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9 July 1959 – Puy Mary was introduced to Tour de France

Puy Mary (Pas de Peyrol)  was first used at the Tour de France in 1959. The 14th stage between Aurillac and Clermont -Ferrand  was held on 9 July. This was a 231 km long course including also the ascents La Roche Vendeix and Diane. André Le Dissez crossed the finish line first, but on the top of Puy Mary Louis Bergaud could enjoythe tast of triumph.  Bergaud was a local guy. He attacked right after the start and made sure he would be the first on the top of the new climb. Meanwhile the favourites of the race seemed rather to prepare for the mountain individual time trial up Puy de Dôme on the next… Read More »9 July 1959 – Puy Mary was introduced to Tour de France

Orcieres-Merlette 1971 Luis Ocana

8 July 1971 Luis Ocana won in Orcieres-Merlette

Orcieres-Merlette (or Orcieres Merlette 1850), the ski resort in the Alpes was introduced to Tour de France during this edition. Not only the 11th stage finished here, but also the peloton spent the rest day and the 12stage started at the place.. The 134 km long stage from Grenoble was won by Luis Ocana. He rode 60 km solo and finished 5 min 52 sec ahead of Lucien van Impe and 8 min 42 sec ahead of Eddy Merckx and some other race favourites. Ocana jumped to the first place in the general classification and everyone was convinced by his upcoming overal 9 July 1971 Luis Ocana won in Orcieres-Merlette victory. But on the 14th… Read More »8 July 1971 Luis Ocana won in Orcieres-Merlette

Bjarne Riis wins a shortened, 46 km long stage in the Alps at Tour de France 1996

8 July 1996 Bjarne Riis wins a shortened stage in the Alps

Road cycling is an outdoor sport, obviously, and weather conditions can cause somet8mes trouble even at events with big prestige like Tour de France. This happened in the 9th stage in 1996. The day started in Le-Monétier-les-Bains, the route was originally 176 km long. But due to the over 100km/h strong wind it must have been shortened so seriously, that the riders had to ride only 46 km. Col d’Iseran and Galibier were scrapped from the program. The peloton had to climb only Montgenévre amd the final ascent up to Sestriere. Before the stage Evegeni Berzin led the general classification. After this short workday in the saddle Bjarne Riis,the most agressive rider from the start,… Read More »8 July 1996 Bjarne Riis wins a shortened stage in the Alps

Eddy Merckx during Tour de France 1969

4 July 1969 Eddy Merckx takes the yellow jersey for the very first time

1969 was Eddy Merckx firts appearance at the Tour de France. He was already a Giro d’Italia winner (1968) and cemented his fame with severwl Monumment victories, especially at Milano-Sanremo. No wonder Merckx was considered also one of the favourites of Tour de France 1969. It took 6 stages (and a prologue) him to take over the lead. Stage 6 , on the 4th July of 1969, was a mountain stage inclunding Ballon d’Alsace. Merckx won the stage, while destroyed the dreams of some of the other favourites. It was a really strong peloton, including the Tour de France winners from precious years (Felice Gimondi 1965, Roger Pingeon 1967, Jan Janssen 1968). However, Merckx did… Read More »4 July 1969 Eddy Merckx takes the yellow jersey for the very first time

Emile Georget struggling through the snowy and unpaved roads in the Alps, possibly on Galibier during Tour de France 1911

4 July 1906 Tour de France visits Lille for the very first time

The opening stage of Tour de France 1906 was relatively short according to the standards of the time, “only” 271 km. The day started in Paris (as it was usual until 1926) and the finished in Lille. Emile Georget was the best rider on that day. Tour de France will return to Lille also in 2025. (Leadpicture: Emile Georget in the Alps, possibly during Tour de France 1911)

Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard celebrating his first Tour de France victory in Paris in 2022

The slowest and the fastest Tour de France

You might wonder which Tour de France edition was the slowest and wich one the fastest. Here you have the answer. The slowest Tour de France was the 13th edition, held between 29th June and 27 July in 1919. The 5560 km long route of the race was  divided into 15 stages. (And it wasn’t even the longest ever edition.) Because the First World War ended only a few months earlier, most of the cyclists had not enough possibility to train. Routine and experience of how to ride a Tour de France mattered, no wonder, that mostly the older riders dominated the race. On the other handy the international elite peloton suffered devastating personal losses:… Read More »The slowest and the fastest Tour de France

Nicolas Frantz on the Col d'Allos at the Tour de France in 1927

Tour de France editions without previous winners in the peloton

During its 120-year long history, it happened only three times, when the peloton of Tour de France did not includ any previous winner. Obviously, in 1903 there couldn’t be any, because it was the very first edition. In 1927, it seems to have been a generational change in the peloton of Tour de France. Several riders, who were successful before and right after the First World War has retired. A!so, sadly,  double TDF-winner Ottavio Bottecchia (1924 and 1925) was beaten during a training ride in June 1927 so seriously that he died a few days later. The exact circumstances of his death are still unclear. Tour de France 1956 was a bit different story. Allegedly,… Read More »Tour de France editions without previous winners in the peloton

Legendary Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx spent the most day wearing pink jersey (maglia rosa) during Giro d'Italia

Most days in pink jersey

The pink jersey (maglia rosa) was introduced to the Giro d’Italia during the race in 1931.Learco Guerra (The Human Locomotive”) was the first rider to wear it.The top 11 riders  with  most days in pink jersey :Eddy Merckx 78 (1968,1969,1970,1972,1973,1974)Alfredo Binda 65 (1925,1927,1928,1929,1931,1933)Francesco Moser 50 (1976,1977,1979,1980,1981,1982,1984,1985)Giuseppe Saronni 48 (1979,1981,1983,1985,1986)Gino Bartali 42 (1936,1937,1939,1946,1947)Jacques Anquetil 42 (1959,1960,1961,1964,1967)Fausto Coppi 31 (1940,1947,1949,1952,1953,1954)Bernard Hinault 31 (1980,1982,1985)Miguel Indurain 29 (1992,1993)Costante Girardengo 26 (1919,1921,1923,1925,1926)Roberto Visentini 26 (1980,1981,1985,1986,1987)

Marco Pantani is climbing Passo del Mortirolo alongside with Miguel Indurain at Giro d'Italia 1994

Every time Passo del Mortirolo was part of Giro d’Italia

Passo del Mortirolo, usually a mid-stage ascent, was introduced to Giro d’Italia in 1990. The first rider on the top was the Venezuelan Leonardo Sierra. There is a monument to Marco Pantani at 8 km from the top (from the side of Mazzo di Valtellina).Also,  there is a special prize for the rider first atop, named after Pantani, theefore Mortirolo Pass is dubbed as Cima Pantani. All the Giro-appearances of Passo del Mortirolo and the riders crossed the top first: 1990 Leonardo Sierra 1991 Franco Chioccioli 1994 Marco Pantani 1996 Ivan Gotti 1997 Wladimir Belli 1999 Ivan Gotti 2004 Raffaele Illiano 2006 Ivan Basso 2008 Tom Colom 2010 Ivan Basso 2012 Oliver Zaugg 2015 Steven… Read More »Every time Passo del Mortirolo was part of Giro d’Italia

Belgian cycling superstar Eddy Merckx leading an attack while wearing the pink jersey during Giro d'Italia 1973

Cyclists led the Giro d’Italia general classification from start to finish

There are only four riders who led the general classification of Giro d’Italia thtough the entire race. Although the number of days they spent in leadeship differs due to the different stucture of the race though the years. Costante Girardengo 1919 (10 stages) During the first edition of Giro d’Italia after World War I Girardengo dominated the race on an incredible level. He won 7 of the 10 stages. Alfredo Binda 1927 (15 stages) Binda won the general classification two years earlier and was one of the main favourites in 1926. Unfortunately, he crashed on the very first stage and gave up the hope to win the race. So he rather helped his teammate Giovanni… Read More »Cyclists led the Giro d’Italia general classification from start to finish