Jack Thompson finishes '1903 Project' to ride original Tour route
Long-distance cyclist Jack Thompson (known as "Ultra Jack") finished his 1903 Project on Sunday, completing his self-supported attempt to reconstruct the original route of the first-ever Tour de France. Thompson put in up to 17 hours a day on the bike to finish the 2,428 km route in six days.
Added difficulties were France's current heat wave – where temps rose past 40° C /105° F – and Thompson's decision to do the route with just the two gears available to Tour riders of the time: a 48x16 high gear and a 35x16 low gear. Thompson modified his Specialized Roubaix with a single 16T cog in the back and a 48/35T chainring combination, with the unusual pairing of a SRAM AXS front derailleur and a Paul Components Melvin chain tensioner to take up slack when in the small ring. A forthcoming film will document the ride.
