It might sound unbelievable, but Fausto Coppi, the third Campionissio of the Italian cycling, one of the greatest legends of the sport rode Tour de France only 3 times. From our rather nostalgic point of view it appears as a longer period. But no. It happened only three times between 1949 and 1952. So big … Read more
Due to the system of Tour de France was competed by national teams between 1930 and 1961, the spectators of the race witnessed Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali riding in the same team during the late 1940s and early 1950s. This situation sometimes put the diplomatic skills of team manager Alfredo Binda to the test. … Read more
It was the 228 km long 9th stage between Bordeaux and San Sebastian on the 9th July 1949. Louis Caput was the winner of the stage. Tour de France used to visit neighbour countries during the early years of its history already. Read more about when Tour de France went abroad before 1914. Tour de France … Read more
Tour de France in 1949 was one of the peaks of the great rivalry between the two Italian superlegends Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. Bartali has won the Tour already twice (1938 and 1948). Coppi never rode the race before, but he triumphed at the Giro d’Italia that year (it was his third victory after … 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
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 … 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)