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Eddy Merckx won the Giro d’Italia five times (1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974) during his extraordinary career. The 51st Giro d’Italia was held between the 20th May and 12th June 1968. This was Merckx’s second participation. A year earlier, he finished 9th in the general classification. During the Giro d’Italia in 1968, Merckx won a total of 4 stages, including the hilltop finish on Tre Cime di Lavaredo.  

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! Alpe d’Huez witnessed plenty of legendary moments since its introduction to the Tour de France in 1952. One of them is the famous 18th stage in 1986,  when Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond reached the top hand in hand. The team La Vie Claire had usually a very strong line-up at the Tour de France in the mid-1980s. Bernard Hinault was one of the cycling superstars,… Read More »Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond on the top of Alpe d’Huez (Tour de France 1986)

The 18th edition of Giro d’Italia between the 17th May and 8th June 1930  has an interesting place in the history of the race.Read More »June 8 1930 The 18th edition of Giro d’Italia ends

The 36th Tour de France was held between 20 June and 24 July 1949.  The route was divided into 21 stages and included 4808 km. This was the first time the race visited Spain (9th stage). They also took a trip to Belgium and Italy. The Tour de France in 1949 was one of the peaks of the great rivalry between the two Italian superlegends Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. Bartali won the Tour already twice (1938 and 1948). Coppi never rode the race before, but he triumphed at the Giro d’Italia that year (it was his third victory after 1940 and 1947) and wanted to win the Giro-Tour double which never happened in the… Read More »Tour de France 1949

In 2022 Giro d’Italia visits Etna on the 4th stage, right after the first rest day (following the opening stages in Hungary) Although it’s a place well known worldwide, Giro d’Italia visited it only a few times. List of stages and stage winners on Etna at the Giro d’Italia 1967 Stage 7 Catani -Etna (198 km)  Franco Bitossi 1989  Stage 2 Catani -Etna (195 km) Acácio da Silva 2011 Stage 7 Messina -Etna (189 km) Alberto Contador 2017 Stage 4  Cefalú -Etna (181 km) Jan Polanc 2018 Stage 6 Caltanisetta -Etna (169 km) Esteban Chaves 2020 Stage 3 Enna -Etna (150 km) Jonathan Caicedo More Giro d’Italia fun facts on PelotonTales  [su_box title=”Giro d’Italia fun… Read More »When Giro d’Italia visited Etna

Every road cycling fan knows the name Octave Lapize, the rider who crossed Tourmalet first at the Tour de France in 1910. His memorial is on the top of the ascent. Lapize also won that year’s Tour de France. But, although he was  rather considered a climber, he was good also at the Paris-Roubaix. Actually, he was the first rider, who won the race three times. In 1909, 1910 and 1911. Lapize just turned professional at the beginning of the season 1909 and made a good impression on Henri Desgranges: “He has an energetic aspect, a solid chin, a focused look, a pointed moustache, all of which give him the look of a racer[…]He has a… Read More »Octave Lapize, the first three-time Paris-Roubaix champion