The Tour de France began in 1903, and the first edition ever was won by Frenchman Maurice Garin. In the modern era, one can only imagine the kind of hardships those early Tour riders must have faced.
Stages were well over fifteen hours long and crossed unpaved mountain passes, unsupported. It draws comparisons with the golden age of Arctic exploration. What hardships those early heroes must have endured on their way to Tour glory.
