It is the birth of a champion, the very beginning of an epic like the Tour de France has so often fomented. The day Louison Bobet made a name for himself. The day, when, at the age of 23, he made a date for history and his fabulous hat-trick that would follow in the Grande Boucle 1953, 1954, 1955.
It was hot, finally, on July 13, 1948. The young Louison, astonishing yellow jersey in which the French team did not really believe, to such an extent that some of his riders refused to work for him, was injured. A boils crisis handicaps the Breton, who passed professional the previous year. The day before, he almost gave up, the infection in his left foot being too painful. But on the road from San Remo to Cannes, he shows his strength of character by escaping with his teammate Apo Lazaridès. The two men isolated themselves in the Col de Turini, Bobet crossing it in the lead and pocketing a minute of bonuses. Jean Robic, winner of the first post-war Tour in 1947 is released, like Gino Bartali, the Italian favorite of this edition.
Colossal feat
Bobet and Lazaridès are caught by a few men on the descent but this stage is theirs. The second launches the first for a victorious sprint in Cannes, yellow jersey on the back. Considering his physical state, the feat is colossal. The young rider won't win the Tour that year though. Victim of a mechanical incident, he lost more than 18 minutes the next day while waiting for a replacement bike. He finished fourth in the event in Paris, Gino Bartali winning his second Tour de France ten years after the first, but he has revealed himself to the general public of which he will soon become an idol. A champion was born on the slopes of the Col de Turini.