Found this piece by accident, makes fascinating reading especially as the 2014 TdF is about to start. A remarkable story of Yorkshire grit! It relates the efforts of Ken Russell who virtually unsupported won the 1952 Tour do Britiain.
http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/ken-russell-going-solo/index.html
http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/ken-russell-going-solo/index.html