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Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond duo up to Alpe d'Huez at the Tour de France in 1986

Alpe d’Huez appearances at the Tour de France

Although its introduction to the Tour de France in 1952, made Alpe d’Huez an instant classic, the race visited the famous ascent again only 24 years later. Listo of winners on the top of Alpe d’Huez 1952 Fausto Coppi 1976 Joop Zoetemelk 1977 Hennie Kuiper 1978 Hennie Kuiper 1979 Joaquim Agostinho 1979 Joop Zoetemelk 1981 Peter Winnen 1982 Beat Breu 1983 Peter Winnen 1984 Luis Herrera 1986 Bernard Hinault 1987 Federico Echave 1988 Steven Rook 1989 Gert-Jan Theunisse 1990 Gianni Bugno 1991 Gianni Bugno 1992 Andrew Hampsten 1994 Roberto Conti 1995 Marco Pantani 1997 Marco Pantani 1999 Giuseppe Guerini 2001 Lance Armstrong 2003 Iban Mayo 2004 Lance Armstrong 2006 Fränk Schleck 2008 Carlos Sastre 2011… Read More »Alpe d’Huez appearances at the Tour de France

Cycling related quotes from classic literature , quote of the day daily on PelotonTales

“the pleasure of riding”

“It was up Kingston Hill that he first noticed a peculiar feeling, a slight tightness at his knees; but he noticed, too, at the top that he rode straighter than he did before. The pleasure of riding straight blotted out these first intimations of fatigue.” (H. G. Wells: The Wheels of Chance: a Bicycle Idyll)

How good was Henri Desgrange as a rider himself?

Henri Desgrange, the cyclist

The founding father of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange (1865-1940)  was a cyclist in his younger days. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 km (1893) Apparently, Desgrange saw a bicycle race for a very first time while visiting the finish of Bordeaux-Paris in 1891. First he raced on the track, but it turned out very soon, the endurace races suited him more. His performance on 11 May 1893 was the first “recognised hour record in the history of cycling races. He also established records at 50 and 100 km and 100 miles. He won even the tricycle championship in that successful year of 1893. [su_box title=”Read more… Read More »Henri Desgrange, the cyclist

cycling appears quite frequently in classic novels and short stories too

“if Bottechia had not abandoned it at Pamplona”

I had coffee out on the terrasse with the team manager of one of the big bicycle manufacturers. He said it had been a very pleasant race, and would have been worth watching if Bottechia had not abandoned it at Pamplona. The dust had been bad, but in Spain the roads were better than in France. Bicycle road-racing was the only sport in the world, he said. (Ernest Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises)  

cycling appears quite frequently in classic novels and short stories too

Get a bicycle!

“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live.” (Mark Twain: Taming the Bicycle)  

Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen at Ronde van Vlaanderen Tour of Flanders

Ronde van Vlaanderen winners since 2000

2000 Andrei Tchmil (Lotto–Adecco) 2001 Gianluca Bortolami (Tacconi Sport–Vini Caldirola) 2002 Andrea Tafi (Mapei–Quick-Step) 2003 Peter van Petegem (Lotto–Domo) 2004 Steffen Wesemann (T-Mobile Team) 2005 Tom Boonen (Quick-Step–Innergetic) 2006 Tom Boonen (Quick-Step–Innergetic) 2007 Italy Alessandro Ballan (Lampre–Fondital) 2008 Stijn Devolder (Quick-Step) 2009 Stijn Devolder (Quick-Step) 2010 Fabian Cancellara (Team Saxo Bank) 2011 Nick Nuyens (Saxo Bank–SunGard) 2012 Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step) 2013 Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack–Leopard) 2014 Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) 2015 Alexander Kristoff (Team Katusha) 2016 Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) 2017 Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) 2018 Niki Terpstra (Quick-Step Floors) 2019 Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First) 2020 Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Fenix) 2021 Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck–Quick-Step [su_box title=”More Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) on… Read More »Ronde van Vlaanderen winners since 2000

Cycling record of a sixteen-year-old girl

In September 1893, a young sixteen-year-old girl rode on bicycle from  Brighton to London and back. The road between the two cities was 190 km (120 mi) long and it took her 8 hours and 30 minutes to return to Brighton from the capitol, wich was considered a new record.   Tessie Reynolds was the daughter of Robert James Reynolds, a gymnastic instructor and cycling agent, who promoted active sport among his children. Also her mother was involved in the new craziness of cycling, she run a boarding house catering for cyclists especially. Thus, basically, Tessie grew up in a family, where riding a bicycle and challenging herself physically was normal even for a young woman.… Read More »Cycling record of a sixteen-year-old girl