again with a magnificent effort, then drops back again, done for! Pottier crossed the summit alone, over four minutes ahead of the next rider and maintained his lead into the stage finish at Dijon, going on to win the whole race in Paris three weeks later. Those of us who witnessed his interminable, solitary, high-speed ride were left wondering whether it had not all been a dream, and asking ourselves what mysterious force it is that possesses the human organism and allows it to push back the boundaries of the possible. Following his death, a monument to him was erected at the summit of the Col du Ballon d'Alsace. Tour de France results 1905 Tour de France: Abandoned after the 3rd stage 1906 Tour de France: Overall winner and winner of 5 stages Grand Tour general classification results timeline References 1879 births 1907 suicides Sportspeople from Seine-et-Marne French male cyclists Tour de France winners French Tour de France stage winners Suicides by hanging in France Cyclists from Île-de-France