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Felicien Vervaecke Tourmalet Tour de France 1936

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 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… Read More »Felicien Vervaecke’s bad luck (Tour de France 1936)

Andrew Hampsten crosses the finish line on the top of Alpe d'Huez at the Tour de France in 1992

When Tour de France visited Italy

In 2024, for the first time in its history, Tour de France will start from Italy. But the race visited already the neighbour country several times already. Of course, mostly during mountain stages in the Alps. Take a look at the list of occasions. 1948 Marseille — San Remo (Gino Sciardis) 1949  Briançon – Aoste (Fausto Coppi) Saint-Vincent-d’Aoste – Lausanne (Vincenzo Rossello) 1952  Le Bourg-d’Oisans  Sestrières (Fausto Coppi) Sestrières – Monaco (Jan Nolten) 1956 Gap – Turin (Nino Defilippis) Turin – Grenoble (Charly Gaul) 1959 Lautaret – Saint-Vincent, Aosta (Ercole Baldini) Saint-Vincent, Aosta – Annecy (Rolf Graf) 1961 Grenoble – Turin (Guy Ignolin) Turin – Antibes-Juan-les-Pins (Guido Carlesi) 1966:Briançon – Turin (Franco Bitossi) Ivrea –… Read More »When Tour de France visited Italy

A moment of Vuelta a Espana 1984

Smallest winning margins at Vuelta a Espana

Winnig Vuelta a Espana with the smallest winning margin in the history of the race, French rider Éric Caritoux delivered a surprise victory in 1984. Vuelta a Espana always has provided much more opportunitiy to success for lesser known riders, especially in the era, when it was a spring race. (Vuelta a Espana moved to autumn in the calendar only in 1995). Caritoux was one those surprise winners having no other noteworthy victories during their careers. In 1984, the 12th stage proved to be pivotal, when Caritoux finished second on the Lagos de Covadonga and jumped to the leading position in the general classification. He managed to keep his first place till the end of the race. Smallest… Read More »Smallest winning margins at Vuelta a Espana

The first three riders of the general classification at the Vuelta a Espana 1995

2 September 1995 -The first autumn Vuelta a Espana started

For sixty years, since the first edition in 1935, Vuelta a Espana was a spring race. The first time the Spanish grand tour started in September happened only in 1995.  The race was won by Laurent Jalabert. This was a much significant change in the calendar, than we might think of it from our present perspective. A grand tour in September has lenghtened the season significantly. And as this cyclingnews article from 2008 shows it, even 13 years later not everybody liked the changes.

bunch sprint victory for geoffrey soupe at the Vueota a Espana 2023

Vuelta 2023 Stage 7 (Utiel – Oliva)

After a mountain stage on previous day, won by Sepp Kuss (Jmbo-Visma), a classic bunch sprint finale is espected again. Also, there isa new leader in the peloton: Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) 7th Stage 1 September 2023 Utiel – Oliva 188,8 km