One of the oddest images from the history of Tour de France pictures Lucien Van Impe after the crash with a motobike on Alpe d’Huez on 19th July 1977. The Belgian cyclist won the Tour de France in 1976, and had a chance to repeat his success in the subsequent year. Before the 17th stage … Read more
Lucien Van Impe was second in the general classification with 2 ‘ 41″ behind Raymond Delisle before the 14th stage of Tour de France 1976. The program of the day on the 10th of July 1976 was a 139 km long route in the Pyrenees between Saint-Gaudens and Saint-Larry-Soulan, including Col de Menté, Col du … Read more
Between 1952 and 1988 Puy de Dôme was included into the program of Tour de France 13 times. Among the winners on the top are Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Federico Bahamontes Lucien van Impe, Luis Ocaña or Joop Zoetemelk. In fact, the two latter are those riders, who were able to win a Puy de … 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.
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.
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 … Read more