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PelotonTales

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

Jan Janssen after winning the Tour de France in 1968 in the very last stage.

Winning the Tour de France without wearing the yellow jersey

Since the introduction of the yellow jersey in 1919, there were only two cyclists to win the race with taking the first place in the general classification in the last stage. Thus they didn’t have the opportunity to wear the yellow jersey during that particular edition of Tour de France. Jean Robic (1947) After the penultimate stage Pierre Bambrilla was leading the general classification. The last stage was flat, but included a hill not far from its start, with a special prize for the cyclist, who crosses the top first. Jean Robic was unaware, that a breakaway group already climbed the hill, so he attacked.  When he (4th in the GC before the stage)  and… Read More »Winning the Tour de France without wearing the yellow jersey

Cyclists at the first stage of the Tour de France 1905

Points system in general classification at the Tour de France (1905-1912)

Between 1905 and 1912 points decided who is the best rider of the peloton. The first cyclist to cross the finish line received 1 point. Other cyclists received one point more than the cyclist who passed the line directly before him, plus an additional point for every five minutes between them, with a maximum of ten points. At the next edition, time gap became irrelevant, only the position decided, ho many points the riders get. However, after the 8th stage (from a total of 13 stages), when a significant number of the riders have already left the race, points were recalculated and redistributed among the remaining competitors. This practice continued in the subsequent years. The… Read More »Points system in general classification at the Tour de France (1905-1912)

Tour de France stage winners in all three specialities

There are only three riders, who managed to win at least a stage in all the three specialities (sprint and mountain stages and individual time trial) during a Tour de France: Eddy Merckx 1974 Bernard Hinault 1979 Wout van Aert 2021 MORE CYCLING FUN FACT ON PELOTONTALES [su_posts posts_per_page=”7″ tax_term=”425″ order=”desc”]

Lucien van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk on the Puy de Dome Tour de France 1976

Ocaña and Zoetemelk doubled on the top of Puy de Dôme

Between 1952 and 1988 Puy de Dôme was included into the program of Tour de France 13 times. Among the winners on the top are Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Federico Bahamontes  Lucien van Impe, Luis Ocaña or Joop Zoetemelk. In fact, the two latter are those riders, who were able to win a Puy de Dôme stage twice. List of winners on the top of Puy de Dôme: 1952 Fausto Coppi 1959 Federico Bahamontes 1964 Julio Jimenez 1967 Felice Gimondi 1969 Pierre Matignon 1971 Luis Ocaña 1973 Luis Ocaña 1975 Lucien Van Impe 1976 Joop Zoetemelk 1978 Joop Zoetemelk 1983 Ange Arroyo 1986 Erich Maechler 1988 Johnny Weltz (Lead picture: Lucien Van Impe and Joop… Read More »Ocaña and Zoetemelk doubled on the top of Puy de Dôme

Maurice Garin the winner of the first Tour de France

Green armband for the leader of the general classification

The legendary yellow jersey was introduced to Tour de France only in 1919. But already during the first edition of the race there was a sign distinguishing the  leader of the general classification from other participants: a green armband. Maurice Garin led the general classification from the very first stage and later won the race. MORE TOUR DE FRANCE FROM THE EARLY YEARS [su_posts posts_per_page=”7″ tax_term=”380″ order=”desc”] MORE CYCLING FUN FACTS [su_posts posts_per_page=”7″ tax_term=”425″ order=”desc”]  

A horse is riding alongside with the peloton, including Eddy Merckx at the Tour de France 1975

Vintage cycling image of the day: Eddy vs. a horse

It’s not only the early days of road cycling, but sometimes unique moments with animals could (and can) happen in more modern times during a cycling event. Like this one from  (most likely )the Tour de France in 1975, when a horse was eager to run alongside with Eddy Merckx and co. MORE UNIQUE VINTAGE CYCLING MOMENTS ON PELOTONTALES [su_posts posts_per_page=”7″ tax_term=”682″ order=”desc” orderby=”rand”]

Two cyclists have to pass by two cows on the untarmacied road during Tour de France 1910

Vintage Tour de France: cows on the road

Nowadays, one of the basic things organizers of a cycling race have to prepare for is to make sure, that no one else uses the same roads during the event. Of course, errors can still happen at any time, but this is one of those basic things that define modern-day cycling races. Very few other sports reflects the changes in everyday life during the past century so plainly, like professional road cycling races do. Organizers have to secure the route of the races, because roads are crowded with cars, trucks, buses, etc. On the other hand, this seems relatively easy to calculate and execute, because most of the time the peloton is compact, and the… Read More »Vintage Tour de France: cows on the road

Honoré Barthélémy the cyclist with a glass eye

Faces from the peloton: the cyclist with a glass eye

The first decades of history of Tour de France are full with extraordinary stories. One of them is the story of the cyclist with a glass eye.Honoré Barthélémy (1891-1964) crashed badly on the 8th stage (Perpignan- Aix-en-Provence, 325 km) of Tour de France in 1920. Despite having problems with his sight, he mounted his bike again and continued the race. Only a bit later he realised, he didn’t suffered concussion, but was really half-blind. He finished the stage also with a broken shoulder and a dislocated wrist.Barthélémy, who was 5th in overall at the previous edition of Tour de France, managed to finish the race despite this serious health difficulties. At the end, he was… Read More »Faces from the peloton: the cyclist with a glass eye

Vintage cycling image of the day: Robert Jacquinot having a meal during the Tour de France in 1922

Robert Jacquinot having a meal in a café (Tour de France 1922)

The close proximity to the everyday life has always been one of the most intriguing essencial features of road cycling races. Since the beginning of the multi-staged cycling events, the riders usually had to organize to have proper food during the race. It wasn’t that difficult, because usually coffeehouses hosted the mid-stage checkpoints. Also, the stars of the big-budget professional teams shouldn’t have to worry about this, because they have special crew for the task. And yet, it was a common thing during the first few decades of road cyclig, that cyclists had their meal in a place crowed with excited spectators, who came to see the competitors. The picture of Robert Jacquinot (1893-1980) having… Read More »Robert Jacquinot having a meal in a café (Tour de France 1922)

The final podium of Tour de France Femmes 2022 (Demi Vollering, Annemiek van Vleuten, Katarzyna Niewiedoma)

UCI Women’s World Tour Calendar 2023

A new cycling season in underway. Both in the world of men’s and women’s cycling races. Here is a quick overview of the UCI Women’s World Tour Calendar 2023 15 -17 January 2023 antos Tour Down Under 28 January 2023 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Elite Women’s Race 9-12 February 2023 UAE Tour 25 February 2023 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 4 March 2023 Strade Bianche 11 March 2023 Miron Ronde van Drenthe 19 March 2023 Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio 23 March 2023 Classic Brugge-De Panne 26 March 2023 Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields 2 April 2023 Ronde van Vlaanderen – Tour des Flandres 8 April 2023 Paris-Roubaix Femmes 16 April 2023 Amstel… Read More »UCI Women’s World Tour Calendar 2023