1.
Philippe Thys
–
Philippe Thys was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France. In 1910, Thys won Belgiums first national cyclo-cross championship, the following year he won the Circuit Français Peugeot, followed by stage races from Paris to Toulouse and Paris to Turin. He turned professional to ride the Tour de France, Thys won the Tour in 1913 despite breaking his bicycle fork and finding a bicycle shop to mend it. The repair cost him a 10-minute penalty but he won by just under nine minutes, Thys took the stage and the race lead when Eugène Christophe broke his fork on the way to Luchon. Marcel Buysse overtook him in the results the following day, another broken fork on the way to Nice gave Thys the lead again but drama continued when he fell on the penultimate stage from Longwy to Dunkirk. Despite being knocked out and being penalised for help from teammates to repair his bike, he won 8 minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Gustave Garrigou, with Buysse third. In 1914, he took his first stage victory, to Le Havre and his victory looked uncertain, his lead cut to less than two minutes ahead of Henri Pélissier. He won the stage but Thys finished on his wheel to win the Tour, in 1917, Thys won Paris–Tours and the Giro di Lombardia. In 1918, he won the second and last Tours–Paris. After World War I, Thys won the Tour a third and he led from the second stage, Henri Desgrange writing France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth. Not until 1955 did Louison Bobet equal Thyss record, and not until 1963 did Jacques Anquetil break it with four wins, Thys also rode in the 1922 Tour, winning five stages, and in the 1924 Tour, winning two stages. Thys was one of a generation of cyclists whose careers were disrupted by the First World War, Philippe Thys profile at Cycling Archives Official Tour de France results for Philippe Thys
2.
Gustave Garrigou
–
Cyprien Gustave Garrigou was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once, of 117 stages, he won eight, came in the top ten 96 times and finished 65 times in the first five. Garrigou was born in Vabres, France, and lived in Paris and he gained from his lightness in the mountains but had the strength to ride hard on flat stages, and had remarkable powers of recovery. As an amateur he won Paris-Amiens and Paris-Dieppe and he turned professional in 1907 and that year won the national championship, the Giro di Lombardia, Paris–Brussels and came second in the Tour de France 19 points behind teammate Lucien Petit-Breton. A team rider, in the three years, he placed fourth in 1908, second in 1909 and third in 1910 behind winning teammates Petit-Breton, Francois Faber. Garrigou had built a lead of 16 points after the end of Stage 6 but by the time reached the Pyrenees. With Duboc finishing 3 hours behind, Garrigou finished second to consolidate a lead which increased when stage winner Maurice Brocco was disqualified for unsportmanlike behaviour, Duboc had nothing to do with the notices and was as alarmed as the race organizer, Henri Desgrange. Three cars provided a barrier between Garrigou and the crowd until the race had cleared the city, the culprit was eventually found to be a helper with a rival team but Dubocs supporters had suspected Garrigou, as the man most likely to profit from stopping Duboc. Garrigou won the Tour with a number of points over Duboc. In some early years, the Tour was decided not on elapsed time, as leader of an all-French team, Alcyon, Garrigou was supposed to retain the title in 1912, but a last-minute publicity stunt cost him. The Belgian Odile Defraye was included in the team and repaid them by outsprinting Garrigou in stages 2 and 3 on the way to victory, Garrigou finished third behind Eugene Christophe. The Tour of 1913 saw the ending of the points system deciding the winner of the general classification, Garrigou finished in second place 8 minutes and 37 seconds behind another Belgian, Philippe Thys. Garrigou was an all-rounder, also winning Paris–Brussels, Milan–San Remo and he was national champion in 1907 and 1908. His career ended with the outbreak of war in 1914, Garrigou retired to Esbly, Paris, and went into business. Gustave Garrigou profile at Cycling Archives
3.
Marcel Buysse
–
Marcel Buysse was a Belgian racing cyclist. After finishing fourth in the 1912 Tour de France, Buysse led the classification for two days until a broken handlebar cost him dearly. Despite winning six stages in the 1913 Tour de France, he could finish in 3rd place,3 hours,30 minutes and 55 seconds behind Philippe Thys. He finished third in the 1919 Giro dItalia, marcel was the brother of Jules Buysse and Tour de France-winner Lucien Buysse, and the father of cyclists Norbert Buysse and Albert Buysse. Marcel Buysse profile at Cycling Archives
4.
1912 Tour de France
–
The 1912 Tour de France was the tenth running of the Tour de France. It consisted of 15 stages for a total of 5,289 kilometres, the Tour took place from 30 June to 28 July. The riders rode at an speed of 27.763 km/h. After 4 stage wins during the Tour of Belgium, the Alcyon team hired Odile Defraye to help Gustave Garrigou repeat his win of the 1911 Tour de France. However, as the race progressed, it was clear that Defraye was the stronger rider, Defraye won the 1912 Tour de France, while Garrigou came in third place. The point system from the 1911 Tour de France was still in use and it was changed in one aspect, if one or more cyclists, excluding the first seven, finished in the same time, they split their points. In stage 8, the first thirteen cyclists finished at the same time, the first seven to cross the line got the normal number of points, but the eighth to thirteenth cyclists all got 10.5 points. Technically, the bicycles were similar to the 1911 bicycles, only Stéphanois Panel experimented with a derailleur system and this was quickly forbidden afterwards by Tour organiser Henri Desgrange, and only allowed again in 1937. The 1912 Tour started with 131 cyclists, there were 10 teams of 5 cyclists each, the remaining 81 cyclists started in the isolés category. The Alcyon team had the favourite, Gustave Garrigou, the winner of the previous Tour de France. To help him, they hired Odile Defraye, who had performed well at the 1912 Tour of Belgium, at first, the Alcyon team did not want to select Defraye, but the Belgian representative of Alcyon posed commercial threats, and Defraye was selected. In the first stage, the favourites remained calm and this first stage was won by Charles Crupelandt. Defraye finished 14th, while Garrigou finished in 21st place, in the second stage, Defraye and Garrigou were ahead of the rest, and Defraye won the stage. At that point, Defraye was second in the classification, only one point behind Vincenzo Borgarello. When Garrigou punctured because of spread by vandals, Defraye waited for him. During the long chase for the rest, it was clear that Defraye was stronger than Garrigou, Defraye became a favourite for the overall victory, and his team mates gave him their support. He was the first Belgian who had a chance to win the Tour de France, so all Belgians in the race. One remaining competitor was Octave Lapize, in the fifth stage, Defraye had problems with his knees, and was more than fifteen minutes behind Lapize
5.
1914 Tour de France
–
The 1914 Tour de France was the 12th edition of the Tour de France, taking place in 15 stages from 28 June to 26 July. The total distance was 5,380 kilometres and the speed of the riders was 26.835 kilometres per hour. It was won by the Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys, the day the Tour began, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, marking the start of World War I. On 3 August Germany invaded Belgium and declared war on France, making this Tour the last for five years, the three men who won the Tour between 1907 and 1910 would die in the war. Not much changed from the 1913 Tour de France, the most important novelty was the introduction of frame numbers, Philippe Thys, who had won the 1913 Tour de France, was returning in 1914 and considered favourite, together with his team mate Henri Pélissier. Apart from him six other previous Tour de France winners started the race, Louis Trousselier, Lucien Petit-Breton, Octave Lapize, François Faber, Odile Defraye and Gustave Garrigou. Four more cyclists started the race that would win a Tour de France, Firmin Lambot, Léon Scieur, Henri Pélissier. This number of 11 former or future Tour de France winners on the line is a record. In addition, Italian champion Costante Girardengo, started the race, but Girardengo was not yet the champion from 1919 on, in 1914, the first cyclists from Australia started the Tour de France, Don Kirkham and Iddo Munro. They also finished the race, in 17th place and 20th place, the cyclists used whistles, to warn other persons that they were coming. Thys was dominant in the entire race, even though he only won the first stage, he finished in the top five every other stage. In that first stage, Jean Rossius finished second with the same time, the second stage was won by Rossius, with Thys in the same time. Both had the time, and the same finishing places. In the third stage, the reached the first check point one hour late, after they had taken the wrong route. The race was stopped and restarted from the first check point. The lead remained shared between Rossius and Thys until after the stage, when Thys got away from Rossius. After that stage, Pélissier was third in the classification with only 527 behind, in the sixth stage, the Pyrénées mountains appeared. The stage was won by Lambot, with Thys only 7 minutes behind, the other competitors did worse, with Pélissier losing over 30 minutes and Rossius over one hour
6.
Tour de France
–
The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper LAuto, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams. Traditionally, the race is primarily in the month of July. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period, the race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France. The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each, all of the stages are timed to the finish, the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team. The Tour de France was created in 1903, the roots of the Tour de France trace back to the emergence of two rival sports newspapers in the country. On the one hand was Le Vélo, the first and the largest daily newspaper in France which sold 80,000 copies a day. On the other was LAuto, which had been set-up by journalists and business-people including Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément, the new newspaper appointed Henri Desgrange as the editor. He was a prominent cyclist and owner with Victor Goddet of the velodrome at the Parc des Princes, De Dion knew him through his cycling reputation, through the books and cycling articles that he had written, and through press articles he had written for the Clément tyre company. LAuto was not the success its backers wanted, stagnating sales lower than the rival it was intended to surpass led to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 on the middle floor of LAutos office at 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris. The last to speak was the most junior there, the chief cycling journalist, Desgrange had poached him from Giffards paper. Lefèvre suggested a six-day race of the sort popular on the track, long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers, but nothing of the length that Lefèvre suggested had been attempted. If it succeeded, it would help LAuto match its rival and it could, as Desgrange said, nail Giffards beak shut. Desgrange and Lefèvre discussed it after lunch, Desgrange was doubtful but the papers financial director, Victor Goddet, was enthusiastic. He handed Desgrange the keys to the safe and said
7.
Belgium
–
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
8.
Louis Trousselier
–
Louis Trousselier was a French racing cyclist. He was born in Levallois-Perret, Hauts de Seine in 1881, some say on January 29. He died in Paris on April 24,1939 and he is most famous for his 1905 victory in the 1905 Tour de France. His other major wins were Paris–Roubaix, also in 1905, and he came third in the 1906 Tour de France and won 13 stages of the Tour de France over his career. He also competed in the mens 25 kilometres event at the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier, known as Trou-Trou, came from a rich family which had a flower business in central Paris. For that reason, when Henri Desgrange, the first organiser of the Tour, sought to popularise competitors by giving them nicknames, trousseliers brothers Léopold and André were also cyclists. After competing in the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier turned professional, in 1903, Louis Trousselier rode Bordeaux–Paris, which was his first long race. He finished in place, behind Hippolyte Aucouturier. However, a few later he was disqualified, because he had taken shelter behind a car during the race. When the newspaper that organized Bordeaux–Paris organized the first Tour de France later that year and he dominated the race winning five stages, completing the 3,021 km in 110 hours 26 minutes and 58 second at an average speed of 27.48 km. He won with 35 points ahead of Hippolyte Aucouturier and Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, victory brought him all his prizes, contracts to ride all over France and a bonus from his sponsor. But that night, in a cabin in Paris, he lost the whole lot playing dice with friends. Theres always another Tour to win it again, he is reputed to have said. The one bet that he did win was that the army would forgive him for overstaying his leave and he rode the Tour well again in 1906 but never to the level of the previous year, nevertheless winning stages and finishing third. He became a specialist in long-distance racing, in 1908 winning Bordeaux–Paris 26 minutes ahead of the next rider and he twice came second in the race and once third. He came second in the 1906 Bol dOr 24-hour race at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris and he rode a six-day event on the track, although he decided against specialising in what could have been a profitable career. He stopped racing just before World War I and took over the family business, Trousselier had an entertaining personality and a taste for practical jokes. He was known for training with friends and stopping them at the most expensive restaurant they could find
9.
Lucien Petit-Breton
–
Lucien Georges Mazan was a French racing cyclist. He was born in Plessé, Loire-Atlantique, a part of Brittany, when he was six he moved with his parents to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he took the nationality. His cycling career started when he won a bike in a lottery at the age of sixteen, as his father wanted him to do a real job, he adapted the nickname Lucien Breton for races, to deceive his father. Later he changed it to Petit-Breton, because there already was another cyclist called Lucien Breton and his first notable victory was the track cycling championship of Argentina but in 1902 he was drafted in the French Army and he moved back to France. Two years later in 1904 he won the Bol dOr track event at the second attempt, in 1905 he broke the world hour record on the Buffalo cycling track in Paris with 41.110 km. The same year he started road-racing and finished the Tour de France in a fifth overall. In 1906, he won the third Paris–Tours race and improved on his previous performance by finishing fourth in the Tour, in 1907, he won the inaugural Milan–San Remo race before entering the Tour. However, by the end of five from Lyon to Grenoble. Losing contact with the riders on the Col de la Porte, he could only manage a tenth place. However, with the system, time was irrelevant. In the tenth stage, Georget illegally changed bicycles, and was placed last in the stage by the Tour jury and he also won the Tour in 1908, becoming the first rider to win the Tour twice, after winning the Paris–Brussels race. As part of the all-conquering Peugeot team that took the first four places, Petit-Breton won the Tour even more easily with just 36 points, behind him, team-mates Francois Faber and Georges Passerieu finished with 68 and 75 points respectively. That was his last great victory, first World War ended his career. He joined the French army as a driver and died in 1917 when he crashed into a horse, the cart driver was said to be insensible through drink. Before the war he had started a shop and high-quality bicycles bearing his name were made in Nantes until the 1960s. The French TV series Les Brigades du Tigre was a crime drama focusing on an elite squad of police detectives in the early 20th century. He himself is later assaulted by the man but defiantly continues the stage to the admiration of those present, Lucien Petit-Breton profile at Cycling Archives
10.
Octave Lapize
–
Octave Lapize was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist. In his first Tour De France in 1909, he abandoned early due to conditions during the month of July. The following year he went head-to-head with Alcyon teammate Faber who led comfortably until colliding with a dog at the foot of the Pyrenees, Lapize finally won by just 4 points helped by a number of punctures to Fabers bike on the final stage from Caen to Paris. In a total of six starts in the Tour De France between 1909 and 1914, this victory was the one he finished. He is noted for looking at some Tour officials on the climb of the Col du Tourmalet in the 1910 Tour de France and yelling, the stage in question was 326 kilometers in length, featured 7 brutal climbs, and was raced on unsealed roads with single-gear bicycles. The First World War ended his cycling career, as a fighter pilot in the French army, Octave Lapize was shot down near Flirey, Meurthe-et-Moselle on 14 July 1917. Severely injured, he died in a hospital in Toul, list of Olympians killed in World War I Bobet, Jean. Lapize, Now There was an Ace
11.
Ali Neffati
–
Ali Neffati was a Tunisian cyclist who was professional between 1913 and 1930. He is known for being the first African to participate in the Tour de France and he also was in the 1914 Tour de France, but didnt finish either of them. In the 1914 Tour, he was hit by a car from the organization, neffatis cycling career began in 1908 in Tunisia, where he won several track championships. In 1913 he accepted an invitation to the Tour de France, during this Tour de France, he was eighteen years old, making him the youngest participant ever in the Tour de France. He was iconic for wearing a fez instead of the traditional cap, despite the setback caused to his career by the World War One, he returned to racing in 1918 and became a regular at major races of the time
12.
Henri Desgrange
–
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange was born into a comfortably prosperous middle-class family living in Paris. His twin brother, Georges Desgrange, was described as having the air of a defrocked monk. Desgrange worked as a clerk at the Depeux-Dumesnil law office near the Place de Clichy in Paris, legend says he was fired from there either for cycling to work or for exposing the outline of his calves in tight socks as he did so. Preferring a life in sport to a career in law, he began a dedication to sport that lasted the rest of his life, Desgrange saw his first bicycle race in 1891 when he went to the finish of Bordeaux–Paris. He began racing on the track but suffered by lacking a powerful acceleration, endurance riding suited him better, and he set the first recognised hour record when on 11 May 1893 he rode 35.325 km on the Buffalo velodrome in Paris. He also established records at 50 and 100 km and 100 miles and he wrote a training book in 1894, La tête et les jambes, in which he conducted a conversation with an unnamed younger rider thought to be his younger self. The book included the advice that a rider has no more need of a woman than an unwashed pair of socks. In 1894 he wrote another book, Alphonse Marcaux, in 1897 he became director of the Parc des Princes velodrome and then in December 1903 of Frances first permanent indoor track, the Vélodrome dHiver, near the Eiffel Tower. France at the end of the 19th century was split over the guilt or innocence of a soldier, Alfred Dreyfus, who had been convicted of selling secrets to the Germans. The leading sports paper, Le Vélo - it sold 80,000 copies a day - mixed sports reporting with news and political comment, a row between them and the editor, Pierre Giffard, led to the advertisers withdrawing their custom and planning a paper of their own. An alternative version has it that Giffard banished the advertisers, the same went for the man who became Desgranges business partner, Victor Goddet, another velodrome director. Desgranges enthusiasm, his ability, his writing and the press work he had done for Clément persuaded the group to appoint him as editor. The writer Geoffrey Nicholson said of Desgrange, He was outwardly flamboyant, privately cautious, but he was clearly no political die-hard, for as a writer he modelled himself on Émile Zola, who had been the most reviled of all defenders of Dreyfus. Desgrange gave the impression - correctly - that he wasnt a man to welcome consultation, the first issue of LAuto-Vélo appeared on 16 October 1900. The title was chosen to reflect the enthusiasm at the time for car racing as the sport of the future, Geoffrey Nicholson pointed out the way in which Desgrange modelled his writing on Zola. Of riders in Paris–Brest–Paris, he wrote, There are four of them, and at night a peasant waiting for them by a deserted road will see four demons passing by, and the noise of their desperate panting will freeze his heart and fill it with terror
13.
Col du Tourmalet
–
Col du Tourmalet is the highest paved mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, located in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of the way up. The village of Barèges lies on the side, above the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur. Tourmalet is also a made from sheep milk produced in these mountains. The Col du Tourmalet is the highest paved pass in the French Pyrenees. However, these roads are not mountain passes, departing directly from the Col du Tourmalet we find a road to the mountain pass Col de Laquets with an altitude of 2,637 m However, this road is not paved. Finally, the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees is the Port dEnvalira in Andorra with its altitude of 2,407 m. Then Tour becomes distance, which is spelled tur but pronounced tour, mal is translated into mountain, the translation from Gascon to English then becomes The Distance Mountain. The western side, from Luz-Saint-Sauveur, is 19.0 km long, climbing 1,404 m at an average of 7. 4% with a maximum of 10. 2% near the summit. Starting from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, the climb is 17.2 km, gaining 1,268 m. As with most French climbs, each kilometre mountain pass cycling milestones indicate the height of the summit, the distance to the summit, from the pass, a rough track leads to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory. Up to the Col de Laquets this track is a dirt, the part between the Col de Laquets and the observatory is a steep and narrow hiking track. Some terraces of the observatory can be entered for free from the end of the track, paying an entrance fee, one can enter the actual observatory and also take the funicular down to La Mongie. The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most famous climbs on the Tour de France and it has been included more than any other pass, starting in 1910, when the Pyrenees were introduced. The first rider over was Octave Lapize, who went on to claim the yellow jersey in Paris, in 1913, Eugène Christophe broke his fork on the Tourmalet and repaired it himself at a forge in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. Up to 2014, the Tour has visited the Col du Tourmalet a total of 83 times, the total includes two stage finishes at the summit and three at La Mongie. Since 1980 it has been ranked hors catégorie, or exceptional, the Vuelta a España has also crossed the pass several times. The 2010 edition of the Tour included the pass on two stages, crossing westward on the 16th stage to Pau and eastward on the 17th stage with a finish at the summit
14.
Bellows
–
A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. It has many applications, in particular blowing on a fire to supply it with air, the term bellows is used by extension for a flexible bag whose volume can be changed by compression or expansion, but not used to deliver air. For example, the light-tight bag allowing the distance between the lens and film of a photographic camera to be varied is called a bellows. Bellows is only used in plural, the Old English name for bellows was blǽstbęlg, blást-bęlg blast-bag, blowing-bag, the prefix was dropped and by the eleventh century the simple bęlg, bylg, bylig was used. The word is cognate with belly, there are similar words in Old Norse, Swedish, and Danish, but the derivation is not certain. Bellows appears not to be cognate with the apparently similar Latin follis, several processes, such as metallurgical iron smelting and welding, require so much heat that they could only be developed after the invention, in antiquity, of the bellows. The bellows are used to deliver air to the fuel, raising the rate of combustion. Various kinds of bellows are used in metallurgy, Box bellows were and are used in Asia. Pot bellows were used in ancient Egypt, accordion bellows, with the characteristic pleated sides, have been used in Europe for many centuries. Piston bellows were developed in the middle of the 18th century in Europe, however, the double action piston bellows were utilised by the Han rulers in ancient China as early as the 3rd century BC. Metal bellows were made to absorb axial movement in a dynamic condition, often referred to as Axial Dynamics bellows types. The Han Dynasty Chinese mechanical engineer Du Shi is credited with being the first to apply power, through a waterwheel. His invention was used to operate piston bellows of blast furnaces in order to forge cast iron, the ancient Greeks, ancient Romans, and other civilizations used bellows in bloomery furnaces producing wrought iron. Bellows are also used to send pressurized air in a manner in a fired heater. In modern industry, reciprocating bellows are usually replaced with motorized blowers and these bellows blow a more constant, and thus stronger, blast than simple bellows. Such bellows existed in China at least since the 5th century BC, when it was invented, a piston is enclosed in a rectangular box with a handle coming out one side. The piston edges are covered with feathers, fur, or soft paper to ensure that it is airtight and lubricated. As the piston is pulled, air from one side enters and flows through the nozzle and as it is pushed air enters from the opposite side, the middle leave is fixed in place
15.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
16.
Le Havre
–
Le Havre is an urban French commune and city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northwestern France. It is situated on the bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux. Modern Le Havre remains deeply influenced by its employment and maritime traditions and its port is the second largest in France, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port. The name Le Havre means the harbour or the port and its inhabitants are known as Havrais or Havraises. Administratively the commune is located in the Normandy region and, with Dieppe, is one of the two sub-prefectures of the Seine-Maritime department, Le Havre is the capital of the canton and since 1974 has been the see of the diocese of Le Havre. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of Rouen. It is also the second largest subprefecture in France, the city and port were founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Economic development in the Early modern period was hampered by wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics. It was from the end of the 18th century that Le Havre started growing, after the 1944 bombings the firm of Auguste Perret began to rebuild the city in concrete. Changes in years 1990–2000 were numerous, the right won the municipal elections and committed the city to the path of reconversion, seeking to develop the service sector and new industries. The Port 2000 project increased the capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the city. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the city of Le Havre as a World Heritage Site. The André Malraux Modern Art Museum is the second of France for the number of impressionist paintings, the city has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Le Havre is a major French city located some 50 kilometres west of Rouen on the shore of the English Channel, numerous roads link to Le Havre with the main access roads being the A29 autoroute from Amiens and the A13 autoroute from Paris linking to the A131 autoroute. Administratively, Le Havre is a commune in the Haute-Normandie region in the west of the department of Seine-Maritime, the urban area of Le Havre corresponds roughly to the territory of the Agglomeration community of Le Havre which includes 17 communes and 250,000 people. It occupies the tip of the natural region of Pays de Caux where it is the largest city. Le Havre is sandwiched between the coast of the Channel from south-west to north-west and the estuary of the Seine to the south, Le Havre belongs to the MLG community Paris Basin which was formed in the Mesozoic period. The Paris Basin consists of sedimentary rocks, the commune of Le Havre consists of two areas separated by a natural cliff edge, one part in the lower part of the town to the south including the harbour, the city centre and the suburbs
17.
Cherbourg-Octeville
–
Cherbourg-Octeville is a city and former commune situated at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It is a subprefecture of its department, and was formed when the commune of Cherbourg absorbed Octeville on 28 February 2000. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the city is a Maritime prefecture and sub-prefecture of la Manche. Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is protected by Cherbourg Harbour, between La Hague and Val de Saire, and the city has been a position over the centuries. A stopping point for prestigious transatlantic liners in the first half of the 20th century, limited by its geographical isolation from being a great commercial port, it is nonetheless an important shipbuilding centre, and a working-class city with a rural hinterland. Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is located at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula, in the department of Manche. At the time of the 1999 census the city of Cherbourg had an area of 6.91 square kilometres, the largest city in the Department of Manche, it is the result of the merger of the communes of Cherbourg and Octeville. The amalgamated city today has an area of 14.26 km2. Cherbourg is situated at the mouth of the Divette and at the south of the bay between Cap Lévi to the east and Cap de La Hague to the west, Cherbourg-Octeville is 120 km from the English coast. Cherbourg and Octeville-sur-Cherbourg once belonged to the deanery of La Hague, in 1786, a part of Equeurdreville joined Cherbourg, during the construction of the port, and then in 1802, a portion of Octeville. Thus, Cherbourg-Octeville lies both in La Hague and in the Val de Saire, like all Chantereyne and the area of the Mielles, the Cherbourg territory was reclaimed from the sea. Built at the level of the sea, the town developed at the foot of the Roule mountain and these folds result in layers of sandstone tilted 45° towards the north-east on la Fauconniere and the Montagne du Roule. These two cliffs are due to sea erosion in the Quaternary, the retreat of the sea then gave way to sand dunes and tidal marshes, destroyed by the urbanisation of the 17th and 19th centuries, identical to those of Collignon in Tourlaville. The greenschist, whose colour comes from chlorite and sericite, are used mainly for roofing in Nord-Cotentin, the Armorican sandstone of the Montagne du Roule is used for rubble and rockfill. Most of the quarries, which opened in the metropolitan area for building the harbour wall, are now closed. Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is bordered by the sea, the construction of the port of trade, from 1769, accompanied by the diversion of the Divette and the Trottebec gathered in the canal de retenue, along the Avenue de Paris and Rue du Val-de-Saire. The streams of the Bucaille and the Fay, which watered the Croûte du Homet, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin has a temperate oceanic climate. Its maritime character causes high humidity and a strong sea wind, commonly stormy but also low seasonal variations of temperature and few days of frost
18.
Brest, France
–
Brest is a city in the Finistère département in Brittany in northwestern France. The city is located on the edge of continental Europe. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture of the department is the much smaller Quimper, during the Middle Ages, the history of Brest was the history of its castle. Then Richelieu made it a military harbour, Brest grew around its arsenal, until the second part of the 20th century. Heavily damaged by the Allies bombing raids during World War II, at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the deindustrialization of the city was followed by the development of the service sector. Nowadays, Brest is an important university town with 23,000 students, Brest is also an important research centre, mainly focused on the sea, with among others the largest Ifremer centre, le Cedre and the French Polar Institute. Brest’s history has always been linked to the sea, the Académie de Marine was founded in 1752 in this city, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the festival of the sea, boats and sailors. Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when a count of Léon ceded it to John I, in 1342, John IV, Duke of Brittany, surrendered Brest to the English, in whose possession it was to remain until 1397. The importance of Brest in medieval times was great enough to rise to the saying. With the marriage of Francis I of France to Claude, the daughter of Anne of Brittany, the advantages of Brests situation as a seaport town were first recognized by Cardinal Richelieu, who in 1631 constructed a harbor with wooden wharves. This soon became a base for the French Navy, jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister under Louis XIV, rebuilt the wharves in masonry and otherwise improved the harbour. Fortifications by Vauban followed in 1680–1688 and these fortifications, and with them the naval importance of the town, were to continue to develop throughout the 18th century. In 1694, an English squadron under Lord Berkeley, was defeated in its attack on Brest. In 1917, during the First World War, Brest was used as the port for many of the troops coming from the United States. Thousands of such men came through the port on their way to the front lines, the United States Navy established a naval air station on 13 February 1918 to operate seaplanes. The base closed shortly after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, in the Second World War, the Germans maintained a large U-boat submarine base at Brest. In 1944, after the Allied invasion of Normandy, the city was almost totally destroyed during the Battle for Brest, with only a tiny number of buildings left standing
19.
La Rochelle
–
La Rochelle is a city in southwestern France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department, the city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2. 9-kilometre bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis dAntioche, the area of La Rochelle was occupied in antiquity by the Gallic tribe of the Santones, who gave their name to the nearby region of Saintonge and the city of Saintes. The Romans subsequently occupied the area, where they developed salt production along the coast as well as wine production, roman villas have been found at Saint-Éloi and at Les Minimes, as well as salt evaporation ponds dating from the same period. La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbour in the 12th century, in 1137, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. During the Plantagenet control of the city in 1185, Henry II had the Vauclair castle built, the main activities of the city were in the areas of maritime commerce and trade, especially with England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1196, a wealthy bourgeois named Alexandre Auffredi sent a fleet of seven ships to Africa to tap the riches of the continent. He went bankrupt and went into poverty as he waited for the return of his ships, the Knights Templar had a strong presence in La Rochelle since before the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who exempted them from duties and gave them mills in her 1139 Charter. La Rochelle was for the Templars their largest base on the Atlantic Ocean, from La Rochelle, they were able to act as intermediaries in trade between England and the Mediterranean. The fleet allegedly left laden with knights and treasures just before the issue of the warrant for the arrest of the Order in October 1307, during the Hundred Years War in 1360, following the Treaty of Bretigny La Rochelle again came under the rule of the English monarch. La Rochelle however expelled the English in June 1372, following the naval Battle of La Rochelle, the French and Spanish decisively defeated the English, securing French control of the Channel for the first time since the Battle of Sluys in 1340. The naval battle of La Rochelle was one of the first cases of the use of handguns on warships, having recovered freedom, La Rochelle refused entry to Du Guesclin, until Charles V recognized the privileges of the city in November 1372. In 1402, the French adventurer Jean de Béthencourt left La Rochelle, until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese. During the Renaissance, La Rochelle adopted Protestant ideas, calvinism started to be propagated in the region of La Rochelle, resulting in its suppression through the establishment of Cours présidiaux tribunals by Henry II. An early result of this was the burning at the stake of two heretics in La Rochelle in 1552. On the initiative of Gaspard de Coligny, the Calvinists attempted to colonize the New World to find a new home for their religion, with the likes of Pierre Richier and Jean de Léry. After the short-lived attempt of France Antarctique, they failed to establish a colony in Brazil and he has been described, by Lancelot Voisin de La Popelinière, as le père de léglise de La Rochelle
20.
Bayonne
–
Bayonne is a city and commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. Archaeological studies have confirmed the presence of a Roman castrum, a stronghold in Novempopulania at the end of the 4th century before the city was populated by the Vascones. In 1023 Bayonne was the capital of Labourd and, in the 12th century, extended to, at that time the first bridge was built over the Adour. The city came under the domination of the English in 1152 through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine, it became militarily and, above all and it was separated from the Viscount of Labourd in 1177 by Richard the Lion Heart. In 1451 the city was taken by the Crown of France after the Hundred Years War, the loss of trade with the English and the silting up of the river as well as the movement of the city towards the north weakened it. The district of Saint-Esprit developed anyway thanks to the arrival of a Jewish population fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, from this community Bayonne gained its reputation for chocolate. The course of the Adour was changed in 1578 under the direction of Louis de Foix, in the 17th century the city was fortified by Vauban. In 1951 the Lacq gas field was discovered whose extracted sulphur, Bayonne was, in 2014, a commune with over 45,000 inhabitants, the heart of the urban area of Bayonne and of the Agglomeration Côte Basque-Adour which includes Anglet and Biarritz. It is an important part of the Basque Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity, modern industry—metallurgy and chemicals—are established to take advantage of procurement opportunities and sea shipments through the harbour. It is now mostly business services which today represent the largest source of employment, Bayonne is also a cultural capital, a city with strong Basque and Gascon influences and a rich historical past. Its heritage lies in its architecture, the diversity of collections in museums, its gastronomic specialties, the inhabitants of the commune are known as Bayonnais or Bayonnaises. Bayonne is located in the south-west of France on the border between Basque Country and Gascony. It developed at the confluence of the Adour and its tributary on the left bank, the commune was part of the Basque province of Labourd. Bayonne occupies a territory characterized by a relief to the west and to the north towards the Landes forest, tending to slightly raise towards the south. The city has developed at the confluence of the Adour and Nive 6 kilometres from the ocean, the meeting point of the two rivers coincides with a narrowing of the Adour valley. Downstream from this point the river has shaped a large bed in the dunes creating a significant bottleneck at the confluence. The occupation of the hill that dominates this narrowing of the valley developed through a gradual spread across the lowlands by building embankments, the drainage network of the western Pre-Pyrenees evolved mostly from the Quaternary from south-east to northwest oriented east-west. The Adour was then captured by the gaves and this system, together with the Nive, led to the emergence of a new alignment of the lower Adour and this capture has been dated to the early Quaternary
21.
Luchon
–
Bagnères-de-Luchon, also referred to as Luchon, is a French commune and spa town in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Luchonnais or Luchonnaises, the commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. To the south the Luchonnais Mountains form a barrier and there is no crossing point into Spain. Access to the commune is by the D125 road from Salles-et-Pratviel in the north passes through the town. The D618A branches off the D125 south of the town and goes east to Saint-Mamet continuing through the Val dAran, the D618 goes west from the town to Saint-Aventin. The D46 goes north-east to Sode, the D125C goes north by north-west to Moustajon. The town is located in a valley at the confluence of the LOne river from the west, the Ruisseau de Bouneu forms much of the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Lys. There are several mountain lakes in the south of the commune which feed the Pique including the Boums de Port. The Gare de Luchon railway station is the SNCF terminal station for the Montréjeau to Gourdan-Polignan, on weekends, a night train connects Bagneres-de-Luchon directly to Paris. A Gondola lift since 1993 has connected Bagneres-de-Luchon to Superbagnères and it replaced the Chemin de fer de Luchon à Superbagnères rack railway which operated from 1912 to 1966. There is also a public aerodrome in the commune just east of the town where the Aeroclub de Luchon is based. The commune is located on a slope that ensures a dry climate, Winter temperatures range from −10 to 10 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures range from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. The northerly wind brings more anticyclonic conditions and south-west or north-west winds are often a harbinger of a disturbance. Sometimes the north and south winds are reversed causing storms on the valley which are strong with hail due to the moist air in the south. The name Bagneres-de-Luchon comes in part from its hydrotherapy and the part from a local god. After some confusion the Académie Julien Sacaze confirmed that Lixon is the correct Roman name for Luchon, the town has existed for more than 2,000 years. The presence of a population has been attested since Neolithic times at least in the Saint-Mamet Cave, the presence of Stone circles also attests to an ancient occupation. One of his soldiers who suffered from a skin disease immersed himself in the waters of Luchon
22.
Perpignan
–
Perpignan is a city, a commune, and the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Perpignan was the capital of the province and County of Roussillon. In 2013 Perpignan had 118,238 inhabitants in the city proper, the metropolitan area had a total population of 305,837 in 2010. Perpignan is located in the center of the Roussillon plain,13 km west of the Mediterranean coast and it is the southern most of the cities of metropolitan France. Perpignan is crossed by the largest river in Roussillon, the Têt, and by one of its tributaries, floods often occur, as in 1892 when the rising of the Têt in Perpignan destroyed 39 houses, leaving more than 60 families homeless. Perpignan experiences a Mediterranean climate similar to much of the Mediterranean coastline of France, roads The motorway A9 connects Perpignan with Barcelona and Montpellier. Trains Perpignan is served by the Gare de Perpignan railway station, which offers connections to Paris, Barcelona, Toulouse, salvador Dalí proclaimed it to be the Center of the Universe after experiencing a vision of cosmogonic ecstasy there in 1963. Airport The nearest airport is Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport, attested forms The name of Perpignan appears in 927 as Perpinianum, followed in 959 by Villa Perpiniano, Pirpinianum in the 11th century, Perpiniani in 1176. Perpenyà, which appears in the 13th century, is the most common form until the 15th century, though settlement in the area goes back to Roman times, the medieval town of Perpignan seems to have been founded around the beginning of the 10th century. Soon Perpignan became the capital of the counts of Roussillon, historically, it was part of the region known as Septimania. In 1172 Count Girard II bequeathed his lands to the Counts of Barcelona, Perpignan acquired the institutions of a partly self-governing commune in 1197. French feudal rights over Roussillon were given up by Louis IX in the Treaty of Corbeil, when James I the Conqueror, king of Aragon and count of Barcelona, founded the Kingdom of Majorca in 1276, Perpignan became the capital of the mainland territories of the new state. The succeeding decades are considered the age in the history of the city. It prospered as a centre of manufacture, leather work, goldsmiths work. King Philippe III of France died there in 1285, as he was returning from his crusade against the Aragonese Crown. In 1344 Peter IV of Aragon annexed the Kingdom of Majorca, a few years later it lost approximately half of its population to the Black Death. Perpignan is one of the houses of Lancaster Girls Grammar School, the festival has a broad mainstream focus with pop-related music as well as traditional acoustic guitar music and alternative music. The festival has attracted international guests like Caetano Veloso, Rumberos Catalans, Pedro Soler, Bernardo Sandoval, Peter Finger, in 2008, Perpignan became Capital of Catalan Culture
23.
Aix-en-Provence
–
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, the population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains, Aix was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda and it was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was plundered by the Franks and Lombards. Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence. Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. The city slopes gently north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aixs position in the south of France gives it a warm climate and it has an average January temperature of 5 °C and a July average of 23 °C. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain, while it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix still occasionally experiences the cooler and gusty conditions it brings. Unlike most of France which has a climate, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate. The Cours Mirabeau is a thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses. It follows the line of the old city wall and divides the town into two sections. The new town extends to the south and west, the old town, with its narrow, along this avenue, which is lined on one side with banks and on the other with cafés, is the Deux Garçons, the most famous brasserie in Aix. Built in 1792, it has been frequented by the likes of Paul Cézanne, Émile Zola, the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. The archbishops palace and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side, the Archbishopric of Aix is now shared with Arles. Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court outside of Paris, the Hôtel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks onto a picturesque square. It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries, at its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1510
24.
Nice
–
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the city limits. Nice is about 13 kilometres from the principality of Monaco, the city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. The area of todays Nice contains Terra Amata, a site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille founded a permanent settlement and called it Nikaia, after Nike, through the ages, the town has changed hands many times. Its strategic location and port significantly contributed to its maritime strength, for centuries it was a dominion of Savoy, and was then part of France between 1792 and 1815, when it was returned to Piedmont-Sardinia until its re-annexation by France in 1860. The citys main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais owes its name to visitors to the resort, for decades now, the picturesque Nicean surroundings have attracted not only those in search of relaxation, but also those seeking inspiration. The clear air and soft light have particularly appealed to some of Western cultures most outstanding painters, such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman. Their work is commemorated in many of the museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of its most visited cities and it also has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the capital city of the County of Nice. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massalia, the ruins of Cemenelum are in Cimiez, now a district of Nice. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens, but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, during the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, during the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence, but it regained its independence even though related to Genoa. The medieval city walls surrounded the Old Town, the landward side was protected by the River Paillon, which was later covered over and is now the tram route towards the Acropolis. The east side of the town was protected by fortifications on Castle Hill, another river flowed into the port on the east side of Castle Hill. Engravings suggest that the area was also defended by walls
25.
Firmin Lambot
–
Firmin Lambot was a Belgian bicycle racer who twice won the Tour de France. Born in the town of Florennes, Lambot worked as a saddler. He worked 12 hours a day, starting at 6am and he bought his first bicycle at 17 and began riding 50 km a day to and from work. His first race was in a village, he won five francs as first prize. He then bought a racing bike and he began racing professionally in 1908. In that year he won the championships of Flanders and Belgium and he rode the Tour de France from 1911 to 1913 but the First World War ended the race for the next five years. When the Tour returned in 1919 it was an affair of war-torn roads, fractured logistics. Lambot was approached at the Buffalo track in Paris, where he had ridden a 24-hour race and he was second for much of the race but took the lead when Eugène Christophe broke a fork. Observers felt Lambot owed his victory more to Christophe’s bad luck than his own ability and his performance brought him a contract from the larger Peugeot team at 300 francs a month. He was engaged to ride just the Tour de France, in the 1920 and 1921 Lambot placed respectably and in 1922 he won for the second time after Hector Heusghem was handed an hour penalty for swapping his bicycle after breaking the frame. He became the first to win the Tour without winning a stage, Lambot was 36 when he won the 1922 Tour, the oldest winner of one of the big cycling tours at that time. He kept the record for over 90 years, until it was broken by 41-year-old Vuelta winner Chris Horner in 2013 and he remains the oldest Tour winner to date. By the end of his career he was paid 1800 francs a month by his team, in retirement, he returned to work as a saddler. Firmin Lambot profile at Cycling Archives Official Tour de France results for Firmin Lambot
26.
Grenoble
–
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère, the city advertises itself as the Capital of the Alps, due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. Grenobles history goes back more than 2,000 years, to a time when it was a small Gallic village, industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble, through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. The city has grown to be one of Europes most important research, technology, the population of the city of Grenoble was 160,215 at the 2013 census, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area was 664,832. The residents of the city are called Grenoblois, the many communes that make up the metropolitan area include three suburbs with populations exceeding 20,000, Saint-Martin-dHères, Échirolles, and Fontaine. For the ecclesiastical history, see Bishopric of Grenoble, the first references to Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at time a little Gallic village founded by the Allobroges tribe near a bridge across the Isère River. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late Roman empire, the Emperor Gratian visited Cularo and, touched by the peoples welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis in 381, Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the diocese of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city, until the French Revolution, they styled themselves the bishops and princes of Grenoble. Arletian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 due to Arabic rule based in Fraxinet, Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. At the time, their possessions were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region, the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later took the title of Dauphins, Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné, despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh, under his rule, the citys bridge was rebuilt, and both a regular hospital and a leper one were built. The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights and that charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541. In 1336 the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the Conseil delphinal and he also established the University of Grenoble in 1339. Aging and heirless, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, the first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a province of France, the only Dauphin who really governed his province was Louis XI, whose reign lasted from 1447 to 1456
27.
Geneva
–
Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic, the municipality has a population of 198,072, and the canton has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France, within Swiss territory, the commuter area named Métropole lémanique contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, Geneva was ranked as the worlds ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world, the city has been referred to as the worlds most compact metropolis and the Peace Capital. In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu-, in the sense of a bending river or estuary. The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis, the name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dʒᵻˈniːvə/ in English, French, Genève, German, Genf, Italian, Ginevra, and Romansh, Genevra. The city in origin shares its name, *genawa estuary, with the Italian port city of Genoa, Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, around this time the House of Savoy came to dominate the city. In the 15th century, a republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, by the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, in 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12 North, 6°09 East, at the end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two chains, the Alps and the Jura
28.
Belfort
–
Belfort is a city in northeastern France in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté région, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg. It is the biggest town and the town of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Belfort is 400 km from Paris,141 km from Strasbourg,290 km from Lyon and 150 km from Zürich, the residents of the city are called ‘’Belfortains’’. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate. The city of Belfort has 50,199 inhabitants, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Belfort forms the largest agglomeration in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region with an urban population of 308,601 inhabitants. Belforts strategic location, in a gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement. The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard. Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia, the towns fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV. Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace, the Siege of Belfort, between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. The region was not annexed by Prussia like the rest of Alsace and was exchanged for territories in the vicinity of Metz. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort, the siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi. Alsatians who sought a new French home in Belfort made a significant contribution to its industry, the town was bombarded by the German army during World War I and occupied by it during World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held off the French First Army outside the town until French Commandos made a night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November 1944, Belfort is a place with heavy industries, mostly dedicated to railway and turbines. Belfort is the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs were produced, as well as being the GE Energy European headquarter and a centre of excellence for the manufacturing of gas turbines. Like many other European cities, motor traffic in Belfort increases continually, Belfort is situated at only 25 mi from the commercial port of Mulhouse-Rhin which allows international transit. Motorway A36 from Beaune to Mulhouse is routed around the south and it forms the main axis linking Belfort to other French and foreign cities. A national road, N19, is main road which joins the south of Belfort with Paris, Nancy
29.
Longwy
–
Longwy is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Longoviciens, Longwy has historically been an industrial center of the Lorraine iron mining district. The town is known for its artistic glazed pottery, after the division of that kingdom, the town became part of Upper Lorraine and ultimately the Duchy of Bar. Longwy was ceded to the Duke Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg in 1368, the Duchy of Bar was then annexed into the Duchy of Lorraine in 1480. From 1648–1660 Longwy was part of the Kingdom of France, returning to the Duchy of Lorraine afterwards and it was made part of France again in 1670, a situation which was finalized in the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678. Vauban fortified the town during the reign of King Louis XIV of France, only one-fifth of Moselle was spared annexation. Bismarck later bitterly regretted his decision when it was discovered that the region of Briey, the French puppeteer François Dominique Séraphin was born in Longwy as well as the Luxembourgish painter Jean-Baptiste Fresez. In 2008, the ville neuve, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the Fortifications of Vauban group
30.
Dunkirk
–
Dunkirk is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies 10 kilometres from the Belgian border, the population of the city at the 2012 census was 90,995 inhabitants. The name of Dunkirk derives from West Flemish dun and kerke, nowadays, Dunkirk is the worlds northernmost Francophone city. About 960AD Count Baldwin III had a wall erected, in order to protect the settlement against Viking raids. The surrounding wetlands were drained and cultivated by the monks of nearby Bergues Abbey, the name Dunkirk was first mentioned in a tithe privilege of 27 May 1067, issued by Count Baldwin V of Flanders. Count Philip I brought further large tracts of marshland under cultivation, laid out first plans to build a Canal from Dunkirk to Bergues and vested the Dunkirkers with market rights. However, in the course of the Western Schism from 1378, English supporters of Pope Urban VI disembarked at Dunkirk, captured the city and they were ejected by King Charles VI of France, but left great devastations in and around the town. Upon the extinction of the Counts of Flanders with the death of Louis II in 1384, Flanders was acquired by the Burgundian, the fortifications were again enlarged, including the construction of a belfry daymark. As Maximilian was the son of Emperor Frederick III, all Flanders was immediately seized by King Louis XI of France. However, the defeated the French troops at the 1479 Battle of Guinegate. The area remained disputed between Spain, the United Netherlands, England and France. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, Dunkirk was briefly in the hands of the Dutch rebels, Spanish forces under Duke Alexander Farnese of Parma re-established Spanish rule in 1583 and it became a base for the notorious Dunkirkers. The Dunkirkers briefly lost their home port when the city was conquered by the French in 1646, in 1658, as a result of the long war between France and Spain, it was captured after a siege by Franco-English forces following the battle of the Dunes. The city along with Fort-Mardyck was awarded to England in the peace the following year as agreed in the Franco-English alliance against Spain and it came under French rule when Charles II of England sold it to France for £320,000 on 17 October 1662. The French government developed the town as a fortified port, the towns existing defences were adapted to create ten bastions. The port was expanded in the 1670s by the construction of a basin that could hold up to thirty warships with a lock system to maintain water levels at low tide. The basin was linked to the sea by a channel dug through coastal sandbanks secured by two jetties and this work was completed by 1678. The jetties were defended a few years later by the construction of five forts, Château dEspérance, Château Vert, Grand Risban, Château Gaillard, an additional fort was built in 1701 called Fort Blanc
31.
General classification in the Tour de France
–
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey, the winner of the first Tour de France wore a green armband, not a yellow jersey. After the second Tour de France, the rules were changed, and the classification was no longer calculated by time. This points system was kept until 1912, after which it changed back into the time classification, at that time, the leader still did not wear a yellow jersey. There is doubt over when the yellow jersey began, Thys declined, saying making himself more visible in yellow would encourage other riders to ride against him. He said, He then made his argument from another direction, several stages later, it was my team manager at Peugeot, Baugé, who urged me to give in. The yellow jersey would be an advertisement for the company and, so a yellow jersey was bought in the first shop we came to. It was just the size, although we had to cut a slightly larger hole for my head to go through. He spoke of the years race, when I won the first stage and was beaten by a tyre by Bossus in the second. On the following stage, the maillot jaune passed to Georget after a crash, the Tour historian Jacques Augendre called Thys a valorous rider. Well-known for his intelligence and said his claim seems free from all suspicion, but, No newspaper mentions a yellow jersey before the war. Being at a loss for witnesses, we cant solve this enigma, the formal history, therefore, is that the first yellow jersey was worn by the Frenchman Eugène Christophe in the stage from Grenoble to Geneva on July 18,1919. You already know that our director decided that the man leading the race should wear a jersey in the colours of LAuto, the battle to wear this jersey is going to be passionate. Christophe disliked wearing it, anyway, and complained that spectators imitated canaries whenever he passed and it was a habit encouraged by his nickname of Cri-Cri which is French babytalk for a bird. Christophe remembered riders and spectators teasing, Ah, the yellow jersey, what are you doing, Madame Cri-Cri, adding, And that lasted the whole course. There was no formal presentation when Christophe wore his first yellow jersey in Grenoble and he was given it the night before and tried it on later in his hotel. In the next Tour de France in 1920, the jersey was initially not awarded. After Desgranges death, his initials were added to the yellow jersey
Giovanni Micheletto (ITA)
Jules Masselis (BEL)
Henri Pelissier (FRA)
Francois Faber (LUX)
Media related to 1913 Tour de France at Wikimedia Commons
