Back in the dawn of cycling riders were moved to overcome the challenge of distance. Speed was perhaps secondary. Already in 1884-1886 Thomas Stevens made the first bicycle circumnavigation of the globe. It could not have been easy on the “penny-farthing” machine he used. Then by 1891 safety bicycles were in the fore and “Le Petit Journal” launched the 1200 km Paris-Brest-Paris race. Later editions were under the auspices of the “Le Velo” publication. Henri Desgrange of the competing “l’Auto-Velo” (soon after a court case to be simply “L’Auto”) newspaper decided a race around all of France would boost circulation and the 1903 Tour de France was born.
The 2,428 km long race, running from July 1-19, was a mere six stages. Averaging around 400 kms daily, this Tour was nothing like today’s 21 stage affair. One can see how the idea would attract modern day ultracyclists and a recent video, “The 1903 Project,” is Jack Thompson’s tribute to those riders of yesteryear.
Australian ultracyclist and Girona resident Jack Thompson is no stranger to the PEZ pages. We reviewed his 2021 video, “The Amazing Chase,” HERE. That was his story of riding the 2021 Tour de France route in half the time the pros used. Doing two stages and averaging around 350 km daily then, Thompson clearly is physically and mentally capable of a mere six day reriding of that 1903 route.
In 2022 our own Ed Hood interviewed Thompson about his life as an ultracyclist as he prepared for his big challenge that year. His plan was to do 1,000,000 meters of climbing to raise money for mental health charities. He was successful, completing one everesting ride every week in the calendar year. Read Ed’s interview HERE.
Thompson’s plan was to match the route of the original Tour as closely as he could. This posed several challenges. 122 years ago the riders used primary roads in France as that was most of what was available. Although they are now paved rather than featuring the very poor surfaces from back then, those same roads are heavily-travelled by motor vehicles today.
Rather than attempting the ride on a period bicycle, he used a Specialized Roubaix carbon endurance bike but decided to have it set up with only two gears. In 1903 riders had two cogs on the rear axle and would flip their tire around for an easier or harder gear. Thompson’s modern version of this was using a 48/35 front chainring with single 16 tooth cog on the rear wheel. The video states that he used a 17t one but shifting issues meant a 16t was used ultimately. The 1903 route did not feature any massive climbs, happily.
Naturally, a truly exact reproduction of the 1903 Tour would be impossible today but credit to Thompson for his efforts. Modern kit certainly helps and so does our knowledge of proper fuelling on a ride. The originals took extensive rest days between the stages, but Our Man Jack did the nearly 2,500 kms in six 24 hour days.
Some stages were obviously shorter than the 400 km average. The first one, a 467 km jaunt from Paris to Lyon, already sounds pretty looney. Thompson’s goal was to average 25 km/h for the entire route. This meant he had to manage stops efficiently or the day’s riding would just get longer and longer. The final stage, from Nantes to Paris, was 471 kms. Amazingly, the Tour de France used a stage in the races from 1919 to 1924 that was 482 kms in length! In comparison, the longest stage of the 2025 Tour was 209 kms.
“The 1903 Project” might have been somewhat easier that many of Thompson’s other rides. The story, unfolded in less than 20 minutes, is an enjoyable watch. After that ride in June, he went to India to ride the three highest motorable roads in the world in a single push. Thompson then participated in the inaugural World Everesting Championship held on Mt. Etna in September, placing second. Chapeau!
“The 1903 Project” featuring Jack Thompson
Released November 23, 2025, 18:23 long
Link to the video: www.youtube.com
Check out Jack’s own website HERE.
The post PEZ at the Movies: The 1903 Project appeared first on PezCycling News.
