[7] The tour was 5,377 kilometres (3,341 mi) long in 1928, most of it on unsealed roads, and the riders used heavy, fixed wheel bicycles.
He stated afterwards that it was the toughest race he had ever completed: "When I think of the mountain climbing, the mad rushes downhill, and the riding at night in pitch darkness, well, it is a veritable nightmare!
The most notable was in 1935 when he completed the 167-kilometre Taranaki Around-the-Mountain Road Race in 4 hours, 8 minutes, 38 seconds (average speed of 40 km/h).
The Dunlop Grand Prix carried with it the title of Long Distance Road Champion of Australasia[9] and Watson finished second to Opperman.
[14] In July 2013, The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan paid homage to Watson and the other riders of the 1928 Tour de France by retracing the ride route on bikes of the era.