1922 Tour de France

Lore & Background

The early 1920s Tour de France was a different animal from the spectacle we know today. There were no team time trials, no sophisticated aerodynamic kits, no radio communication between riders and directors. Riders competed in woolen jerseys and leather-soled shoes, supported by small groups of mechanics and a handful of teammates. The race was a test of pure grit: who could hold a position at the front of the peloton for hours, who could dig deep on a 20-kilometer climb in 35-degree heat, and who could keep going when the roads turned to dust and the body screamed for rest.

Belgian cycling in this period was in a golden age. The compact, hilly geography of Flanders and the Ardennes produced riders with exceptional climbing ability and a fearless, aggressive riding style. Lucien Buysse embodied this tradition. His 1921 victory had been a statement; his 1922 defense was a coronation. In an era when the Tour was still establishing its global prestige, a rider winning it twice in a row was a headline that reverberated through European cycling press for months.

The post-war context cannot be overstated. Four years without the Tour had left a generation of riders and fans hungry. The 1919, 1920, and 1921 editions were rebuilding the race's identity, and by 1922 the Tour had settled into a rhythm of roughly three weeks, a mix of flat stages through the French countryside and decisive mountain passages through the Alps and Pyrenees. The race was less about team tactics and more about the individual's war against the road, the weather, and their own body.

In Their Own Story

The sun hung low and white over a switchback in the Jura, turning the dust kicked up by the peloton into a golden haze. Buysse sat at the front, his shoulders rising and falling in a slow, metronomic rhythm, the thin spokes of his wheel blurring against the grey tarmac. Behind him, the rest of the field stretched out like a long, ragged tail, some riders dozing in the slipstream, others already thinking about the climb ahead. A mechanic on the roadside raised a water bottle on a stick; Buysse didn't slow. He didn't need to. He had been in this position since the first week, and the road, no matter how long, was no longer a stranger. Somewhere far below, in the valley, a small crowd of farmers had gathered on the verge, their faces upturned, watching the thin line of riders disappear over the crest. They would tell their children about this summer for years. Buysse, for his part, simply kept his eyes on the next bend, the next kilometer, the next breath. The Tour was not yet over. It was never yet over.

Reader's Guide

The 1922 Tour de France was unforgettable for one reason above all: the defending champion showed up, and he was not to be stopped. Lucien Buysse, fresh off his 1921 victory, entered the race as the rider to beat, and in the individualistic, low-support world of early-1920s cycling, that meant every rider in the peloton knew exactly who they were chasing.

The race unfolded over roughly three weeks, threading through the flat, wind-scoured plains of northern France before turning south and east into the mountains. The early stages were a war of positioning: riders jockeying for the front of the peloton, conserving energy, watching each other's faces for the first sign of weakness. Buysse rode with a calm, almost lazy efficiency, never forcing the pace but never allowing the gap to open. The Belgian riders around him formed a loose, informal support group, a hallmark of the era's less structured team dynamics.

The mountains were where the Tour was truly decided. On the long, grinding ascents through the Alps and Pyrenees, the peloton stretched into a thin, gasping line. Buysse's climbing was not the most explosive, but it was the most relentless — a steady, punishing cadence that left his rivals reaching for reserves they did not have. Stage by stage, the gaps in the general classification hardened into something almost permanent.

By the final week, the race was effectively over, though the riders still had to cover every kilometer to the finish. The drama of 1922 was not a last-day collapse or a controversial photo finish; it was the quiet, inevitable accumulation of a rider who simply refused to be caught. Buysse crossed the line as champion for the second year running, and the cycling world took note: the Tour de France had a king, and he was Belgian.

Did You Know?

• Lucien Buysse's back-to-back victories in 1921 and 1922 made him one of the very first riders in Tour de France history to win the race in consecutive years, a feat that would remain uncommon for decades.
• Because the Tour was suspended for four years during World War I (1915–1918), the 1922 edition was only the 16th running of the race, despite the event having started in 1903.
• Early-1920s Tour de France racing featured far fewer riders and far less team support than the modern event; riders competed in small, loosely organized groups rather than the structured teams of today.
• The post-war Tours of 1919–1922 were crucial in re-establishing the race's identity and prestige after the long wartime silence, laying the groundwork for the Tour's eventual global dominance.