Col d'Izoard was introduced to Tour de France in 1922. It seems to have been the new favourite of the organizers, they put it in the program also in the next 5 years. (And it is still one of the most used ascent in the history of Tour de France)
Ottavio Bottecchia might have been a surprise newcomer in 1923, when he finished second behind his teammate Henri Pelissier, but his overall victory in the subsequent year, especially the fact, that he was the first cyclist to wear the yellow jersey during the entire race from the very beginning, made him the biggest favourite of Tour de France 1925.
Bottecchia started strong in that year either, but for a few days Adelin Benoït took over the lead in feneral classification. He even won a hard stage including. Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde. But in the 9th stage, another hard day in the Pyrenees, he dropped, and
Bottecchia jumped in the first position again.
And he never gave it away. He won his second Tour de France.
The 13th stage, including Allos, Vars, and Izoard, was held on the 9th July 1925, went from Nice to Briançon. (Don't forget, before 1952, when Alpe d'Huez was introduced to the race, there was no hilltop finish, not even in the Alps or Pyrenees). Bartolomeo Aymo won the stage, Ottavio Bottecchia finished second. In the general classification he was more than 20 minutes ahead of Nicolas Franz. When Frantz dropped in the next stage (Galibier, Aravis including) the gap between Bottecchia and the new second in GC, Aymo was almos one hour.
Ottavio Bottecchia came back to Tour de France again in 1926, but he had to abandon the race in the hardest stage of Tour de France ever.
Tragically, he never had the opportunity to compete Tour de France again. He was attacked and seriously beaten during training on 3rd June 1927. He died in the hospital two weeks later.
Although there are several theories what happened to him exactly (f. e. who killed him), the whole truth about his dead was never clarified.
Miguel Angel Lopez conquers Col de la Loze (Tour de France retrospective -TDF 2020)
Col de la Loze was introduced to Tour de France in the 17th stage in 2020. The day delivered a Pog&Rog Show, a Lopez solo and a suddenly disappearing Bahrain-McLaren “suicide squad”. The 2 minutes gap between the three breakaway riders (Julian Alaphilippe, Richard Carapaz, Gorka Izagirre) and the peloton at foot of the 21… Read More »Miguel Angel Lopez conquers Col de la Loze (Tour de France retrospective -TDF 2020)
Fédérico Ezquerra on the Galibier (Tour de France 1936)
Col du Galibier is one of the oldest participats among the ascents the peloton of Tour de France used to climb in the Alps. It was already part the program of the 1911 edition when the race visited the Alps for the very first time. In 1936, Col du Galibier, alongside with Thélégraphe… Read More »Fédérico Ezquerra on the Galibier (Tour de France 1936)
20 July 1986 Tour de France visits Col du Granon
The 190 km long stage between Gap and Serre Chevalier included Col du Vars, Col d’Izoard and it was the first time the race visited Col du Granon. Before the stage Bernard Hinault (La Vie Claire) led the general classification, but he dropped on the Col d’Izoard. He was suffering from an old knee injury.… Read More »20 July 1986 Tour de France visits Col du Granon
19 July 1977 Lucien Van Impe ‘s crash on Alpe d’Huez
Thank you for being a devoted reader of PelotonTales. You are the reason why it’s worth spending so many hours to create new content and trying to improve this website. If you would show appreciation to my work, please consider supporting the blog with a small donation. Thank you! One of the oddest images from… Read More »19 July 1977 Lucien Van Impe ‘s crash on Alpe d’Huez
9 July 1963 – Fernando Manzaneque’s stage victory in the Alps
Fernando Manzaneque’s victory in the 16th stage of Tour de France 1963 isn’t intirguing because of some relation to the overall competition, but because it happened among rather extraordinary circumstances. Snow at the Tour de France is rare, but not impossible. During the 120 years of Tour de France history it happened a few times.… Read More »9 July 1963 – Fernando Manzaneque’s stage victory in the Alps
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, like World War… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Victor Fontan (1892-1982)
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 »The grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle – Giusto Cerutti at Tour de France 1928
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 »Cyclists meet a local inhabitant during Tour de France 1925
Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)
French cyclist Jean Alavoine holds a unique record in the history of Tour de France: there are 14 years between his first (1909) and his last (1923) stage victory.1 Indeed, he was one of… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)
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 »Jean Alavoine on the Col d’Aspin (Tour de France 1922)
- If Mark Cavendish would succeed next year, he would break this record either. He celebrated his first stage victory in 2008. [↩]