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Puy de Dôme Tour de France

Iconic Tour de France places: Puy de Dôme

Tour de France 2023 presented a great gift for every road cycling history fans: after 35 years Puy de Dôme was reintroduced to the race. Although the 9th stage of Tour de France 2023 was only the 14th appearance of the ascent, it became one of the most iconic places in the history road cycling thanks mainly to the epic battle between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor in 1964. Nestled in the heart of the Massif Central in central France, Puy de Dôme is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the Chaîne des Puys region. The ascent was introduced to Tour de France in 1952 and had frequent appearance until 1988.… Read More »Iconic Tour de France places: Puy de Dôme

Felicien Vervaecke Tourmalet Tour de France 1936

Felicien Vervaecke’s bad luck (Tour de France 1936)

A  Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees (especially, when it includes the big four, Peyresourde, Auspin, Aubisque and Tourmalet) always provides stories to tell. Belgian rider Felicien Vervaecke won the mountain competition of Tour de France twice, in 1935 and 1937. Before the 16th stage (Peyresourde, Tourmalet, Aspin, Aubisque) in 1936, he was 4 minutes behind his teammate Sylvère Maes in the GC. But bad luck prevented him to maintain this position. First his bicycle broke, and he had to convince a spectator to lend his. Then he suffered a flat tire, and Tour officials forced him to wait for the reserve car. Antonin Magne, the actual third in the GC passed him. When… Read More »Felicien Vervaecke’s bad luck (Tour de France 1936)

Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi Giro di Lombardia 1951

Louison Bobet’s Giro di Lombardia Victory (1951)

Although Louison Bobet is remembered mostly by his three consecutive Tour de France victories (1953, 1954, 1955), he also had some success in the world of one day races. Actually, Louison Bobet won four of the five monuments, he missed only the triumph at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Nevertheless, he attended La Doyenne three times, his best result was a 4th place in 1952. But he won Milano-Sanremo and Giro di Lombardia in 1951, Ronde van Vlaanderen in 1955 and Paris-Roubaix in 1956. Bobet rode Giro di Lombardia seven times during his career, he had other top10 results besides his victory in 1951. That year was a good one for him, he already won the other Italian monument… Read More »Louison Bobet’s Giro di Lombardia Victory (1951)

Tour de France 1976 on Peloton&Tales

Tour de France 1976

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.

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Tour de France 1951 Tourmalet Fausto Coppi Hugo Koblet,

Tour de France 1951

The 38th Tour de France between 4th and 29th July 1951 was the first edition which visited the interior of France, most importantly the Massif Central and the Mont Ventoux.Read More »Tour de France 1951