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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)

Italian cyclist Luigi Malabrocca wearing the so-called maglia nera jersey awarded to the last rider of the general classification, at the Giro d'Italia 1947.

The story of the Maglia Nera (Giro d’Italia 1946-1951)

Between 1946 and 1951 a special jersey was awarded to the last cyclist in the general classification of the Giro d ‘Italia, called Maglia Nera. The idea came from a story in the 1920s. A football player, called Giuseppe Ticozzelli was such a cycling enthusiast, that he attended the race as an individual rider in 1926. Individuals were common in the peloton of the grand tours  in the early years. They had no helpers, no supporting crew; and the most extraordinary stories usually happened with them. Because they had to care about themselves, it wasn’t a big surprise when they dropped early from the race and finished a  stage several hours after the majority of… Read More »The story of the Maglia Nera (Giro d’Italia 1946-1951)

Tour de France 1949

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 peaks of the great rivalry between the two Italian superlegends Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. Bartali 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 1940 and 1947) and wanted to win the Giro-Tour double which never happened in the… Read More »Tour de France 1949

Eddy Merckx Paris-Roubwix reckon 1970

Eddy Merckx on the cobbles (Paris-Roubaix 1970)

The picture was taken on a training ride before Paris-Roubaix in 1970. Eddy Merckx earned his first Paris-Roubaix victory in 1968.  Next year he became second. The 68th edition of the “Hell of the North”  on the 12th April in 1970 witnessed his second triumph. Merckx also won the race in 1973.

Paul Deman the winner of the first Ronde van Vlaanderen -sentenced tobdeath and almost executed twice!

Sentenced to death and almost executed – twice!

Paul Deman was the first winner of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (1913). During the WW1 he was working as a courier for underground resistance movements and carrying messages around Belgium and also in the Netherlands. In November 1918 he had already 14 successful missions, but unfortunately on the 15th, he was stopped by the Germans. He was arrested, jailed and sentenced to death immediately. Fortunately, while he was awaiting his execution, the Armistice was signed. But it still wasn’t a happy ending for Deman. The British Army took over the prison where he was jailed and believed him a German because of his accent. They wanted to execute him too. At the end a letter… Read More »Sentenced to death and almost executed – twice!

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)

Peloton&Tales Cycling Who's Who: Giovanni Brunero

Cycling Who’s Who: Giovanni Brunero

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