1923 Tour de France

The 1923 Tour de France was the 17th edition, run from 24 June to 22 July over fifteen stages and 5,386 km at 24.233 km/h. Henri Pélissier won by a convincing half-hour over the Italian Ottavio Bottecchia; of 139 starters, 48 finished. It was the first French victory since 1911 after years of Belgian domination. The Pélissier brothers had stayed away in 1921 and 1922 after their feud with Henri Desgrange, who had written that Pélissier 'doesn't know how to suffer' and would never win the Tour, yet by 1923 Pélissier had won every major race except the Tour and the organiser wanted him back to revive French interest.