French favourites stopped the race early. Eugène Christophe in the 7th stage because of back pain, Jean Alavoine in the 2nd stage and Francis Pélissier in the 3rd stage. Henri Pélissier started well by winning the third stage and the fourth stage, and was the main threat for Philippe Thys who was leading the race. Then, in the 5th stage, Henri Pélissier was penalised with two minutes for throwing away a flat tire illegally. Pélissier objected to the penalty, and immediately stopped the race. Desgrange mentioned that Henri Pélissier was not tough enough, and would never win the Tour de France. He would later win the 1923 edition.