PelotonTales

PelotonTales is blog about road cycling. History and present. Great stories.

6 July 1965 Raymond Poulidor’s victory on Mont Ventoux

This was the 14th stage of that year’s Tour de France. A 173 km long route from Montpelier to the top of the Mont Ventoux.… Read More »6 July 1965 Raymond Poulidor’s victory on Mont Ventoux

It was the 133 km long 6th stage from Mulhouse to the Ballon d’Alsace at the Tour de France 1969, when Eddy Merckx celebrated his… Read More »4 July 1969 Eddy Merckx’s first ever Tour de France stage victory

The 326 km stage between Bayonne and Luchon included the climbs Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde.

The first Tour de France was held between 1 and 18 July 1903, included only 6 stages. (However, the complete route was 2428 km long.)60… Read More »1 July 1903 The first Tour de France started

Currently, Mark Cavendish and Eddy Merckx are sharing the top position of the list of riders with the most Tour de France victories. Both cyclists… Read More »Waiting for Mark Cavendish’s recordbreaking 35th victory? These are the stages with (possible) classic bunchsprints

On the 28th of June 1914, Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated. A month later the First World War broke out. When… Read More »28 June 1914 – Last Tour de France before World War I started

It started with a new business opportunity. After the years of La Sportive consortium, the usual structure of sponsored teams returned to Tour de France… Read More »26 June 1923 Ottavio Bottecchia’s first stage victory at Tour de France

The last edition of Tour de France before the World War II broke out was in 1939, which was followed by an eight year long… Read More »On this day: 25 June 1947 – Ferdy Kübler wins the first Tour de France stage after World War II

Federico Bahamontes competed at Tour de France for the first time in 1954. He was picked for the race by Julián Berredero, the director of… Read More »Vintage cycling image of the day: Federico Bahamontes on Tourmalet (Tour de France 1954)

Jonas Vingegaard or Tadej Pogacar? The question of who will win the Tour de France in 2023 is still open as we are heading to… Read More »Tour de France 2023 – Program of the 3rd week