bartali returned to the tour in 1948 to find that many riders he had known had died in the war and that there were as many more who had started racing since he stopped (see below for bartali's war record). he was so worried that he spent an evening memorising two dozen riders he did not know. the tour started in a rainstorm and bartali found he could identify nobody because the whole field was wearing waterproofs. he took his chance and found he was with briek schotte. the two finished together at trouville, and bartali took the yellow jersey.