Stages where different categories started separately
Aparte starts
In the years when there were different categories of cyclists, there were stages with separate starts for each category. This is somewhat similar to a team time trial, except that the starting groups were much larger, and competitors started together.
Sometimes the stages with separate starts were determined before the Tour began, and sometimes this was decided during the Tour, for example, if the previous stage had been ridden too slowly or uneventfully. Below is an overview of stages with separate starts.
Separate starts in 1927 and 1928 are not included in this list, as they were already considered pseudo-team time trials.
1903: stage 3
The riders who only participated in this stage, or who had already been eliminated earlier in the Tour, started an hour after the riders still competing for the general classification. Ultimately, Brange finished first, but Aucouturier, who started an hour later, took less time. Cabanna and Valpic, who had registered separately, started separately, as did Gauban, Aucouturier, Pagie, Wattelier, Dupre, Mercier, Pernette, L. Bartelmann, Durandeau, Trippier, Zimmermann, and Quetier, who had already dropped out.
1903: stage 4
The riders who only participated in this stage, or had already been eliminated earlier in the Tour, started an hour after the riders still competing for the general classification. Samson ultimately finished first, but Laeser, who started an hour later, took less time. Armbruster, Boisseau, Armante, Fossier, Fabre, Biere, Dartigue, Dortignacq, Dupont, Desbordes, Chaudron, Lorgeou, Goyon, Florane, and Pujol, who had registered separately, and Gauban, Aucouturier, Pagie, Emile, and Durandeau, who had dropped out earlier, started separately.
1903: stage 5
The riders who only participated in this stage, or who had already been eliminated earlier in the Tour, started an hour after the riders still in contention for the general classification. This time, this had no impact on the stage victory. Ambroise Garin, Magdelin, Roques, and Lesur, who had only registered for this stage, and Geay, Durandeau, and Charrier, who had previously dropped out, started separately.
1904: stage 4
The amateurs who rode along started half an hour after the other riders.
1905: stage 7
The amateurs who rode along started an hour and a half before the other riders.
1913: stage 5
In the fourth stage, isolated riders apparently took advantage of circumstances that were supposedly reserved for grouped riders, and as punishment, they had to start fifteen minutes after the grouped riders. Buysse finished first, but because two isolated riders had joined his group, he didn't win.
1921: stage 13
The organizers felt the top riders hadn't put up enough of a fight in the 12th stage, so they imposed a "penalty": the second-tier riders started two hours before the first-tier riders. This didn't do much for the fighting spirit, as all the first-tier riders finished in the same group. It did help the second-tier riders, as four riders completed the course faster than the top-tier group, and Sellier, as a second-tier rider, won the stage.
1929: stage 12
Because the eleventh stage was ridden too slowly, the Touristes-Routiers started separately in the twelfth stage. It was decided that the A riders would start ten minutes before the Touristes-Routiers. The fastest Touristes-Routiers overtook stragglers of the A riders, but the fastest A riders extended their lead.
1929: stage 19
Because the eighteenth stage had been ridden too slowly, the Touristes-Routiers started separately again in the nineteenth stage. The Touristes-Routiers set off first, with the A riders following ten minutes later. The A riders overtook the Touristes-Routiers, except for Laloup and Faure. They finished first, but were not the winners.
1929: stage 20
Because the nineteenth stage had been ridden too slowly compared to the same stage in 1928, the twentieth stage had a separate start. This time, the riders were divided into two groups: the first thirteen A-riders (by race number) and the first eighteen Touristes-Routiers (by race number) formed the first group, and the remaining thirteen A-riders and seventeen Touristes-Routiers formed the second group. A draw took place before the start, and the first-mentioned group set off first, followed ten minutes later by the second group. The leaders of the two groups met up.
1930: stage 7
Because the sixth stage was ridden at less than 30 km/h, there was a separate start for the seventh stage. The A-riders left ten minutes before the Touristes-Routiers, and the Touristes-Routiers lost even more time in this stage.
1930: stage 19
Because the eighteenth stage was ridden at less than 30 km/h, there was a separate start for the nineteenth stage. The A-riders left ten minutes before the Touristes-Routiers, and the Touristes-Routiers lost even more time in this stage.
1931: stage 2
The Touristes-Routiers set off ten minutes after the A-riders. They rode faster, and ultimately Bulla, a Touriste-Routier, won the stage and took the lead in the general classification.
1931: stage 3
The Touristes-Routiers left ten minutes after the A riders. The A riders extended their lead.
1931: stage 4
The Touristes-Routiers left ten minutes before the A-riders. Not all of the Touristes-Routiers were caught, and some were even faster than the A-riders, and Godinat thus won the stage.
1931: stage 6
The jury had decided that the A riders would start 20 minutes after the Touristes-Routiers. Halfway through the stage, the A riders had already overtaken the Touristes-Routiers, except for two riders, Ussat and Bernard. Towards the end, Ussat was also overtaken; Bernard stayed almost four minutes ahead of the large group, but didn't win the stage.
1931: stage 7
In the seventh stage, the starting difference was again reduced to 15 minutes. The Touristes-Routiers started first, and the A-riders last. The Touristes-Routiers were the fastest, and Loncke won the stage.
1931: stage 12
The Touristes-Routiers left twenty minutes before the A-riders. They were also faster, and so Bulla won another stage.
