blind emotions" of those who attacked or helped riders as they passed. Desgrange was also upset that the Union Vélocipédique Française had imposed judgment on his race when he had already disciplined riders as he saw fit. An angry exchange ensued between Desgrange and the UVF but the letters and the detailed complaints that led to the UVF's actions were lost when the Tour de France archives were transported south in 1940 to avoid the German invasion and were never seen again.[10] [edit] Final resultsAfter the disqualifications, the first four cyclists of the initial classification were disqualified. In the new classification, only 15 cyclists had finished:[7] 
[edit] AftermathBecause of the scandals associated with this Tour, Henri Desgrange wanted to stop the race. He however changed his mind, and the rules were changed to prevent cyclists from cheating: the 1905 Tour de France would be decided with a points system. Tour de France 1904 winner Cornet would enter the Tour de France for seven more times, but would never again play an important role.[12] [edit] Further reading
[edit] References
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