1966 Tour de France
 Route of the 1966 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 21 June – 14 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 22, including three split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,329 km (2,690 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 117h 34' 21" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1966 Tour de France was the 53rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 21 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,329 km (2,690 mi).
Lucien Aimar was a domestique of 5-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil. Aimar joined a breakaway in the middle of the tour and ended up on the leader board. Anquetil then began helping Aimar win the Tour, to make sure and deny it to his then-enemy Raymond Poulidor. After stage 18 Aimar's victory was certain barring disaster. Anquetil rode hard that day to ensure it and then quit the race.[1]
The points classification was won by Willy Planckaert, and the mountains classification by Julio Jiménez. The team classification was won by Kas–Kaskol.
During the Tour, word spread that there was going to be a dope test, and all the riders but Raymond Poulidor, the darling of French cycling fans, left their hotels. The other riders staged a strike in protest during stage nine dismounting and walking their bicycles. Eventually they started riding again, but only after arguing with officials.
Teams
As in the years before, the 1966 Tour de France was run with trade teams; each trade team consisted of 10 cyclists, and at least six of them needed to have the same nationality.[2]
Initially, there would be only two Belgian teams, but one month before the Tour it was decided that three Belgian teams would be fielded, with the Smiths team being the late addition.[3] Shortly after this, a medical test showed Felice Gimondi, winner of the 1965 Tour de France, could not defend his title because he was physically not fit; his Salvarani team then decided not to start at all, so the number of teams was back to thirteen.[4]
The organizers then invited the Italian team Sanson (headed by Italo Zilioli and Franco Balmamion) to replace Salvarani,[5] but at the last moment they refused.[6] Thirteen teams started, for a total of 130 cyclists.[1]
The teams entering the race were:
Route and stages
The 1966 Tour de France started on 21 June, and had two rest days, in Luchon and Turin.[7]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 June | Nancy to Charleville | 209 km (130 mi) |  | Plain stage |  |
| 2 | 22 June | Charleville to Tournai (Belgium) | 198 km (123 mi) | | Plain stage | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 3a | 23 June | Tournai (Belgium) | 21 km (13 mi) |  | Team time trial | Televizier–Batavus |
| 3b | Tournai to Dunkirk | 131 km (81 mi) | | Plain stage |  | |
| 4 | 24 June | Dunkirk to Dieppe | 205 km (127 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 5 | 25 June | Dieppe to Caen | 178 km (111 mi) | | Plain stage |  |
| 6 | 26 June | Caen to Angers | 217 km (135 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 7 | 27 June | Angers to Royan | 252 km (157 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 8 | 28 June | Royan to Bordeaux | 138 km (86 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 9 | 29 June | Bordeaux to Bayonne | 201 km (125 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 10 | 30 June | Bayonne to Pau | 234 km (145 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 11 | 1 July | Pau to Luchon | 188 km (117 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 2 July | Luchon | Rest day | ||||
| 12 | 3 July | Luchon to Revel | 219 km (136 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 13 | 4 July | Revel to Sète | 191 km (119 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 14a | 5 July | Montpellier to Vals-les-Bains | 144 km (89 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 14b | Vals-les-Bains | 20 km (12 mi) | | Individual time trial |  | |
| 15 | 6 July | Privas to Le Bourg-d'Oisans | 203 km (126 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 16 | 7 July | Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Briançon | 148 km (92 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 17 | 8 July | Briançon to Turin | 160 km (99 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 9 July | Turin | Rest day | ||||
| 18 | 10 July | Ivrea to Chamonix | 188 km (117 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  |
| 19 | 11 July | Chamonix to Saint-Étienne | 265 km (165 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | |
| 20 | 12 July | Saint-Étienne to Montluçon | 223 km (139 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 21 | 13 July | Montluçon to Orléans | 232 km (144 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 22a | 14 July | Orléans to Rambouillet | 111 km (69 mi) | | Plain stage | |
| 22b | Rambouillet to Paris | 51 km (32 mi) | | Individual time trial | | |
| Total | 4,329 km (2,690 mi)[9] | |||||
Race overview
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Rudi Altig won the first stage with a small advantage. In the next stages, no big time differences were made, so Altig was able to defend his lead until the mountains.[10]
The first mountains were in the tenth stage. A group including Lucien Aimar and Jan Janssen gained time on pre-race favourites Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, and Tommaso de Pra won the race and became the new leader. The next stage, Lebaube became the leader, and Kunde took over in the twelfth stage.[10]
In the time trial in the fourteenth stage, Anquetil was defeated by Poulidor. Kunde remained the leader, with Janssen in second place. In the sixteenth stage, Julio Jiménez escaped in the Pyrenées, and he was followed by a group including Janssen, Anquetil and Poulidor, but without Kunde. Jiménez stayed away, but Janssen became the new leader.[10]
Even though the seventeenth stage included two mountain climbs, it was not considered too difficult, because these climbs were located in the first half of the stage. The cyclists made the climbs in one large group, but in the descent, a large group escaped. They were chased by teammates Anquetil and Aimar, and when most of the escapees were caught, Aimar continued on his own, and surprised Janssen by this. Janssen lost time on Aimar, and Aimar became the new leader.[10]
In the eighteenth stage, Janssen wanted to attack, but Aimar and Anquetil stayed close to him. Poulidor, sixth in the general classification, managed to escape, but Anquetil led the chase on him. The next day, Anquetil left the race, sick and no longer able to win himself.[10]
Janssen managed to win back some time on Aimar in the final time trial, but it was not enough, and Aimar became the winner of the Tour.[10] Janssen became the first Dutch cyclist to reach the podium in the general classification in the Tour de France.[1]
Classification leadership
There were several classifications in the 1966 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.[11]
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 led the classification and was identified with a green jersey.[11]
There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorized some climbs as either first, second, third, or fourth category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, but was not identified with a jersey.[11]
For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellow caps.[12]
The combativity award was won by Rudi Altig.[7]
Final standings
General classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Ford France–Hutchinson | 117h 34' 21" |
| 2 | | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | + 1' 07" |
| 3 | | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | + 2' 02" |
| 4 | | Kas–Kaskol | + 5' 19" |
| 5 | | Filotex | + 5' 27" |
| 6 | | Dr. Mann–Grundig | + 5' 44" |
| 7 | | Kas–Kaskol | + 6' 25" |
| 8 | | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | + 8' 22" |
| 9 | | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | + 9' 06" |
| 10 | | Roméo–Smith's | + 9' 57" |
Points classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Roméo–Smith's | 211 |
| 2 | | Televizier–Batavus | 189 |
| 3 | | Solo–Superia | 178 |
| 4 | | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | 144 |
| 5 | | Roméo–Smith's | 119 |
| 6 | | Roméo–Smith's | 112 |
| 7 | | Molteni | 101 |
| 8 | | Dr. Mann–Grundig | 100 |
| 9 | | Dr. Mann–Grundig | 82 |
| 10 | | Televizier–Batavus | 71 |
Mountains classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Ford France–Hutchinson | 123 |
| 2 | | Kas–Kaskol | 98 |
| 3 | | Kas–Kaskol | 51 |
| 4 | | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | 49 |
| 5 | | Filotex | 48 |
| 6 | | Roméo–Smith's | 47 |
| 7 | | Roméo–Smith's | 34 |
| 8 | | Kas–Kaskol | 34 |
| 9 | | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | 26 |
| 10 | | Fagor | 25 |
Team classification
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kas–Kaskol | 355h 02' 45" |
| 2 | Ford France–Hutchinson | + 17' 32" |
| 3 | Peugeot–BP–Michelin | + 19' 04" |
| 4 | Fagor | + 26' 30" |
| 5 | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | + 37' 21" |
| 6 | Roméo–Smith's | + 55' 03" |
| 7 | Filotex | + 58' 35" |
| 8 | Dr. Mann–Grundig | + 58' 54" |
| 9 | Molteni | + 1h 01' 37" |
| 10 | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | + 1h 12' 09" |
| 11 | Televizier–Batavus | + 1h 38' 37" |
| 12 | Solo–Superia | + 1h 56' 54" |
| 13 | Kamomé–Dilecta–Dunlop | + 2h 13' 04" |
Combativity classification
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Molteni | 124 |
| 2 | | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | 68 |
| 3 | | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | 55 |
| 3 | | Ford France–Hutchinson | 55 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "53ème Tour de France 1966" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ↑ "Dertien ploegen in Tour de France" [Thirteen teams in the Tour de France]. Het vrije volk (in Dutch). Delpher. 7 June 1966. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "Drie Belgische ploegen in de Tour de France" [Three Belgian teams in the Tour de France]. De waarheid. Delpher. 13 June 1966. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "Gimondi en Adorni niet in de Tour de France" [Gimondi and Adorni not in the Tour de France]. Friese koerier (in Dutch). Delpher. 14 June 1966. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ↑ "Nieuwe Italiaanse ploeg voor de Tour de France" [New Italian team for the Tour de France]. Het vrije volk (in Dutch). Delpher. 21 June 1966. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- ↑ "Nederlands vuurwerk kan Tour opfleuren" [Dutch firework can animate the Tour]. Het vrije volk (in Dutch). Delpher. 21 June 1966. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
- 1 2 3 Augendre 2016, p. 57.
- ↑ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ↑ Augendre 2016, p. 109.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Amels, Wim (1984). De geschiedenis van de Tour de France 1903–1984 (in Dutch). Sport-Express. pp. 100–101. ISBN 90-70763-05-2.
- 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.
- ↑ Chauner, David; Halstead, Michael (1990). The Tour de France Complete Book of Cycling. Villard. ISBN 0679729364. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- 1 2 "Clasificaciones" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 15 July 1966. p. 7. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ "Clasificaciones" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 13 July 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ "In en om de Tour". Leidse courant (in Dutch). Leids regionaal archief. 15 July 1966. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
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.
External links
