Logistical Nightmares and Triumphs

Organizing the Tour required innovation at every level. Desgrange established a network of checkpoint controllers—local officials who would stamp riders' cards to prove they had followed the correct route. These controllers, often mayors or police officers, took their duties seriously, sometimes too seriously. Stories abound of controllers refusing to stamp cards because riders arrived minutes outside the expected window, or demanding bribes for their services.

The Control Points

Control points served multiple purposes. They prevented shortcuts, provided rudimentary timing checks, and offered riders a chance to replenish supplies. Local businesses competed to host control points, recognizing the commercial opportunity. Cafés stayed open all night, restaurants prepared special meals, and hotels offered discounted rates to exhausted riders.

The control system also created the Tour's first controversies. Riders accused rivals of taking trains or accepting lifts in cars. Controllers were suspected of favoritism, stamping friends' cards without verification. Desgrange responded with increasingly strict regulations, including the requirement that riders sign their names at each control—difficult when hands were numb from hours of gripping handlebars.