Sponsored Teams Again

The 1960s saw a return to sponsored teams and commercialism yet the Tour still offered lots of intrigue and drama. The Tour was the most watched event in cycling and the sponsors badly needed the publicity. The Tour’s biggest rivals, Poulidor and Anquetil, truly disliked each other and this drew fans in.

Anquetil Rules

For many years, Anquetil was the greatest time-trialist in history. He won 12 of these tests in the Tour de France and even set a world record before he first won the Tour. Anquetil had a bit of a reputation as a rebel. He once said that his idea of training included “a few whiskies, blonde cigarettes and a woman.” His wayward ways extended into his private life. He an affair with a doctor’s wife, a woman named Jeanine, and when he learned that she couldn’t bear him a child, he persuaded her to let him have a baby with her adult daughter, a woman named Annie. They had a child named Sophie. Of course, Annie and Jeanine began to quarrel. Annie moved out and Jeanine invited her son and his wife, Dominique, to move in. Anquetil promptly seduced Dominique and a son, Christopher.

Anquetil took his wild ways to his cycling events. Most riders always go for a ride on the rest day because their bodies are so used to cycling. Jacques Anquetil, however, liked to enjoy life. He would go to a picnic and enjoy himself on big portions of barbecued lamb and lots of drink.

Anquetil, the five-time winner, sat out 1965 and returned in 1966. But this would be his last Tour.

Tragedy Strikes, Doping Raises its Ugly Head

In 1967, tragedy struck and this would be the year the Tour would first become tainted by a doping scandal. Tom Simpson was the best British rider of his day. Sadly, he fell victim to doping but actually died due to the heat as he crossed Mont Ventoux. His death led to the first drug testing in 1968.

Tom Simpson was a very well regarded racer. His sole goal in life was winning the Tour. Simpson knew he had to deliver. He turned to drugs, something that wasn’t new to the Tour. For some time now many riders had been using a life-threatening cocktail of drugs: amphetamines as a stimulant, Palfium to kill the pain in their legs and then sleeping pills at night to counteract the amphetamines.

Cycling began to grapple with this problem The first races were staggeringly long and tested the limits of human endurance. Stages in the early Tour could take over 17 hours to complete. From the beginning riders took various substances to allow them to complete their ordeals. When the Pélissier brothers withdrew from the 1924 Tour and gave their famous interview to Albert Londres they described the long list of drugs they took. “We run on dynamite,” Henri Pélissier said.

Before World War Two amphetamines were synthesized and athletes immediately understood the advantage they gave. Through the fifties it was clear to observers that riders were doping. There were pictures of racers with dried foam on their faces or of riders driven mad by a combination of heat and amphetamines stopping in the middle of a race to find relief in a fountain. After riding until he collapsed Jean Malléjac lay on the ground still strapped to his bike, his legs convulsively pumping the pedals. Others would remount their bikes and go the wrong way. Sometimes one could almost follow the route of a race by the trail of syringes left by the side of the road. Roger Rivière crashed in 1960 because he had taken so much of the opiate Palfium to kill the pain in his legs that he couldn’t feel the brake levers. Bahamontes said that he loved a good hot day in the mountains because the riders juiced up on amphetamines couldn’t take the heat.

Was Tom Simpson a bad person or a hero? He was neither. He knew that riding without dope wasn’t possible,

The day after Simpson’s death. the peloton agreed to ride if one of Simpson’s British teammates would be allowed a ceremonial stage victory to honor Simpson’s memory.

Merckx Rules the Road

Eddy Merckx of Belgium won in 1969, a stunning debut that earned him the nickname “cannibal,” a rider ready to devour everything it takes to win. Merckx flew into Paris with a 17 minute lead. Merckx dominated the cycling world, winning 250 major races, one a week for six years. Without a doubt he was the most complete and capable rider alive.

In 1975 Merckx was finally beaten by Bernard Thevenet. Merckx had been punched and knocked from his bike by a jealous French fan. This is the first year that the race finishes along the Champs Elysees

France celebrated Thevenet’s second win in 1977. He was a bit of a wonder boy, with seven more home wins until the last, in 1985.

The race’s next hero was a blunt Frenchman from Brittany, Hinault, who would become the third man to win five Tours. The years between 1978 and 1984 became known as “le blaireau” (the badger’s) golden era.

Then France cheered a new hero, a sophisticated bespectacled young Parisian called Laurent Fignon. Fignon rode into his home city of Paris in yellow, beating Hinault by 10 minutes and proving that 1983 had been no fluke.

Winners

* 1960 Gastone Nencini (Ita)

* 1961 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

* 1962 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

* 1963 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

* 1964 Jacques Anquetil (Fra)

* 1965 Felice Gimondi (Ita)

* 1966 Lucien Aimar (Fra)

* 1967 Roger Pingeon (Fra)

* 1968 Jan Janssen (Ned)

* 1969 Eddy Merckx (Bel)

* 1970 Eddy Merckx (Bel)

* 1971 Eddy Merckx (Bel)

* 1972 Eddy Merckx (Bel)

* 1973 Luis Ocana (Spa)

* 1974 Eddy Merckx (Bel)

* 1975 Bernard Thevenet (Fra)

* 1976 Lucien Van Impe (Bel)

* 1977 Bernard Thevenet (Fra)

* 1978 Bernard Hinault (Fra)

* 1979 Bernard Hinault (Fra)

* 1980 Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)

If you liked this article, you’ll find more Tour de France history articles and this year’s Tour schedule at:

Tour de France stags & schedule & history

2007 tour de france

World’s greatest bicycle race – Le Tour du France

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If you are in France during the month of July and you are wondering about all the two-wheeling activity going on, don’t worry, it’s probably the Tour de France. The race continues for three weeks and attracts many cyclists from all over the world.

The race is divided into segments also known as stages. Each stage is day-long. The time taken to finish each stage is totaled to determine the winner at the end of race. The course of Tour de France is changed every year but it has always ended in Paris. The climax of the final stage has been in the direction of Champs-since 1975.

The world’s most famous bicycle race Tour de France was started in 1903 by L’Auto newspaper. The editor of L’Auto Desgrane determined the course of first race, surrounding the perimeter of France, which will continue for five weeks. But he halved the distance when only sixteen riders entered and also used cash carrots to pull more competitors towards the race. This increased the number of competitors to sixty. The inaugural Tour de France was won by Frenchman Cesar Garin. These sixty riders pedaled about 1550 miles in nineteen days. Sometimes there were several days of rest between the racing days. This first race was finished by only 21 riders. Due to Tour de France the circulation of L’ Auto was doubled. After several years L’Auto became L’Equipe. L’Equipe is the current daily sports newspaper of France. These Days, there are 200 cyclists. Each of them competes in teams consisting of nine members and the rider with least accumulated time wins.

The course of Tour de France changes every year but there are few things which are certain. Such as the complete length of the race cannot exceed 3500 KM. There are also limitations on the number of KM covered in each stage. The race includes two days of rest. It ends in Paris after running its impressively scenic course throughout France and bordering countries.

The rider having the lowest aggregate time at end of each stage wears a yellow jersey also known as “maillot jaune”, riders having the most sprint points wears a green jersey also known as maillot vert and the king of mountains wears a polka dot jersey also called “maillot pois”. They are also awarded with the Prix de la Combativite for their chutzpah.

Lance Armstrong won seven consecutive races from 1999 to 2005 and is known as the legend of Tour de France. The prize money given to the winner is about 750,000 US Dollars.

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The Tour de France is a bicycle race that winds its way around France for a full three weeks. If you are new to the sport of professional cycling it might be a bit confusing. Who’s in the lead? How are times kept? Why are there teams if cycling is an individual sport?

The winner of the tour is the rider with the best time over the three weeks of racing. Every day there is a new stage, kind of like a race within the race. At the end of each day you have the winner of that day’s stage, and the overall leader of the tour, the guy with the lowest cumulative time up to that point. The overall leader, or general classification (GC) leader wears the yellow jersey.

The yellow jersey is the most coveted prize among all cyclists. They say the man in yellow, even if he is of modest talent relative to his peers, will summon extra strength while wearing yellow. A rider might win the tour and yet never have worn the yellow jersey during the race if he wins it on the last day. Some riders are in yellow for a week or so, then have to give up the jersey mid-race when another rider moves up in the standings with the lowest time. In most tours the yellow jersey is worn by several different riders.

The tour starts with around 200 riders. Each rider is on a team of about eight members. Each team has one or two designated leaders. It’s the job of the other riders, or domestiques, to help the leader get to the finish line in the least amount of time possible. This involves giving the leader a draft–where the domestique rides in front in the wind and the team captain rides behind him to save energy. The domestiques also will give the leader their own wheel, or even their bicycle, if the leader has a flat. If the leader falters on a tough stage, the whole team will fall back and help pull him back to the pack.

So even though there is only one eventual winner, professional cycling is really a team sport. The leader with the strongest team always has an advantage.

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Rank Name Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total Thru
1 Robert-Jan Derksen -6 -6 10
2t Alejandro Canizares 66 -5 (66) F
2t Martin Kaymer 66 -5 (66) F
2t Jean Van de Velde 66 -5 (66) F
2t Martin Erlandsson -5 -5 11
6t Danny Lee 67 -4 (67) F
6t Scott Strange 67 -4 (67) F
6t Marcel Siem 67 -4 (67) F
6t Robert Rock -4 -4 F
6t Charl Schwartzel -4 -4 16
11t Oliver Wilson 68 -3 (68) F
11t Paul Broadhurst 68 -3 (68) F
11t Rory McIlroy 68 -3 (68) F
11t Soren Hansen 68 -3 (68) F
11t Damien McGrane 68 -3 (68) F
11t Andrew Dodt 68 -3 (68) F
11t Hennie Otto 68 -3 (68) F
11t Peter Hanson -3 -3 17
11t Jyoti Randhawa -3 -3 16
11t Adam Scott -3 -3 15
21t Felipe Aguilar 69 -2 (69) F
21t Steve Webster 69 -2 (69) F
21t Pablo Larrazabal 69 -2 (69) F
21t Marcus Fraser 69 -2 (69) F
21t Francesco Molinari -2 -2 17
21t Christian Cevaer -2 -2 16
21t Lee Westwood -2 -2 16
21t Alvaro Quiros -2 -2 15
21t Jean-Francois Lucquin -2 -2 13
21t Gregory Bourdy -2 -2 13
21t Philip Golding -2 -2 11
32t Jeev Milkha Singh 70 -1 (70) F
32t David Horsey 70 -1 (70) F
32t Edoardo Molinari 70 -1 (70) F
32t Alexander Noren 70 -1 (70) F
32t Luke Donald 70 -1 (70) F
32t Graeme Storm 70 -1 (70) F
32t Mark Brown 70 -1 (70) F
32t Shiv Kapur 70 -1 (70) F
32t Peter Hedblom 70 -1 (70) F
32t Chris Wood -1 -1 17
32t Angel Cabrera -1 -1 15
32t Ian Poulter -1 -1 15
32t Julien Quesne -1 -1 12
32t Peter O’Malley -1 -1 11
32t Peter Whiteford -1 -1 11
47t James Kingston 71 E (71) F
47t Ariel Canete 71 E (71) F
47t Gregory Havret 71 E (71) F
47t Michael Hoey 71 E (71) F
47t Rhys Davies 71 E (71) F
47t Soren Kjeldsen 71 E (71) F
47t Ross Fisher 71 E (71) F
47t Miguel Angel Jimenez 71 E (71) F
47t Richard Finch 71 E (71) F
47t Matteo Manassero 71 E (71) F
47t Richie Ramsay 71 E (71) F
47t Paul Waring 71 E (71) F
47t Alastair Forsyth 71 E (71) F
47t Peter Lawrie 71 E (71) F
47t Brett Rumford 71 E (71) F
47t Richard Green E E 13
47t Danny Willett E E 17
47t Richard McEvoy E E 16
47t James Kamte E E 15
47t Seung-yul Noh E E 13
47t Stephen Dodd E E 11
47t Paul Lawrie E E 11
47t Joost Luiten E E 11
47t Richard Bland E E 10
71t Thomas Bjorn 72 +1 (72) F
71t Nick Dougherty 72 +1 (72) F
71t Michael Lorenzo-Vera 72 +1 (72) F
71t Thongchai Jaidee 72 +1 (72) F
71t Rafa Echenique 72 +1 (72) F
71t Jose Manuel Lara 72 +1 (72) F
71t Nicolas Colsaerts 72 +1 (72) F
71t Benjamin Hebert 72 +1 (72) F
71t Maarten Lafeber +1 +1 13
71t Phillip Price +1 +1 15
71t Darren Clarke +1 +1 14
71t Jean-Francois Remesy +1 +1 14
71t Tommy Fleetwood +1 +1 13
71t Anders Hansen +1 +1 12
71t Tano Goya +1 +1 11
71t Simon Thornton +1 +1 11
71t Markus Brier +1 +1 11
71t Fabrizio Zanotti +1 +1 10
89t Francois Calmels 73 +2 (73) F
89t S.S.P. Chowrasia 73 +2 (73) F
89t Colin Montgomerie 73 +2 (73) F
89t Geoff Ogilvy 73 +2 (73) F
89t Jeppe Huldahl 73 +2 (73) F
89t Stephen Gallacher 73 +2 (73) F
89t Raphael Jacquelin 73 +2 (73) F
89t Martin Wiegele 73 +2 (73) F
89t Kenneth Ferrie 73 +2 (73) F
89t Barry Lane +2 +2 15
89t Sam Little 73 +2 (73) F
89t Gary Boyd 73 +2 (73) F
89t David Lynn 73 +2 (73) F
89t Thomas Aiken 73 +2 (73) F
89t David Howell 73 +2 (73) F
89t Shane Lowry 73 +2 (73) F
89t Jose-Filipe Lima 73 +2 (73) F
89t Johan Edfors +2 +2 16
89t Heath Slocum +2 +2 16
89t Robert Karlsson +2 +2 16
89t Francois Delamontagne +2 +2 14
89t Daniel Gaunt +2 +2 14
89t Jean-Baptiste Gonnet +2 +2 11
112t Gareth Maybin 74 +3 (74) F
112t Federico Cabrera 74 +3 (74) F
112t Ignacio Garrido 74 +3 (74) F
112t Michael Jonzon 74 +3 (74) F
112t Romain Wattel +3 +3 17
112t Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano +3 +3 16
112t Anthony Wall +3 +3 11
112t Steven O’Hara +3 12
112t Niclas Fasth +3 +3 11
112t Miguel Angel Martin +3 +3 12
112t Jamie Donaldson +3 +3 11
112t David Dixon +3 +3 10
112t Julien Xanthopoulos +3 +3 10
125t Callum Macaulay 75 +4 (75) F
125t Mikael Lundberg 75 +4 (75) F
125t David Drysdale 75 +4 (75) F
125t Paul McGinley +4 +4 17
125t Andrew Butterfield +4 +4 16
125t Marcus Both +4 +4 13
125t James Morrison +4 +4 13
125t Jose Maria Olazabal +4 +4 13
125t Rafael Cabrera-Bello +4 +4 12
125t Michael Campbell +4 +4 11
125t Victor Dubuisson +4 +4 11
136t Rick Kulacz 76 +5 (76) F
136t Pablo Martin 76 +5 (76) F
136t Anthony Kang 76 +5 (76) F
136t Raphael Eyraud 76 +5 (76) F
136t Mark Tullo 76 +5 (76) F
136t Thomas Levet +5 +5 16
136t Bradley Dredge +5 +5 13
136t Mikel Galdos +5 +5 10
144t Scott Drummond 77 +6 (77) F
144t Robert Coles +6 +6 17
144t John Parry 77 +6 (77) F
144t Julien Guerrier +6 +6 15
144t Mark Foster +6 +6 13
149t Ricardo Gonzalez 78 +7 (78) F
149t Simon Dyson 78 +7 (78) F
149t Daniel Vancsik 78 +7 (78) F
149t Ty Tryon 78 +7 (78) F
149t Marc Warren 78 +7 (78) F
154 Gary Lockerbie +8 +8 14
155 Bruno-Teva Lecuona 81 +10 (81) F

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Post World War Rivalries

Henri Desgrange, the Tour de France founder, died in 1940. His successor was Jacque Goddet. The Germans tried to persuade Goddet to hold the race during the war years, but he refused. He considered the first race following the war, in 1947, to be an act of faith given the post-war shortages. Jean Robic of France won and this did much to improve the country’s morale. The government even allowed the Tour to break the food rationing rules.

Italian Rivals Go at it Full Swing

The French win didn’t last long. Two Italian rivals, Gino Bartali, tour winner in 1938, and Fausto Coppi, had lost most of their cycling careers to the war. But their bitter rivalry made the post-war Tours as exciting as ever. Bartali’s 10-year gap between wins is still a Tour record. Louison Bobet had grabbed the yellow jersey early in the race but Bartali showed who deserved to win when he flew through the Alps. Bartali won by 26 minutes in 1948.

Rene Vietto– France’s King of the Hill

After the war, Vietto was one of the few surviving members of the old guard. For awhile, it looked like Vietto might win the 1947 race. Although he didn’t win, he became the Tour’s king of the mountains. It’s been said that wherever there were steep roads and thin air, Vietto was right there.

The winner that year, Robic, had promised his young bride that he would win the Tour de France because he didn’t have a dowry.

In 1948, Bobet’s popularity would increase. The Italian coach, Alfredo Binda, said, “If I had coached Bobet, he would have won.” By this time, Bobet was known as “Louison.”

The Italians arrived at the 1949 Tour prepared to win. They have with them, up and coming star, Fausto Coppi. Coppi and Bartali battle it out. Bartali loses by more than 10 minutes. Coppi won for the second time in 1952 by a stunning 28 minutes.

Switzerland Wins and France has a Golden Age

Switzerland has had only two victories on the Tour– in 1950 and 1951.

In 1950, the Italians look like they’re ready to claim a third title. Bartali, and French rider, Jean Robic, are battling for the lead in the mountains. Aggressive fans cause them to fall. Bartali is constantly harassed and in disgust, he quits the race. To show their support for their team mate, the entire Italian team also quits.

In 1951, Hugo Koblet was clearly the strongest rider. He claimed the yellow jersey after Wim Van Est had a spectacular crash over the cliffs of the Aubisque pass. Van Est survived the crash but was in shock and couldn’t continue. With Bobet, Kubler, and Koblet all out with injuries, the 1952 race was wide open. Coppi won again in 1952 but not until after being challenged by Robic most of the way. Robic was the victim of a flat tire.

Television was introduced to the Tour in 1952.

France succeeds again with the Tour’s first hat trick. Louison Bobet won in 1953, 1954, and 1955. In 1955, Bobet destroyed his competition on Mount Ventoux, and this was the key to his third consecutive win.

France won again in 1956 with rider, Roger Walkowiak. He took the yellow jersey early on, and held onto it. France reveled in its golden age with another record-breaking ride and a new great rivalry.

Jacques Anquetil won five Tours between 1957 1nd 1964. But it was the story of Raymond Poulidor, the “eternal second,” who placed second five times and third three times and he never once wore the jellow jersey. It was during this time that the Tour switched back to sponsored teams. This movement embraced commercial reality but still left plenty of room for theatrics. Enter Jacques Anquetil, winner in 1957 and winner again in 1961, 1962, 1963, and again in 1964. Despite these victories Anquetil was not well loved in France. Poulidor would win a popularity contest in a heartbeat.

In 1959, France looked like it had a winning team with Anquetil, Riviére, Bobet, and Geminiani all on the national team. But instead of working together, the work against each other. The Spaniard, Ferderico Bahamontes , won.

In 1960, it looked like young Riviére was all set to win. He broke the world hour record and at Stage 15 he looked like he’d win. Then, at the Perjuret Pass he crashed into a ravine and never rode a bicycle again. Gastone Nencini, from Italy, won.

Winners

1947 Jean Robic (Fra)

1948 Gino Bartali (Ita)

1949 Faust Coppi (Ita)

1950 Ferdi Kubler (Swi)

1951 Hugo Koblet (Swi)

1952 Faust Coppi (Ita)

1953 Louison Bobet (Fra)

1954 Louison Bobet (Fra)

1955 Louison Bobet (Fra)

1956 Roger Walkowiak (Fra)

1957 Jacque Anquetil (Fra)

1958 Charly Gaul (Lux)

1959 Ferderico Bahamontes (Spa)

1960 Gastone Nencini (Ita)

If you liked this article, you’ll find more Tour de France history articles and this year’s Tour schedule at:

Tour de France stags & schedule & history

2007 tour de france

World’s greatest bicycle race – Le Tour

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