 Briton Brian Robinson who also won a stage in the Tour de France finished fifth in this first edition.According to Alf Buttler, an amateur cyclist during and after the second world war the leader’s jersey was purple and the race continued but as a seven-day race the following year, 1954, beginning on Thursday 29 April.The 1954 race was covered by J B Wadley and photographer Bill Lovelace for The Bicycle magazine and a full report appeared in the 5 May issue.