Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The 1949 Tour de
France was the 36th Tour de France, taking place from 30 June to 24 July
1949. It consisted of 21 stages over 4808 km, ridden at an average speed
of 32.121 km/h. The Italian team had internal problems, because Gino
Bartali and Fausto Coppi could both be the team leader. During the
selection procedure, Coppi almost refused to start the race, but he was
convinced to start. During the race, Coppi almost pulled out, because he
felt he did not have full support from the team captain. In the Alps,
Coppi recovered. The race was won by Coppi, with second place taken by
teammate Bartali, the winner of the previous year. Coppi also won the
mountains classification, while his Italian team won the team
classification.
