This was the 14th stage of that year’s Tour de France. A 173 km long route from Montpelier to the top of the Mont Ventoux. With his victory, Poulidor jumped up to the second place, but Felice Gimondi, who gained the yellow on the 9th stage (Aubisque, Tourmalet), remained in the leading position till the end of the race.
The 326 km stage between Bayonne and Luchon included the climbs Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde.
Read More »2 July 1924 Ottavio Bottecchia won the 6th stage of the Tour de France
Edmond Jacquelin, one of the first stars in the history of cycling races was born on the 15th March 1875 in Santenay, France. He started his professional career in 1893. This was the time period when cycling races were predominantly track events. Jacquelin won the Grand Prix Turin in 1898, the Grand Prix de Paris and the World Championship in 1900. His career is still most memorable from the famous cycling duel between him and the American Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor in the Parc des Princes velodrome. Edmond Jacquelin retired from cycling in 1914. Although he earned a fortune as cyclist, he spent all his money too quickly and had to work as a day… Read More »Cycling Who’s Who: Edmond Jacquelin
“A solitary cyclist was coming towards us. His head was down and his shoulders rounded, as he put every ounce of energy that he possessed on to the pedals. He was flying like a racer.” (Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist) In this case of Sherlock Holmes a young music teacher woman is followed by a mysterious cyclist on the road between her workplace and the train station. When she appears at Baker Street 221/b seeking help from Holmes to solve the case, the detective recognizes instantly, that she is a cyclist too. The story was published in 1903 and insists that at this time riding a bicycle was already accepted and… Read More »“He was flying like a racer”
Giovanni Brunero was born on the 4 October 1895 in San Maurizio Canavese, Italy. Brunero was the first rider to win the Giro d’Italia 3 times (1921, 1922, 1926), which was a remarkable result during the era of Costante Girardengo and Alfredo Binda. On the other hand, Brunero’s triumphs seemed to be not entirely undisputable. The Giro d’Italia in 1922 called the race of “mille polemiche”, a. k . a “The Giro of Thousand Arguments”. After an illegal wheel change on the first stage of the race, he only got a penalty of 25 minutes. The teams of Costante Girardengo (Maino) and Gaetano Belloni (Bianchi) wanted him to be excluded from the race. When they… Read More »Cycling Who’s Who: Giovanni Brunero
The first edition of the Tour de France in 1903 was a big success. Not only for the L’Auto, which was able to increase its sell numbers but for all the cycling fans in France. But the growing popularity of the event caused some unexpected issues right at the second edition of the race in 1904. The prestige of winning the race was too hight, riders and spectators went totally mad. Some riders were attacked and beaten by the fanatical supporters of other participants. Nails were thrown on the road and even the riders cheated very intensively. Numerous riders were disqualified during the race already, mostly accused of getting lifts in cars and taking illegal… Read More »Damaged by its own popularity (Tour de France 1904)
The 63rd Tour de France was held between the 24th June and 18th July 1976. This was a 4017 km long edition divided into a prologue and 22 stages. The 5th and the 22nd stages had A and B parts, the 18th stage (on the Bastille Day) was split into three parts. The course included 8 mountain stages, five of them with a hilltop finish.
Jacques Marinelli was born on the 15th December of 1925 in Blanc-Mesnil, France. He was a professional rider between 1948 and 1955. He rode the Tour de France six times between 1948 and 1954, his most successful year was 1949 when he was wearing the yellow jersey for six days. That Tour de France was one of the peaks of the rivalry between Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali. Marinelli was already leading the general classification when he and Coppi escaped on the 5th staged and crashed. Marinelli could continue the race immediately, but Coppi needed a bike change. The Campionissimo refused to ride any of the spare bikes of the Italian team, he wanted to… Read More »Cycling Who’s Who: Jacques Marinelli
Giuseppe Enrici was born on the 16 Juni 1894 in Pittsburgh, USA. Although he was born in America, he was an Italian citizen at the time when he won the Giro d’Italia (1924). He also won two stages that year. His other results at the Giro: 3rd (1921), 6th (1923) 5th 1926) 13th (1928). He attended several other Italian races mostly with top10 results, but without any other notable victory. Giuseppe Enrici’s professional teams: 1922–1924 Legnano 1925 Armor-Dunlop 1926 Automoto-Hutchinson Giuseppe Enrici died on the 1st September 1968, in Nice, France
Every generation has its “eternal second” rider. During the post WW1 period in Italy, this was Gaetano Belloni. Belloni was born on the 26th of August in 1892 in Pizzighettone, Italy. Before turning professional, he won several races as amateur, including the Italian Championship. There were significantly more races held during the first World War than during the second one, and Belloni participated in many of them. He was avoided to be called to the front after he lost his thumb and forefinger of his right hand when he was working in textile manufacture before becoming a cyclists. He won the two Italian monuments multiple times (Milano-Sanremo 1917 and 1920, Giro di Lombardia 1915, 1918… Read More »Mini Cycling Who’s Who: Gaetano Belloni