As if to back up my last post about the riders battling along the course. Riders needing to push their broken stead's down to the local blacksmith only then to have to do repair's themselves. I ask any racer in the current peloton to be able to start a fire let alone start welding the frame. They would more than likely throw the bike into the bushes if something went wrong with the bike.
Versus as started releasing their lookback of the last century of the Tour heading into the Pyrenees, some great footage from the earlier years of racing:
