Tour de France 1953

Director: Wiebe Mullens | Production Country: The Netherlands | Production Year: 1953 | Production Company: Haghefilm | FLM67839 | Film from the collection of EYE (Amsterdam) - www.eyefilm.nl/
In response to the start of the Tour de France in Utrecht, EYE has digitized the film Tour de France from 1953. This film was thought to be lost and gives us a unique view of the cycling race from a Dutch perspective. To produce the film ‘Tour de France’ (1953) the film production company Haghe followed the Tour de France for three weeks, with the legendary Dutch participants Wim van Est, Gerrit Voorting, Jan Nolten and Wout Wagtmans. It is considered the first modern sports documentary in Dutch history.
Interested in licensing? For more information about this film and other items from our collection please contact [e-mail]
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[@frankspeakmore7104]

I suppose I will never understand how tough and hard these cyclists were. Racing for hours on those bikes going uphill on unmade roads! This captures everything in a wonderful era in cycling, grit, determination, passion and respectful fans. Thank you for all the effort that must have gone into producing this, and black and white is the only format to see it in...

[@johnr8820]

Total badasses

[@Mrbfgray]

Tough to be sure but also national 'heroes' unlike cycling in the US. I was immersed in it as a child (was it Greg Lemond??...Eddy Merx was still big name), did a little tiny scale amateur racing, mid to late 1970's, it was a little clique of us in high school but I was almost the only one officially competing a few times. Lived on a bike into college.

[@frenchyroastify]

...except for the yellow jersey part.

[@trobnova]

1953, a pivotal year, still with the old rule of a rider could accept either a tire, or a naked rimmed wheel, thus determining the old jersey style of skinny back pockets to carry tubulars and the large front pockets for food, stimulants and the required comb for end of stage sprucing up for the cameras. Also the first year of the green Jersey. The shots of Coppi as a spectator was stunning since he was the defending tour champ from the year before, but didn't ride in 1953, (rumors that he didn't want to ride on an Italian National team with his rival Bartoli ). This film is a treasure.

[@Cyclingmasterseller]

Great points, you are quite observant regarding the Green jersey. Thank you for point that out, I'm 63 now and just learned that.

[@mildandbitter]

Yvette Horner (10.29) champion accordion player, who in later years performed in concert with Boy George!

[@ChickenKhorma]

2020-03-19, Tignes, France. Day 3 of lock down due to Corona Virus. I don't own a bicycle, I don't speak a word of dutch. Yet here I am.

[@savievankint]

Get a bike! You'll love every second riding it.

[@ChickenKhorma]

@@savievankint Cycling is currently illegal in France. Will consider it when this has calmed down though.

[@luisalejandroalfonsomorale340]

@@savievankint hgicjj88jğgjucghvğihiuiguhijhhhivjhjggijhghjjğujijvihujijcgigiihijih

[@AM-cs9ld]

Day 1 lockdown 😷🍷 Feet up enjoying my first T De France. 1984.🚵‍♀️ Great memories.Best wishes to all in lockdown mode. 👍🏻😎

[@keirfarnum6811]

Anon Ymous Dutch sounds like German spoken with a French accent. It’s interesting!

[@gianniintesta]

The absolute beauty of the past....

[@pascalxavier3367]

And it has a sentimental value for me: I was born the next day that Louison Bobet won.

[@jonraha588]

Quelle époque, une étape de plus de 300km c'est titanesque, des vrais sportifs et des spectateurs formidables, en cette année là, je n'ai que 2 ans, grand merci pour le film

[@olsurferguy1]

These guys were so cool.

[@Siropdecapsuni-]

i m 17 years old , that actually other time that i never see, my grand father was there, that was so nice, i m glad that i saw that. thx for upload this .

[@nopoza11]

Gracias al pueblo francés por el Tour de Francia, una carrera centenaria que ha unido no solo a Francia sino a muchos países en el mundo porque ha permitido que muchos corredores de otras nacionalidades puedan participar en este inportante evento. Como un cuidadano colombiano del común expreso mi gratitud al diario L`Equipe y toda la logística y organización de la competencia, mando un abrazo de amor a toda Francia. Merci aux Français pour le Tour de France, une course centenaire qui a réuni non seulement la France mais de nombreux pays dans le monde car elle a permis à de nombreux coureurs d'autres nationalités de participer à cet événement important. En tant que citoyen colombien, j'exprime ma gratitude au journal L`Equipe et à toute la logistique et l'organisation du concours, j'envoie un câlin d'amour à toute la France.

[@chrisman4568]

This is amazing. Footage is unbelievable quality. Typically dry Dutch commentary as well.

[@JoaoPaulo-lr6wh]

8:08 The spare tyres, that was style :)

[@geriesandmann4485]

Wat een fantastisch mooie beelden en zo anders dan tegenwoordig, waar alles om geld en reclame draait. Ook de tussenshots van het publiek en de omgeving passen heel mooi in het geheel. Meesterwerk!

[@SuperCbode]

Schon ein Wahnsinn, was die damals geleistet haben! Das ist Heute nahezu unvorstellbar, mit dem Material und unter den Bedingungen ... Etappen über 300 KM. Hammer! Schöne Doku :)

[@madquiver2]

what amazes me is that, while much has certainly changed, so much is still exactly the same! chapeau to all the racers old and new.

[@danjo1967]

what parts are the same? the racing back then is nothing like it modern day racing.

[@nmal6371]

Louison Bobet sur un vélo Stella, fabriqué à Nantes. Super bonhomme, ancien résistant. Tout comme Gino Bartali. Total respect.

[@Surfmus]

This is a gem. I wish I had a bike that old and one that actually was ridden there.

[@jeroenbrons435]

Man, man, man.... wat een pareltje. Wat een heerlijke en geniale documentaire. En wat is Nederlands toch een prachtig en deftig taaltje. ❤❤❤

[@alexandrebrandt5678]

Beautifull images and great editing. I like the style much better than today's style.

[@heidivanbiervliet641]

Geweldig

[@christopherjamesfisher5519]

Still time trial over 10 & 25 miles on a 1959 Carlton Catalina bike, Do this in memory of my late dad, a keen 'Old school fixed gear cyclist'. Every time I ride, I have a good day!! ⌚😊🙌👍👍

[@JacobafJelling]

The quality is as good as today’s tv or better, But without colors

[@carlosp.1161]

I think they kinda remastered it

[@JacobafJelling]

Carlos P. They used glass plates.

[@gammondog]

I've noticed this at my aunt's fiftieth wedding anniversary twenty years ago. They had two sets of wedding pictures. One shot in color. The other in monochrome (black&white). The monochrome looked like they were shot a year earlier. The color pictures were faded and the colors had changed.

[@MrHansBattle]

It's hard to not look back at these times and feel a true sense of nostalgia. Is the world that we live in today a better place?

[@hollohullu9448]

yes

[@BertGraef]

this was just 8 years after WW2. Think.

[@theenglishman9596]

No times are much worse today. It is true to say the richer people are the more miserable they will be, just look at how happy and friendlier people were in the good old days.

[@jrstf]

@@theenglishman9596 - But who would be willing to give up their iPhone just to get friendlier people? Nobody.

[@stevenspart2588]

No

[@gheorghefalcaru]

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!

[@mildandbitter]

Great stuff, I didn't know such a good quality full film existed from this period so chapeau to Eye Filmmuseum.

[@tabstabs1204]

Louison Bobet, so cool, winning the Tour and combing his hair at 1:16:45 !!! King of cool (in cycling world)

[@nickdigrispino2409]

I love the photographers who had to wield those huge Speedgrafic cameras while riding on the back of the motorcycle.

[@siypic]

lot of Rolliflex there as well

[@noelkearney5231]

@@siypic Which means upside down images as well.

[@raduovidiu377]

Superb, when sport was for fame, not for money.

[@picardiebelleregion9508]

C'est un magnifique documentaire sur le tour ... et sur la (vraie) France disparue 😢

[@Mike.A.]

Considering this was well over a half century ago, I was actually more surprised by the similarities than the differences

[@offefone1669]

Well cycling and especially the racing aspect of it hasn't really changed all that much and a lot of the things that make tour de france, well, tour de france, are old traditions

[@livininchains4788]

Was the same I thought

[@johnmcmahon5225]

Back in those days doping wasn't prohibited, and was an integral part of the sport. Fausto Coppi, who didn't ride in this Tour but is shown taking photos at 1:05:50, said "those who claim [that cyclists do not take amphetamine], it's not worth talking to them about cycling".

[@chrisbatson3402]

No EPO.

[@normadicn5700]

@@johnmcmahon5225 but Cocaine and Amphetamines

[@tabstabs1204]

AMAZING...At 1:15:55, they show Maurice Garin first winner of the Tour in 1903 !!

[@-Stop-it]

Wait, which one? He would be 70 ish?

[@abdul-kabiralegbe5660]

​@@-Stop-it The very old man on the bike.

[@jonraha588]

En visionnant ce film je me projette à plus de 60 ans en arrière, c était la belle époque, les gens disciplinés, et les coureurs avaient des mollets d acier.

[@AirCrash1]

Amazing to see how far chemistry has come.

[@ForeverOld_]

Better quality than the tour retros from Jan at the 90ies 😂

[@kurtismaximus8068]

This Soundtrack is Glorious

[@frankpolo2088]

Before big Banks and commercialism entered cycling! Beautiful!

[@simonverkerk8392]

Look how long these stages are, incredible!

[@adamkulchyski]

It is shocking to see all the devastation just being a few years past the war ending. So much residual tragedy. Amazing the size of the caravans given the size of the cars and motorcycles back then. And the clothing, OH how so much has changed. Not just for the riders, but for the fans. It is a total gong show now for fans of the tour. LOL. This was great to watch. And yes, I don't speak a lick of Dutch but found myself watching the whole thing. :)

[@youcantgain100ksubscribers5]

if the Earth can remember and see anything,i guess it will cry everyday

[@Ipo024]

Why?

[@blessedflorendo4953]

Ay ang ganda black and white. Flashback sa mga unang cyclists. Parang napaka peaceful noon.

[@Eitner100]

When those sportsmen had to work harder than any nowadays divas will ever do. And most of them never made any real money. It was the love for the sport that did it for them.

[@captainkickstand]

The "unique view from the Dutch perspective" is great but I sure wish there were subtitles! Thank you so much for digitizing this film and putting it on KZbin.

[@MartinStrnad]

Incredible endurance, amazing race.... fantastic HD quality1

[@WildPhotoShooter]

I'd take a guess the total distance would be about 1000km further than todays tour . Just checked, it was 4,476km. 2019 tour de France was 3,365km. 1969 tour de France 4,117km . They're getting shorter.

[@bretthousman8317]

When it showed the riders in the morning pre-race all rocking 3 piece suites LOL. God I'm happy I didn't live in an era where you were expected to wear that every day.

[@AdrianoBernese]

Grande Gino Bartali !

[@analogman9697]

This was awesome! I'd never seen a "tire bra" before. It looks really uncomfortable. Yes, I rode (and rued) sew-ups back in the 80's. Wait a pain they were. Thanks for posting!

[@woody1955]

Prachtige kraakheldere beelden. Bedankt voor het opladen.

[@judysoulliere4269]

Alpine Mortgage Company

[@fanfanlatulipe7457]

Je suivais le Tour de France depuis mon adolescence. Bartali , koblet fosto Copi ,et les années plus tard. Jacques Anctil. Qui avait remporté. Plusieurs fois le tour De France ,.quel bon souvenir merci. Dommage je ne comprends , leur langue.

[@klausjensen9150]

one of the best black and white race films from the 53 era i have seen so far . Awesome

[@PeterDiAntoni]

This is so special!! Thank you so much for making this available for viewing!!!!

[@hagakuru]

Amazing all of them do it with a tire tied around their bodies. They should of incorporated that pattern resemblance into the Yellow Jersey.

[@leonilodumana4650]

I was born in 1956 and so the Tour de France is being organised and this is 1953 tour

[@Capital194]

These guys must have been making huge watts using those gears on climbs. Very strong riders.

[@germcevoy]

Stunning footage.

[@danielangelodelima4724]

Muito bonito de se ver. Era um tempo onde o ciclista não tinha nada de estrelismo e havia amor ao ciclismo... Homens valentes e românticos!

[@anarmo02487]

Hermoso documento histórico. Muchas gracias por compartir. No se necesita hablar holandés para entender, las imágenes hablan por sí solas. Para destacar la educación del público en las carreteras. Muy diferente a los rufianes de hoy en día.

[@WildPhotoShooter]

What superb picture quality.

[@garycowie8648]

Back in the day when roadside spectators were better behaved

[@brianmcg321]

Except for that time when that guy punched Eddy Merckx. Or when they used to throw nails in the road once their favorite already passed.

[@garycowie8648]

brianmcg321 Yeah I suppose there's always been badly behaved supporters but I think I'd rather get punched in the guts than a cup of pish flung over me absolutely disgusting

[@navylaks2]

Or perhaps they just didn't show it on captured film ;)

[@Requiredfields2]

@@brianmcg321 The Merckx incident happened in 1975, 22 years after this. Merckx was 8 years old in 1953.

[@brianmcg321]

Requiredfields2 The OP was implying that fans "back in the day" were better than today. I used two examples, one with Eddy, which occurred later than this, and the nails example happened for years in the early days of the TDF. Fans were just as crazy back then as they are now.

[@ADamiani007]

Thank you for uploading this time-capsule of a film. Simply Beautiful in so many ways: the splendor of the Tour... the respectful fans (unlike the circus of today)... and the Podium Beauties... even though they had no podium. The organizers of today's Tour de France should watch this film and try to recapture the traditional elements that made it such a classy sporting event back then.

[@pingjiang1537]

Fantastic fantastic fantastic footage.....thanks so much.

[@gundalaputrapetir6235]

Meriah sekali jaman dulu tour d' france yaa... Salam fans GIANT BICYCLE from Indonesia 👍🙏

[@chinaiwei]

Wow! Impressive. Thanks for sharing. Gem. One thing never change is riding spirit and the welcoming fans and locals.

[@f1mikeyboy]

Riding with spare tyres over their shoulders. A lot more grunt, than cadence back in the day.

[@booklover3959]

The great men of old! They were tough, inscrutable, and poetic.

[@PleasantEyes]

Wow...🇵🇭

[@UpHillEdd]

Hello, THANK YOU for this! Document of a better Time!

[@charliedillon1400]

The Dutch fans were so dignified back then.

[@windhoek-land8339]

"...But it pales in comparisson to the crowning achievement of his career..." man I was so waiting for "Mildred Pierce" here.

[@juditheneric8811]

Om oud met een moderne kreet te koppelen, EPIC! thxx voor deze mooie docu..

[@henryecheverria4005]

Gracias,yo tenia tres años...

[@startsontime]

Incredibly good editing!

[@HR-ev3dt]

toller Film !

[@fabiopunk1661]

Fascinating. A huge thanks to the EYE Filmmuseum of Amsterdam

[@RogueCylon]

Great just for the post war scenery. But they had some hard stages there.

[@valentinkozachok6091]

Во люди ехали по 300 км этап на стали по таким дорогам с пару звезд.Просто герои!

[@dmltrylakhov9053]

Да уж, по брусчатке так вваливать!!! Хотя Сталь все-таки хоть как-то амортизирует.

[@marclayne9261]

A thing of beauty is a joy forever.....John Keats.....

[@w.barten]

Geweldige Docu, bedankt voor het uploaden !

[@luiscarlosmoreno6524]

Es muy interesante el documental,pero valdría la pena que hubiera una presentación en español o al menos con subtítulos en nuestro idioma. Lo guardaré y compartiré con mis amigos de cicla

[@Cyclingmasterseller]

Wow, what a crowd at the end -- the stadium is the way to go! And wow, the crowd was well-disciplined and gracious, as though the riders are gods. This is why I love TDF, long live cycling! In those days they doped with wine and other goodies; I just wonder how many Lance Armstrongs there were back then who would have also lost their winner-designation status as a TDF victor? I still enjoyed watching Lance, hence, to see what the human body could really do -- no different than putting a turbo on a race car in my opinion; after all, they all did it, but Lance got dinged because he was too successful. What a drag.

[@flambo1234HD]

Cyclingmasterseller completely agree, everyone who caught caught didn’t get their names taken off the winning list except Lance.

[@jjamo5]

Amazing footage thatnks very much

[@pezaomtb7540]

Top de mais 👏👏👏👏👏💯

[@nicholasivanderstoop4282]

Absolutely brilliant, well done, I lived in Holland at that time , Ramp jaar, Korean War. Wagtmans van EST The Voorting brothers. Brilliant great quality

[@Booblickoff]

The race took place in 1953. You could not have lived back then. Humans don't live that long.

[@KrMees]

@@Booblickoff humans dont live past 67?

[@HumbleWolves]

@@KrMees He's Russian, they don't get that far.

[@user-iw6ws9bv9i]

貴重な映像をありがとう

[@jazzrock3692]

RESPECT!!!

[@manueljimenez3570]

impresionante lo bien que esta filmado,realizado, etc,bravoooooooo.

[@geeknee551]

the semi formal dinner at the long table with villagers joining with their gaze through an open window...priceless.

[@yeahbuddy4712]

These guys were hard as nails

[@danielterry382]

In 1953 there where no Multi million dollar Prevost tour motor coaches for the teams to relax in. The contestants where not riding Bikes with an average value of $17,000 , not including trial Bikes. The GC riders did not have Multi million dollar contracts, and the tour did not enjoy 3 weeks plus of TV coverage 4-5 hours a day IN Color.

[@jonathanchester5916]

Amazing footage. Liked the sponsored feed zone, the fact that the riders are spinning (grinding is so 80's) and the hair! Look like the kind of guys I would love to race with. Thanks for sharing.

[@orlandogonzalez5467]

Qué diferencia como se comportaba el público era más agradable

[@talibe801]

I was born ten years later...😁cycljng the greatest sport.

[@talibe801]

@Bartosz Sz. i dont think so.

[@erhardstenger]

Ein Wunderschönes Video .Prädikat ! Sehr Wertvoll

[@youcantgain100ksubscribers5]

its a true magical world

[@anggungunara]

Good natured commentary

[@fransvanberkel2227]

Geweldig ,wat leuk en goede kwaliteit !!

[@marcelodeandrade3519]

Védeo incrível de homens incríveis que escreveram a história desse esporte... embora não entendi nada q o narrador falou,,, mas foi show

[@alexanderklimes1342]

Fantastický dokument! Bravo!

[@ericdu6499]

Quelle discipline des spectateurs tout le monde reste bien sagement sur le bord de la route.Un autre monde

[@poly_hexamethyl]

13:30 It's interesting that bicycles haven't changed all that much (well, at least until the popularity of carbon fiber), but the cars looked positively archaic!

[@kevinpeterman7127]

You're kidding, right?

[@gibson4ever28]

Wonderful film even though I did not understand everything!

[@pittualang7067]

Great Video

[@johns3106]

Love the first few minutes...L'Eroica of 1953!