Yes, only 1 in 11 Touristes finished... and also only around 1 in 4 of the Pro racers finished.
In 1928 there were 162 Professional racers entered and only 41 finished. The 22 stages covered 5377 kilometers, Nicholas Frantz won the tour at 192:48.58 and Andre Leducq came in 2nd place and logged a time of over 50 minutes past the winner.
BUT, in 1926 it had been even worse. There were only 17 stages and 5795 kilometers covered. Average daily distance: 340 km (208 miles) making for an overall AVERAGE days ride time of over 14 hours... and that was for the winner of the tour!
It would really suck if you had multiple punctured tires to change (by yourself) on a blazing hot day, using your frame pump and the spare tires which you had to carry all day, slung over your shoulders.
Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Chuch Schmidt wrote:
How about fininshing the stage at night in a strange town, finding food, finding lodging, and preparing your bike for the next day's stage, and then trying to get some sleep in a room without air conditioning in July? "Convicts of the Road," indeed!
In 1928 there were 121 "touristes" entered in the Tour de France, but after 22 stages, only 11 finished.
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Ray Green wrote:
Stories about T-R's used to be featured from time to time in Sporting Cyclist in the fifties. One thing has stuck in my mind - that it was not unusual for a tourist-routiere to finish a super long stage after the next stage had already started! How much fun must that have been?
Ray Green,
Brighton, England