The Tour de France is full of stories. Every day we highlight a historical moment that can be linked to the upcoming stage. Today stage 15: the communist rider who was arrested in the Second World War and won a Tour stage after a solo of 253 kilometers.
Albert Bourlon initially seems to be one of the many riders who will fall into oblivion. The Frenchman participates in the Tour in 1938 and finishes 35th in the standings. His best result in a stage is fifth place.
A year later, World War II breaks out. Bourlon is a communist and is arrested during the war. He tries to escape from the camp where he is imprisoned, but fails three times. His fourth attempt is successful, after which he ends up in Romania.
In the recently liberated country, Bourlon also has time to participate in competitions in September 1944. He wins the Bucharest-Ploiesti-Bucharest race. Shortly afterwards he returns to France, but it takes until 1947 for the Tour de France to be back on the calendar.
On July 11, a tough mountain stage of 253 kilometers from Carcassonne to Luchon is on the program. Bourlon attacks immediately after the start, mainly to collect a few bonuses. But halfway through he has a lead of 29 minutes. And although he is a mediocre climber, he crosses the finish line with a sixteen-minute lead.
Bourlon thus provides the longest winning solo ever in a Tour in which times determine the standings. It earns him beautiful words from Tour boss Jacques Goddet: “Bourlon is one of a dying breed, who never goes to bed before the job is done.” René Pottier holds the record with a solo of 325 kilometers in 1906, but in that Tour the standings are determined by points.