1961 Tour de France
 Route of the 1961 Tour de France Followed clockwise, starting in Rouen and finishing in Paris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 25 June – 16 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21, including one split stage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,397 km (2,732 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 122h 01' 33" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1961 Tour de France was the 48th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 25 June and 16 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of 4,397 km (2,732 mi). Out of the 132 riders who started the tour, 72 managed to complete the tour's tough course. Throughout the 1961 Tour de France, two of the French national team's riders, André Darrigade and Jacques Anquetil held the yellow jersey for the entirety 21 stages. There was a great deal of excitement between the second and third places, concluding with Guido Carlesi stealing Charly Gaul's second place position on the last day by two seconds.
Teams
The teams entering the race were:[1]
- Italy
- France
- Belgium
- Spain
- Netherlands
- West Germany
- Switzerland/Luxembourg (combined)
- Great Britain
- Paris North-East
- France Centre-Midi
- France West South-West
Pre-race favourites
.jpg)
Since Jacques Anquetil had won the 1957 Tour de France, he was unable to repeat it, due to illness, tiredness and struggle within the French team. For 1961, he asked the team captain Marcel Bidot to make a team that would only ride for him, and Bidot agreed. Anquetil announced before the race that he would take the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification on the first day, and wear it until the end of the race in Paris.[2]
Gastone Nencini, who won the previous edition, did not enter in 1961, but Graziano Battistini, his team mate and runner-up of 1960, started the race as leader of the Italian team. If the French team would again have internal struggles, the Italian team could emerge as the winner.
The Spanish team had two outsiders, José Pérez Francés and Fernando Manzaneque. The last outsider was Charly Gaul, winner of the 1958 Tour de France, who rode in the mixed Luxembourg-Swiss team. He considered his team mates so weak that he did not seek their help, and rode the race on his own.[2] Raymond Poulidor was convinced by his team manager Antonin Magne that it would be better to skip the Tour, because the national team format would undermine his commercial value.[3]
Route and stages
The 1961 Tour de France started on 25 June in Rouen, and had one rest day, in Montpellier.[4] For the first time the finish on top of the Superbagnères was included to the race.[5]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | 25 June | Rouen to Versailles | 136.5 km (84.8 mi) |  | Plain stage |  |
| 1b | Versailles | 28.5 km (17.7 mi) |  | Individual time trial | | |
| 2 | 26 June | Pontoise to Roubaix | 230.5 km (143.2 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 3 | 27 June | Roubaix to Charleroi (Belgium) | 197.5 km (122.7 mi) | | Plain stage | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 4 | 28 June | Charleroi (Belgium) to Metz | 237.5 km (147.6 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 5 | 29 June | Metz to Strasbourg | 221 km (137 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 6 | 30 June | Strasbourg to Belfort | 180.5 km (112.2 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 7 | 1 July | Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saône | 214.5 km (133.3 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 8 | 2 July | Chalon-sur-Saône to Saint-Étienne | 240.5 km (149.4 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 9 | 3 July | Saint-Étienne to Grenoble | 230 km (140 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  |
| 10 | 4 July | Grenoble to Turin (Italy) | 250.5 km (155.7 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 11 | 5 July | Turin (Italy) to Antibes | 225 km (140 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  |
| 12 | 6 July | Antibes to Aix-en-Provence | 199.0 km (123.7 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 13 | 7 July | Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier | 177.5 km (110.3 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 8 July | Montpellier | Rest day | ||||
| 14 | 9 July | Montpellier to Perpignan | 174 km (108 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 15 | 10 July | Perpignan to Toulouse | 206 km (128 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 16 | 11 July | Toulouse to Superbagnères | 208 km (129 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 17 | 12 July | Luchon to Pau | 197 km (122 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 18 | 13 July | Pau to Bordeaux | 207 km (129 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 19 | 14 July | Bergerac to Périgueux | 74.5 km (46.3 mi) | | Individual time trial | |
| 20 | 15 July | Périgueux to Tours | 309.5 km (192.3 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 21 | 16 July | Tours to Paris | 252.5 km (156.9 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| Total | 4,397 km (2,732 mi)[8] | |||||
Race overview
André Darrigade won the opening stage, and it became the fifth time that he won the opening stage.[5] Darrigade had been in a small group that broke away, which included Anquetil. Other competitors, such as Gaul and Battistini, already lost more than 5 minutes.[2] After that, there was a time trial, won by Jacques Anquetil. Anquetil became the leader of the race, with his team mate Joseph Groussard in second place, almost five minutes behind him.[2]
The second stage, run in bad weather, featured small roads in Northern France. Several cyclists got into problems, and seven cyclists already had to leave the race; the favourites were not harmed.[9] In the sixth stage, German Horst Oldenburg fell down on the descent of the Col de la Schlucht, and the Dutch team captain Ab Geldermans ran into him. Geldermans was taken to the Belfort hospital by helicopter, and the Dutch team had lost its captain.[9]
Unlike previous years, the French team continued without fights, and won five of the first eight stages.[2] The ninth stage included four major climbs. On the second climb, Gaul escaped. He crashed on the descent of the third mountain, but managed to stay away and win the stage; Anquetil was not far behind and kept the lead.[2] Anquetil had a five-minutes margin on the second-placed rider, which was Manzaneque. In the eleventh stage, Graziano Battistini was hit by a car, and had to leave the race.[9] This situation had not changed when the sixteenth stage started. It was expected that Gaul, in third place more than six minutes behind, would attack, but this did not happen,[2] because Gaul had been injured in his crash in the previous stage.[9]
The last chance for the opposition to win back time on Anquetil was in the seventeenth stage, but Anquetil stayed close to his direct competitors, and only allowed lower classified riders to escape. The press criticized Anquetil's tactics, saying he was riding passively.[10] In the nineteenth stage, an individual time trial, Gaul was on his way to win back a little time on Anquetil, when he crashed heavily, and could not find his pace again. Anquetil won almost three minutes on Gaul and extended his lead to more than ten minutes.[11]
In the final two stages, Anquetil did not get into problems. His main rival Gaul even lost time in the last stage, and conceded his second place to Guido Carlesi.[9]
Classification leadership
There were several classifications in the 1961 Tour de France, two of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[12]
Additionally, there was a points classification. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[12]
There was also a mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The climbs were categorised as third-, second- or first-category, with the more difficult climbs rated lower.[1] The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, but was not identified with a jersey.[12]
For the team classification The calculation was different from previous years. Before 1961, the classification was based on time, but in 1961, it was based on points; times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the team with the lowest time on a stage won the team prize for that stage. The overall team classification was calculated by counting the number of team prizes.
The combativity award was given to the entire regional West-South West team.[4]
| Stage | Winner | General classification |
Points classification |
Mountains classification | Team classification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | André Darrigade | André Darrigade | André Darrigade | no award | France |
| 1b | Jacques Anquetil | Jacques Anquetil | Jacques Anquetil | ||
| 2 | André Darrigade | André Darrigade | |||
| 3 | Emile Daems | ||||
| 4 | Anatole Novak | ||||
| 5 | Louis Bergaud | Louis Bergaud | |||
| 6 | Jozef Planckaert | Eddy Pauwels | |||
| 7 | Jean Stablinski | ||||
| 8 | Jean Forestier | ||||
| 9 | Charly Gaul | Charly Gaul | |||
| 10 | Guy Ignolin | Imerio Massignan | |||
| 11 | Guido Carlesi | ||||
| 12 | Michel Van Aerde | ||||
| 13 | André Darrigade | ||||
| 14 | Eddy Pauwels | ||||
| 15 | Guido Carlesi | ||||
| 16 | Imerio Massignan | ||||
| 17 | Eddy Pauwels | ||||
| 18 | Martin Van Geneugden | ||||
| 19 | Jacques Anquetil | Jean Gainche | |||
| 20 | André Darrigade | André Darrigade | |||
| 21 | Robert Cazala | ||||
| Final | Jacques Anquetil | André Darrigade | Imerio Massignan | France | |
Final standings
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | France | 122h 01' 33" |
| 2 | | Italy | +12' 14" |
| 3 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +12' 16" |
| 4 | | Italy | +15' 59" |
| 5 |  | West Germany | +16' 09" |
| 6 | .svg.png){kind=small} | Spain | +16' 27" |
| 7 | | Spain | +20' 41" |
| 8 | | Centre-Midi | +21' 44" |
| 9 | | Belgium | +26' 57" |
| 10 | | Belgium | +28' 05" |
| Final general classification (11–72) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
| 11 | | Belgium | +28' 27" |
| 12 |  | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +32' 14" |
| 13 | | Belgium | +40' 34" |
| 14 | | West/South West | +41' 26" |
| 15 | | Belgium | +41' 53" |
| 16 | | Italy | +43' 26" |
| 17 | | Belgium | +45' 52" |
| 18 | | France | +47' 38" |
| 19 | | France | +53' 19" |
| 20 | | West/South West | +58' 08" |
| 21 | | West/South West | +58' 42" |
| 22 | | Centre-Midi | +58' 42 |
| 23 | | West/South West | +1h 05' 05" |
| 24 | | Paris/North East | +1h 06' 28" |
| 25 | | West/South West | +1h 06' 45" |
| 26 | | Paris/North East | +1h 07' 33" |
| 27 | | West/South West | +1h 17' 41" |
| 28 | | West/South West | +1h 19' 15" |
| 29 | | Paris/North East | +1h 19' 40" |
| 30 | | West/South West | +1h 20' 58" |
| 31 | | France | +1h 23' 12" |
| 32 | | France | +1h 24' 51" |
| 33 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +1h 26' 05" |
| 34 | | Centre-Midi | +1h 26' 39" |
| 35 | | France | +1h 28' 11" |
| 36 | | Belgium | +1h 28' 25" |
| 37 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +1h 31' 57" |
| 38 | | Spain | +1h 32' 07" |
| 39 | | Centre-Midi | +1h 34' 50" |
| 40 | | France | +1h 36' 23" |
| 41 | | Centre-Midi | +1h 38' 47" |
| 42 | | France | +1h 39' 10" |
| 43 | | Italy | +1h 46' 43" |
| 44 | | Italy | +1h 47' 49" |
| 45 | | France | +1h 49' 00" |
| 46 | | Centre-Midi | +1h 50' 03" |
| 47 |  | Great Britain | +1h 51' 05" |
| 48 | | Centre-Midi | +1h 54' 45" |
| 49 | | Spain | +1h 54' 55" |
| 50 | | Italy | +2h 00' 22" |
| 51 |  | Netherlands | +2h 03' 12" |
| 52 | | Centre-Midi | +2h 04' 06" |
| 53 |  | Great Britain | +2h 04' 23" |
| 54 | | West Germany | +2h 07' 57" |
| 55 | | Spain | +2h 09' 46" |
| 56 | | Italy | +2h 10' 22" |
| 57 | | Paris/North East | +2h 20' 00" |
| 58 | | Netherlands | +2h 20' 12" |
| 59 | | West/South West | +2h 22' 04" |
| 60 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +2h 24' 13" |
| 61 | | Belgium | +2h 26' 24" |
| 62 | | Spain | +2h 29' 09" |
| 63 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +2h 30' 04" |
| 64 | | Netherlands | +2h 31' 35" |
| 65 | | Great Britain | +2h 45' 47" |
| 66 | | Netherlands | +2h 51' 39" |
| 67 | | Switzerland-Luxembourg | +2h 54' 23" |
| 68 | | France | +3h 01' 02" |
| 69 | | Spain | +3h 08' 02" |
| 70 | | Paris/North East | +3h 19' 42" |
| 71 | | Paris/North East | +3h 47' 49" |
| 72 | | Paris/North East | +4h 12' 56" |
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | France | 174 |
| 2 | | West/South West | 169 |
| 3 | | Italy | 148 |
| 4 | | France | 146 |
| 5 | | Belgium | 120 |
| 6 | | Belgium | 97 |
| 7 | | Belgium | 95 |
| 8 | | Italy | 92 |
| 9 | | West-Germany | 82 |
| 10 | | Belgium | 74 |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Italy | 95 |
| 2 | | Switzerland/Luxembourg | 61 |
| 3 | | West-Germany | 48 |
| 4 | | West/South West | 46 |
| 5 | | Belgium | 29 |
| 6 | | Centre-Midi | 28 |
| 7 | | West/South West | 26 |
| 7 | | France | 26 |
| 9 | | Belgium | 19 |
| 10 | | Centre-Midi | 17 |
| 10 | | West/South West | 17 |
Team classification
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 10 |
| 2 | Belgium | 5 |
| 3 | Italy | 3 |
| 3 | West-South West | 3 |
| 5 | Centre-Midi | 1 |
Aftermath
As Anquetil had led the race after every stage, there was not much competitiveness, which organiser Jacques Goddet termed a "fiasco".[3] After the race, the system with national teams was abandoned, and it was announced that the 1962 Tour de France would be run with sponsored teams.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "Los datos funamentales del 48 "Tour"" [The fundamental data of the 48th "Tour"] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 24 June 1961. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 McGann, Bill; McGann, Carol (2006). The Story of the Tour De France. Dog ear publishing. pp. 249–253. ISBN 978-1-59858-180-5. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- 1 2 3 Dauncey, p. 112
- 1 2 3 Augendre 2016, p. 52.
- 1 2 Amaury Sport Organisation. "The Tour - Year 1961". letour.fr. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ↑ "48ème Tour de France 1961" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ↑ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
- ↑ Augendre 2016, p. 109.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Amels, Wim (1984). De geschiedenis van de Tour de France 1903–1984 (in Dutch). Sport-Express. pp. 88–89.
- ↑ Boyce, Barry (2004). "Anquetil Blossoms". Cyclingrevealed. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- 1 2 "48ème Tour de France 1961 - 19ème étape" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- 1 2 3 Christian, Sarah (2 July 2009). "Tour de France demystified - Evaluating success". RoadCycling.co.nz Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- 1 2 "1961: 48e editie". Tourdefrance.nl. 30 December 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ "Puntenklassement". Leidsche Courant (in Dutch). Regionaal Archief Leiden. 17 July 1961. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ↑ "Clasificaciones" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 17 July 1961. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
Sources
- Augendre, Jacques (2016). Guide historique [Historical guide] (PDF). Tour de France (in French). Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
- Dauncey, Hugh; Hare, Geoff (2003). The Tour de France, 1903-2003: A Century of Sporting Structures, Meanings and Values. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5362-4. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
External links
