Tour de France 2023 Stage 1 (Bilbao-Bilbao)

Thank you for being a devoted reader of PelotonTales. You are the reason why it’s worth spending so many hours to create new content and trying to improve this website. If you would show appreciation to my work, please consider supporting the blog with a small donation. Thank you! Raymond Delisle was one of those… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Raymond Delisle (1943-2013)

You would never guess in what kind of stage the  first Dutch Tour de France stage winner, Theo (Theofiel) Middelkamp (1914-2005) gained his victory. In a mountain stage in the Alps, including Télégraphe, Galibier and Lautaret. Considering that even in the early 1950s, when Wim van Est, the first Dutch cyclist to wear the yellow… Read More »Faces from the Peloton: Theo Middelkamp (1914-2005)

Undoubtedly, there were plenty of cyclists with unique stories in the peloton in the first few decades of road cycling races. These atlethes were not necessarily successful riders or didn’t become the bigest stars of their days, but yet, their stories are worth to be told. Actually, if we are looking deeper into the well… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jules Deloffre, “the acrobat cyclist”

The winner of the longest ever individual time trial (139 km ) in the history of Tour de France, Raymond Impanis had a successful career. Although a bit in the shadow of the biggest names of the era. That certain individual time trial at Tour de France 1947 was one of his two TDF stage… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Raymond Impanis (1925-2010)

Fausto Coppi’s brother, Serse was born on the 19th of March in 1923 in Castellania, Italy. He started to race professionally in the Bianchi team as the most trusted domestique of his older sibling in 1946. Nevertheless, he had his own personal success either: he won Paris-Roubaix in 1949, although under disputable circumstances. Originally, André… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Serse Coppi (1923-1951)

The Col d’Aubisque is a true veteran among the iconic ascents of the Pyrenees, steeped in cycling history and tradition. This legendary climb has been a fixture in the Tour de France since 1910, when the race ventured into the high mountains for the very first time.

Although Tour de France started outside Paris for the first time in 1926, race organizers used the good old concept to start the event in Paris even during the subsequent years. Only after World War II became a custom to start Tour de France elsewhere in France. And in 1954 the race witnessed its first… Read More »The start of Tour de France 1932

Mont Ventoux was introduced to Tour de France in 1951 (one year earlier than Alpe d’Huez and Puy de Dôme). At the first three occasions (1951, 1954 and 1955) the peloton crossed the top during  mid-race, the first summit finish was organized only in 1958. The 11th stage of the 1955 Tour de France began… Read More »Louison Bobet on Mont Ventoux (Tour de France 1955)

Felice Gimondi’s cycling career is remembered for his remarkable ability to compete at the highest level during the same era as the legendary Eddy Merckx, widely regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time. Despite Merckx’s dominance, Gimondi achieved numerous significant victories, including all three Grand Tours—Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta… Read More »What is in your bag? (Felice Gimondi and Eddy Merckx 1967)

The 1949 Tour de France marked a high point in the legendary rivalry between two Italian cycling icons, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. Bartali had already claimed two Tour victories (1938 and 1948), while Coppi, though a three-time Giro d’Italia champion (1940, 1947, 1949), was making his Tour debut. Determined to make history, Coppi aimed… Read More »Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali during Tour de France 1949