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US cyclist Greg Lemond in the final stage, the famous individual time trial in Paris of Tour de France 1989

Smallest winning margins at Tour de France

8″ 1989 Greg LeMond vs Laurent Fignon 23″ 2007 Alberto Contador vs Cadel Evans 32″ 2006 Óscar Pereiro vs Andreas Klöden 38″ 1968 Jan Janssen vs Herman Van Springel 40″ 1987 Stephen Roche vs Pedro Delgado 48″ 1977 Bernard Thévenet vs Hennie Kuiper 54″ 2017 Chris Froome vs Rigoberto Urán 55″ 1964 Jacques Anquetil vs Raymond Poulidor 58″ 2008 Carlos Sastre vs Cadel Evans 159″ 2020 Tadej Pogačar vs Primož Roglič MORE TOUR DE FRANCE FUN FACTS  [su_posts posts_per_page=”7″ tax_term=”456″ order=”desc” orderby=”rand”]    

Josef Fischer (1865-1953) the winner of the first Paris-Roubaix (1896)

Faces from the peloton: Josef Fischer (1865-1953)

Josef Fischer, the winner of the first Paris-Roubaix (1896) was born on the 20th January, 1865 in Atzlern (near München, Germany).  Fischer participated in several of the earliest long-distance bicycle races, like the 582,5 km long Vienna-Berlin race in 1893, where he triumphed. The route took him 31 hours. Next year, among others, he attended the 587 km long Milano-München, which he completed in 29 and half hours. During the 1890s bicycle was still a new vehicle, there were several crazy events to promote the product, like Fischer’s duels against horses. On the 19th April 1896, the first Paris-Roubaix was held. The distance was 280 km long, the race started at 5:30 am. Although more… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Josef Fischer (1865-1953)

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar riding solo among cheering crowds at Strade Bianche in 2022

Strade Bianche 2023 – without Tadej Pogacar

After his sensational season start last week, I guess, everybody was wondering, what performance Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)  will deliver at this year’s Strade Bianche on the afternoon of  4th the March. He is, after all, the defending champion. And his sensational solo ride last year was really one of the finest moments of the entire season. Unfortunately, at least from the point of view of the fans of the famous one-day race in Tuscany, Pogacar decided to skip the event in order to be able to start Paris-Nice on the next day. As some experts pointed out, the two-time Tour de France winner is prepearing rather in a traditional way for the big… Read More »Strade Bianche 2023 – without Tadej Pogacar

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Hey, it’s me, Anita, the author of PelotonTales blog. Thank you for following this little adventure of mine searching for unique stories, great and small, happy and sad, epic, thrilling and unique ones. As someone, who has been working with storytelling (analyzing, criticizing, sometimes writing stories)  I can’t help myself seeing also road cycling races as a collection of fascinating stories.  That’s the point of view I would like to share with my audience in my articles. If you’d like to help a little to maintain the blog, you can support the project with a small donation. Thank you for your generosity!

Vintage Paris-Roubaix 1928 -Andre Leducq wins the race

Iconic Paris-Roubaix images: André Leducq crossing the finish line in 1928

André Leducq, the two-time Tour de France winner (1930 and 1932) claimed his first great triumph at  Paris-Roubaix in 1928. The race took place on the 8th April 1928. 89 riders departed in Le Vésinet but only 52 riders completed the 260 km long route. The defining moment of the race happened in Arras, where defending champion Georges Ronsse rode away from the rest of the peloton. Charles Pélissier and Charles Meunier followed him. André Leducq and Gaston Rebry (the later three-time Paris-Roubaix winner from 1931, 1934 and 1935) joined later. Then, Rebry and Pélissier dropped, and only three riders arrived at the avenue des Villas in Roubaix. Meunier was a kind of an outsider… Read More »Iconic Paris-Roubaix images: André Leducq crossing the finish line in 1928

Giro d'Italia 1st stage on 6 May 2023

Opening ITT for Giro 2023 (Giro d’Italia 2023 – Stage 1)

Stage 1 6 May 2023 Fossacesia Marina – Ortona (ITT, 19,6 km)   The first Giro d’Italia started on 13th May 1909. The race included 8 stages, ended on 30th May. Luigi Ganna was the winner of the very first edition.

19th century female cyclists hor record holders netween 1893 and 1897

Female hour record holders in the 19th century

Not only men, but also women liked to compete against the hour since the beginning of the history of cycling.  Here are the women who set records during the last years of the 19th century. Mlle de Saint-Saveur 7 July 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 26,012 km Renée Debatz 4 August 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 28,019km Hélène Dutrieu 7 Octobre 1893 Vélodrome Lillois, Lille, France 28,78 km Louise Roger 26 Octobre 1893 Vélodrome Buffalo, Paris, France 34,684 km