1952 was an extraordinary year in the history of Tour de France, not only because the terrific performance of Fausto Coppi. But also, it was the first time, when a Tour de France stage ended on the top of the ascent: this was the legendary debut of Alpe d’Huez. The program of the 39th Tour de … Read more
As La Vuelta ciclista a España (19 August-11 September 2022), the last three-week race of of the season is nearing, let’s talk about the cyclists who won all the three grand tours at least one time. Jacques Anquetil was the first rider to achieve this, when he finally won the Vuelta in 1963. At that … Read more
With its introduction to Tour de France in 1952, Alpe d’Huez became one the most iconic ascents of the race instantly. Although it has a shorter history than the big giants like Col du Galibier or Col d’Izoard, there are plenty moments worth to remember.
Let’s see five really iconic moments from the common history of Alpe d’Huez and Tour de France.
Defending champion Fausto Coppi didn’t attend the Tour de France in 1953. He was rather preparing for the World Championships. However, he trained in the Alps during July. So, he visited the Tour de France as a tourist. During the 1950s, there was a unique 4-man group in the peloton, later called the “G4” by … Read more
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 … Read more
Although smaller climbs were parts of the program since the beginning, and both the Pyrenees (1910) and the Alps (1911) were intruduced to the race during the pre-WW1 period, there were no hilltop finishes at the Tour de France till 1952. Alpe d’Huez ( in the Western Alps) was a ski station in the first … Read more
The Tour de France in 1952 was all about Fausto Coppi. The Campionissimo dominated the race to such an extent, that the organizers had to double the prize money for the second place to make the competition less boring. But Coppi took the yellow jersey only after his triumph on Alpe d’Huez. On the day, … Read more
It was a 92 km long individual time trial between Les Sables-d’Olonne and La Rochelle. It took Coppi 2hr 18min 10sec to finish it. He won the race ahead of Ferdy Kübler with 1 min and 32 sec. (Lead pic: Fausto Coppi on the Tourmalet on the 11th stage of Tour de France 1949)