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)
This was Anquetil first ever mountain stage victory at the Tour de France, although he has already won the race three times.
Read More »2 July 1963 Jacques Anquetil won the stage in the Pyrenees (Tour de France)
Every year the highest peak of the Giro d’Italia is called “Cima Coppi”, in honour of the great cyclist Fausto Coppi (1919-1960). In the inauguration year, the highest peak of the route was Passo dello Stelvio. The race was a real spectacle due to the heavy snowfall. Graziano Battistini crossed the finish line first on that memorable day.