A Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees (especially, when it includes the big four, Peyresourde, Auspin, Aubisque and Tourmalet) always provides stories to tell.
Belgian rider Felicien Vervaecke won the mountain competition of Tour de France twice, in 1935 and 1937.
Before the 16th stage (Peyresourde, Tourmalet, Aspin, Aubisque) in 1936, he was 4 minutes behind his teammate Sylvère Maes in the GC. But bad luck prevented him to maintain this position.
First his bicycle broke, and he had to convince a spectator to lend his. Then he suffered a flat tire, and Tour officials forced him to wait for the reserve car. Antonin Magne, the actual third in the GC passed him. When Vervaecke got his tire, he was able to re-join Magne. He finished the stage 18 sec behind his rival.
But both riders were penalized by the jury for receiving illegal food. Vervaecke got 10 minutes, Magne only 5 minutes. Vervaecke dropped to the 3rd position of the general classification.
The toughest Tour de France stage ever
The 10th stage of Tour de France 1926 is often dubbed as the toughest stage ever in the history of the race. The 326 km long route between Bayonne and Luchon on the 6th July 1926 went down in history also as one of the most chaotic ones thanks to the extreme weather conditions in … Read more
Introducing Col du Tourmalet to Tour de France
It was a great moment and yet one of the weirdest situations in the history of Tour de France, when and, it seems to be more important, how the organisers decided to put Col du Tourmalet in the program. Crossed Tourmalet stop. Very good road stop. Perfectly passable. -stood in the telegram Alphonse Steinès sent … Read more
Tourmalet at the Vuelta 2023 ( Stage 13 – Formigal. Huesca la Magia – Col du Tourmalet)
Unlike in the 6th stage of Tour de France 2023, when Tourmalet was a mid-stage ascent, the 13th stage of Vuelta a Espana 2023 will end on the top of the legendary climb. 13th Stage 8 September 2023 Formigal. Huesca la Magia – Col du Tourmalet 134,7 km
Felicien Vervaecke’s bad luck (Tour de France 1936)
A Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees (especially, when it includes the big four, Peyresourde, Auspin, Aubisque and Tourmalet) always provides stories to tell. Belgian rider Felicien Vervaecke won the mountain competition of Tour de France twice, in 1935 and 1937. Before the 16th stage (Peyresourde, Tourmalet, Aspin, Aubisque) in 1936, he was 4 … Read more
21 July 1910 Tour de France visits Tourmalet for the very first time
The 10th stage between Luchon and Bayonne was 326 km long and included the big four: Tourmalet, Col d’Aspin, Col d’Aubisque and Peyresourde. The stage was won by Octave Lapize
Faces from the peloton: Victor Fontan (1892-1982)
A cyclist running while carrying his bike on his shoulder. Surely, you’ve seen this vintage cycling image several times. Now it’s time to learn a bit more about the protagonist of the picture. Victor Fontan (1892-1982) in the Faces from the peloton series of PelotonTales blog. A local rider World War I (as did World … Read more
Horquette d’Ancizan at Tour de France
Horquette d’Ancizan has a short history regarding its appearances at Tour de France. 2022 Thibaut Pinot (FRA) 2019 Simon Yates (GBR) 2016 Chris Froome (GBR) 2013 Daniel Martin (IRL) 2011 Laurent Mangel (FRA) Horquette d’Ancizan will part of the program Tour de France 2024.
Jean Alavoine on the Col d’Aspin (Tour de France 1922)
Jean Alavoine (1888-1943) had a very good Tour de France in 1922. He won three stages, two of them in the Pyrenees and thanks to his great performance, he was wearing the yellow jersey for five days. Col d’Aspin was part of the program of the 6th stage alongside with Aubisque and Peyresourde, as usual. … Read more
Col de Menté at Tour de France
Unfortunately, Col de Menté, a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees is well-known because of the tragic stories happened there during the Tour de France. In 1971, a nasty crash on the descent of Col de Menté ended Luis Ocaña’s dreams of winning the Tour de France that year. (Nevertheless, Ocaña managed to win Tour … Read more
17 July 1951 Wim van Est’s crash on the Aubisque
On the 12th stage of Tour de France 1951 Wim van Est escaped with a small group, won the stage and took the lead in the general classification. He was the first Dutchman to wear the yellow jersey. Next day the peloton arrived in the Pyrenees. The 201 km 13th long stage between Dax and … Read more
André Leducq and Antonin Magne crossing the finish line together (Tour de France 1938)
Before Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault on the top of Alpe d’Huez, there were André Leducq and Antonin Magne in Paris. Two dominant French riders from the first part of the 1930s, both Leducq (1930 and 1932) and Magne (1931 and 1934) won the Tour de France twice. In the very last stage of Tour … Read more
Faces from the Peloton: Theo Middelkamp (1914-2005)
You would never guess in what kind of stage the first Dutch Tour de France stage winner, Theo (Theofiel) Middelkamp (1914-2005) gained his victory. In a mountain stage in the Alps, including Télégraphe, Galibier and Lautaret. Considering that even in the early 1950s, when Wim van Est, the first Dutch cyclist to wear the yellow … Read more
Fédérico Ezquerra on the Galibier (Tour de France 1936)
Col du Galibier was part of the 7th stage alongside with Thélégraphe and Lautaret at the Tour de France in 1936. (Usually, when the peloton climbs Galibier, they climb also Thélégraphe and Lautaret.) The 230 km long stage ended in Grenoble (hilltop finishes were introduced to Tour de France only in 1952), and a whole … Read more
Four scandalous Tour de France editions
In its more than 120-year-long history Tour de France, the most famous road cycling race of the world witnessed good time and bad time either. It had plenty of glourious moments, but also some shameful ones. Here are the four (arguably) most scandalous editions in the history of Tour de France . 1904 – an … Read more
Felicien Vervaecke’s bad luck (Tour de France 1936)
A Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees (especially, when it includes the big four, Peyresourde, Auspin, Aubisque and Tourmalet) always provides stories to tell. Belgian rider Felicien Vervaecke won the mountain competition of Tour de France twice, in 1935 and 1937. Before the 16th stage (Peyresourde, Tourmalet, Aspin, Aubisque) in 1936, he was 4 … Read more
The grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle – Giusto Cerutti at Tour de France 1928
Giusto Cerutti (1903-1993) had at least one bad day at the Tour de France in 1928.We don’t know much about the grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle. But one thing is sure, he is the unlucky (anti)hero of one of the most searched vintage cycling images on the internet.According to ProCyclingStats, Cerutti abandoned the race … Read more
Climbing Col d’Allos at Tour de France 1914 -Vintage cycling image of the day
Tour de France 1914 started on the same day, 28th June, as the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in Sarajevo. When the riders lined up in the middle of the nigh for the start of the first stage in Paris, they knew nothing about that this day … Read more
Georges Speicher at Paris-Roubaix 1935
Although Paris-Roubaix in 1936 was more important in the career of Tour de France winner (1933) cyclist Georges Speicher, one of the most popular funny vintage cycling images from the good old days of road cycling was taken one year earlier.Georges Speicher (1907-1978) was a French rider, the first cyclist who won Tour de France … Read more
Iconic Cycling Images: Bernard Thévenet after a crash (Tour de France 1972)
The race in 1972 was Bernard Thévenet’s second Tour de France. In his devutant year, in 1971 he finished fifth in the general classification and also won stage. It was a bit of a surprise performance, but in the subsequent year he was considered as one of the favourites. The 7th stage of Tour de France … Read more
Cyclists meet a local inhabitant during Tour de France 1925
During the first few decades in the history of Tour de France, mountain routes were kind of “terrae incognitae”, uncharted territories. We all know the story when Alphonse Steniès persuaded Henri Desgrange to include Tourmalet in the program of Tour de France 1910. He was struggling even to find a car driver, a local guide … Read more