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The tour de france’s greatest ever sprinters, from pelissier to cavendish, the fast men forever etched into tour de france history.

Mark Cavendish started the Tour de France for the tenth time this year, and with four stage wins reminded everyone of just how good a sprinter he is.

Cavendish was named the Tour’s greatest ever sprinter by L’Equipe in 2012 with no other sprinter winning as many stages of the race as the Manxman – in fact, following his stage six victory in Montauban, the only man with more Tour stage wins than him is the great Eddy Merckx with 34.

Add to that his points classification win in 2011, and the yellow jersey he finally pulled on after stage one of this year’s race, and you can see why L’Equipe afforded Britain’s most successful male professional cyclist such an honour.

But if Cavendish is the greatest ever, how do all the other great sprinters to have raced the Tour de France in its 103 editions compare?

We’ve picked out nine of the greatest fast men ever to take on the Tour. Are there any you would add to the list?

Mark Cavendish (GBR) – 2007 to present

Mark Cavendish made his Tour de France debut in 2007, during which he suffered two crashes and abandoned as the race headed into the mountains. It was an inconspicuous start given what was to follow.

Despite only riding the first 13 stages of the following year’s Tour – due to training for the 2008 Beijing Olympics – Cavendish picked up his first four stage wins in the race before bagging six in 2009 and five apiece in 2010 and 2011.

Riding for the HTC-HighRoad team, he and his lead-out train were simply untouchable at their best as Cavendish bagged the green jersey in 2011, crowning his win with a victory on the Champs-Elysees.

His era of dominance ended thereafter, but – in the jersey of world road race champion – he won three times in his solitary season with Team Sky, twice in his debut year with Omega Pharma-QuickStep and last year went clear into third place on the list of all-time wins thanks to his 26 th career triumph.

And just as he was being written off in some quarters, the Manx Missile  added four more wins to his  palmares in 2016, to go second in that list behind Merckx and pull on the yellow jersey for the first time.

Tour de France stage wins: 30* Tour de France points classification wins: one (2011)

Andre Darrigade (FRA) – 1952 to 1966

Frenchman Andre Darrigade has been dubbed the greatest French sprinter of all time by Raphael Geminiani with his phenomenal speed (and stamina) earning him 22 stage wins in his illustrious career.

Darrigade’s sprinting style meant he could win sprints from far back, often opting to lead out bunch finishes and ‘challenging others to pass him’, according to journalist Rene de Latour.

Darrigade’s sprinting ability didn’t just earn him stage wins either, with him wearing the yellow jersey 16 times in all too – winning the opening stage of the Tour in four consecutive years between 1956 and 1959, and again in 1961.

The Frenchman also twice won the points classification, in 1959 and 1961, and remains one of only six riders to have bagged 20 or more stage wins at the Tour.

Tour de France stage wins: 22 Tour de France points classification wins: two (1959, 1961)

Mario Cipollini (ITA) – 1993 to 1999

Exuberant Italian Mario Cipollini’s sensational sprinting exploits may have been more centred on the Giro d’Italia, but he still found time to win 12 Tour de France stages and spend time in the yellow jersey.

Cipo ’s well-publicised dislike of the mountains meant he never contested the green jersey, and his teams not being invited from 2000 to 2003 – despite him being world champion at the time of the latter race – also didn’t help.

He sits in the Tour record books, however, having won the race’s fastest ever stage in 1999 as part of his post-war record four consecutive stage wins.

But regardless of the bare statistics, few can doubt Cipollini was one of cycling’s greatest ever sprinters, not just at the Tour.

His 42 Giro d’Italia stage wins remain a record, and with his Tour and Vuelta a tally added to that, his career tally stands at 57 Grand Tour stage wins.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: none

Erik Zabel (GER) – 1995 to 2008

Where Cipollini opted not to contest the green jersey at the Tour de France, Erik Zabel monopolised the points classification at the turn of the millennium.

The German won the green jersey six years in a row, from 1996 to 2001, and also celebrated 12 wins in all – picking up two on debut in 1995 and collecting his final victory in 2002.

Like Peter Sagan today, Zabel picked up points with a serious of consistent finishes on the sprint stages and could climb better than his fellow sprinters too.

But where Sagan has struggled to win stages, Zabel had no such problems – no German rider has won more stages, despite Andre Greipel and Marcel Kittel closing in fast.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: six (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)

Freddy Maertens (BEL) – 1972 to 1981

With Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck dominating the Belgian cycling scene, it was going to take somebody pretty special to steal the limelight.

And while Merckx’s achievements on the road remain unparalleled, Maertens at least gave the Belgian faithful a new hero to celebrate – when he was not feuding with the more popular Cannibal at least.

Maertens was primarily a sprinter, but versatile enough to win the 1977 Vuelta a Espana – where he won 13 stages – and his Tour de France record stacks up well too,

Three times he claimed the green jersey, with his 1976 victory arriving courtesy of a record-equalling eight stage wins – five of which were from sprints and three against the clock.

Tour de France stage wins: 16 Tour de France points classification wins: three (1976, 1978, 1981)

René Le Grevès (FRA) – 1933 to 1939

René Le Grevès’ 16 Tour de France stage wins are all the more remarkable when you consider how short his professional career proved to be.

Journalist Jean-Paul Ollivier has dubbed him the Tour’s greatest sprinter, and he was certainly the greatest of the later interwar years – not least between 1934 and 1936 when he collected 14 of those 16 victories.

He was also crowned French champion in 1936, his annus mirabilis as he won six times at that year’s Tour before his star began to wane a little.

Le Grevès’ final stage win came in 1939 before the Tour was cancelled due to the war. The Parisian-born sprinter survived the war but died in 1946 in a skiing accident.

Tour de France stage wins: 16 Tour de France points classification wins: N/A (not run until 1953)

Robbie McEwen (AUS) – 1997 to 2010

Australian fast man Robbie McEwen was the first of his countrymen to win the points classification – something he achieved three times in his career.

McEwen relied on tactical nous and all-out pace rather than a sprint train as such, but that didn’t stop him clocking 12 Tour de France stage wins in all.

His first arrived on the Champs-Elysees in 1999, while his victory in Paris again in 2002 was enough to see him usurp six-time points back-to-back points classification winner Zabel.

He also wore the yellow jersey for a single day in 2004, before recovering from two bad crashes to win a stage and bag his second green jersey.

McEwen’s final stage win in 2007 was all the more remarkable because he recovered from a late crash to return to the bunch and win the kick to the line – proving not only his resilience but his sprinting speed.

Tour de France stage wins: 12 Tour de France points classification wins: 2002, 2004, 2006

Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) – 1990 to 1997

Uzbekistani sprinting legend Djamolidine Abdoujaparov did not earn the nickname “The Tashkent Terror” for nothing.

Abdoujaparov’s sprinting style was unorthodox to say the least – at worst, it was erratic and dangerous – but it was also clearly effective as he clocked nine stage wins.

Winner of the points classification three times, in 1991, 1993 and 1994, Abdoujaparov claimed the green jersey on the first of those occasions despite a now infamous, high-speed crash during which he hit the barriers on the Champs-Elysees and had to beat the pain barrier to win the stage unaided.

Not all of Abdoujaparov’s victories came from sprints – in fact his last at the Tour, in 1996, was a breakaway in the mountains – but there was no doubting where is best ability lay until his 1997 retirement.

Tour de France stage wins: nine Tour de France points classification wins: 1991, 1993, 1994

Charles Pelissier (FRA) – 1922 to 1939

Former French ‘cross champion turned sprinting extraordinaire Charles Pelissier reached his zenith in the 1930 Tour de France, one year on from his first Tour stage win.

Now, some 86 years on from that 1930 race, there is still no rider who has bettered his eight stage wins – despite Merckx and Maertens both matching it.

Pelissier’s record is all the more incredible when you consider he also finished second on seven occasions that year – there was no green jersey at the time, but you can guarantee the Frenchman would have won by a country mile had there been.

The following year he ‘only’ won five – wearing the yellow jersey for the second time in consecutive years early in the race.

Pelissier won twice more, at the 1935 Tour de France, before at the age of 36 the war curtailed his professional career.

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Who has won the most Tour de France titles? Most successful riders of all time

A round-up of the most successful riders in the history of the Tour de France.

• Paul Norman
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The Tour de France is cycling's crown jewel. The event is into its 110th edition, and in honour, we will take a look at the five most successful riders leading up to 2023.

Four riders have won the Tour overall five times, while Mark Cavendish, who has never won the overall Tour general classification, has been its outstanding sprinter for 15 years, reaching a magnificent total of 34 stage victories.

RadioTimes.com brings you the most successful riders in the history of Tour de France.

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Most Tour de France title wins

Chris froome (england) – 4.

Froome was the main helper to Bradley Wiggins when Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012, although tensions arose between the two when Froome looked set to drop Wiggins on the stage 11 mountaintop finish before he was ordered to drop back in his support.

Froome subsequently led Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers) to four overall Tour victories, in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. His success was founded on his strength in the mountains and on time trials, as well as the support of the strongest team at the race. He also won the Giro d’Italia in 2018 and Vuelta a España in 2018 and was retrospectively awarded the 2011 Vuelta victory, making him the most successful grand tour rider of recent times.

More like this

Miguel indurain (spain) – 5.

At 1.86m (6ft 1in) tall and weighing 76kg, Miguel Indurain would almost certainly be too large to win a Tour de France today. Even Chris Froome, who is the same height as Indurain, weighs 68kg and Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, the current dominant Tour riders are shorter and lighter still.

But Indurain won five Tours in a row from 1991 to 1995, mainly thanks to his domination in the time trials. He was then able to defend his position in the mountains. It has been said that Indurain was a calculating rider and his performances uninspiring, but they were sufficient to better his rivals and also win him two Giro-Tour doubles in 1992 and 1993.

Bernard Hinault (France) – 5

Bernard Hinault’s five Tour de France wins came in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985, with a Giro-Tour double in 1982 and 1985.

He’s perhaps best remembered for the 1986 Tour, his last, when he rode ostensibly in support of his teammate, American Greg LeMond, who had helped him to his 1985 win. It wasn’t clear that Hinault would keep the bargain though and he attacked LeMond on stage 12, gaining over four minutes on him and himself taking the yellow jersey.

He lost time over subsequent stages, with LeMond taking the yellow jersey from him. The two rode together up the 21 hairpins to Alpe d’Huez on Stage 18, with Hinault awarded the stage. But LeMond won his first of three Tours overall, with Hinault second, when the race arrived in Paris.

Eddy Merckx (Belgium) – 5

Not only does Merckx’s record of 34 individual stage wins equal Cavendish’s total, but he also won five Tours outright. Unlike Cavendish, who has been the master of flat sprint stage finishes for the last 15 years, Merckx was competitive in mountain stages and time trials too – crucial for an overall victory in any of the grand tours.

Merckx didn’t just win the overall general classification by almost 18 minutes at his first Tour de France in 1969, he won all the other competitions as well, including the points and king of the mountains overall, racking up six stage wins along the way.

In 1970, Merckx won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, only the third time this had been achieved. He also added eight stages to his Tour tally and again won all three major competitions outright.

The 1971 and 1972 Tours saw Merckx win both the yellow jersey and green jersey competitions, with a second Giro-Tour double in 1972. He skipped the Tour in 1973, but returned for a final win in 1974, again also winning the Giro d’Italia that year as well as the world championships.

On Merckx’s final Tour in 1975, he placed second overall, following a series of mishaps including being punched by a spectator and breaking a cheekbone in a crash. It was the first Tour he’d ridden which he didn’t win and over his career, Merckx spent 96 days in the yellow jersey.

Jacques Anquetil (France) – 5

Anquetil won the Tour de France in 1957 and 1961 - 64, making him the first rider to win the race five times. But he’s perhaps best known for his duel in 1964 with Raymond Poulidor on the road that rises to the summit of the Puy de Dôme, an extinct volcano in the Massif Central.

The two rode shoulder to shoulder with Poulidor attacking three times on the steep climb. Each time Anquetil was able to respond, until the last, when Poulidor distanced him, beating him by 42 seconds. That gave Anquetil only a 14 seconds advantage in the race overall, but he extended this over the next two stages to win overall by 55 seconds, the smallest winning margin to that date. Poulidor never did win the Tour de France, nor even wear the yellow jersey of race leader, but he was second overall three times and third five times.

Most Tour de France stage wins

Mark cavendish (great britain) – 34.

Cavendish’s 34 wins at the Tour de France have come from his sprint finishes, starting in 2008, when he won four stages. He followed that up with 16 more stage wins over the next three Tours, when his team was built around delivering him to the line on flat stages. In 2011 he also won the green jersey for the points classification.

A less prolific season at Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers) in 2012 saw Cavendish win just three stages as the team supported Bradley Wiggins to win the Tour overall and that was followed by another three years with just three stage wins. His 2016 was more prolific though, with another four wins at his then team, Dimension Data.

This was a time when powerful sprinters, mainly German, dominated the racing on flatter stages. A rule change by the Tour organisers made this style of riding less rewarding though and teams were less willing to commit all their resources to a sprinter.

Cavendish had a couple of lean years in 2017 and 2018, after suffering from Epstein-Barr virus. It wasn’t until 2021 that he was again competitive at the Tour, winning a surprising four stages and the points classification for a second time and drawing level with Eddy Merckx to reach the 34 wins total. His announced retirement at the end of 2023 means that, barring a change of mind, he will remain tied with Merckx on 34 wins.

Tour de France multiple winners

• Jacques Anquetil – 5
• Eddy Merckx – 5
• Bernard Hinault – 5
• Miguel Indurain – 5
• Chris Froome – 4
• Philippe Thys – 3
• Louison Bobet – 3
• Greg LeMond – 3
• Lucien Petit-Breton – 2
• Firmin Lambot – 2
• Ottavio Bottecchia – 2
• Nicolas Frantz – 2
• André Leducq – 2
• Antonin Magne – 2
• Sylvère Maes – 2
• Gino Bartali – 2
• Fausto Coppi – 2
• Bernard Thévenet – 2
• Laurent Fignon – 2
• Alberto Contador – 2
• Tadej Pogačar – 2

He who shall not be named: Lance Armstrong (USA)

Lance Armstrong was the winner of the Tour de France seven times in a row between 1999 and 2005. His back story was inspiring too: he was a man who had beaten potentially fatal metastatic testicular cancer in 1996, came back stronger from it and went on to dominate the Tour.

Trouble was, it was all a lie fuelled by performance enhancing drugs and well-timed blood transfusions to boost his blood’s oxygen capacity.

It all unravelled when members of his team turned and gave evidence of his (and their) systematic doping, which Armstrong eventually admitted in 2013. He was stripped of his wins and barred from competitive cycling for life, but his shadow still hangs over the Tour and returns to taint the performances of his successors.

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Tour de France

The top 10 tour de france riders of all time.

The Tour de France – originally scheduled to run from June 27 to July 19 – will now start on August 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look through the history books to profile 10 of the greatest riders from the race's history.

Eddy Merckx

Widely considered the greatest ever cyclist, 'the Cannibal' won the Tour in each of the first five editions he entered, four in a row between 1969 and 1972, then again in 1974 after he skipped the 1973 race to win the Giro-Vuelta double instead. Merckx's insatiable desire for victory saw him win a record 34 stages of the Tour in his career. He completed the Giro-Tour double three times, and in 1974 became the first man to win cycling's 'triple crown' of the Giro, Tour and World Championships road race, an achievement matched only once since by Stephen Roche in 1987. Merckx's hopes of a sixth title in 1975 were ruined when he was punched by a spectator on the Puy-de-Dome during stage 14, battling on to finish second overall despite suffering from an inflamed liver as a result of the incident. He would never again win another stage of the race he had dominated for so long, with his only other appearance in 1977 ending in a sixth-placed finish.

Bernard Hinault

The last Frenchman to celebrate victory in the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault took the title in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985. A sixth title eluded 'the Badger' – a knee injury forced Hinault to withdraw in 1980 while in the yellow jersey, with a similar problem preventing him from starting in 1983. But most fascinating of all was the 1986 race, in which Hinault had pledged to help La Vie Claire team-mate Greg LeMond . If he did help, he did so grudgingly, happy to play up to the idea he was capable of winning a sixth title. An attack on stage 12 to Pau put him more than five minutes clear of LeMond and he held yellow for five days, losing it after stage 17. The pair finished arm-in-arm on Alpe d'Huez at the end of stage 18 but the gesture seemed an empty one given Hinault's interview immediately afterwards claiming the race was still on. LeMond eventually triumphed by three minutes but the distrust lingered, and Hinault retired at the end of the season, still only 32.

Miguel Indurain

Of the four men to have won five Tour titles, only Spaniard Indurain achieved it with five consecutive victories as he seized control of the race from 1991 to 1995. It was a record perhaps in keeping with a rider many criticised as "robotic" as he ripped up time trials to stamp his authority on the race. Indurain's success came in the second half of his career – he had competed in the Tour and Vuelta a combined 10 times, never cracking the top 15 until he finished 10th in the 1990 Tour and seventh in that year's Vuelta, teeing up the success that began a year later. He also claimed two Giro titles, in 1992 and 1993, but never bettered his second place from 1991 in his home Grand Tour.

Jacques Anquetil

★ D-61 ★ Jacques Anquetil, ahead of Imerio Massignan, wins one of his 5th Tour, unstoppable "Maitre Jacques"... #TDF pic.twitter.com/R0zkbqn39v — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) April 29, 2013

Anquetil was the first man to win the Tour five times, taking victory in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, with a Tour-Vuelta double in 1963 and a Giro-Tour double in 1964. After emerging as a strong amateur, Anquetil broke the prestigious Hour Record while on national service in the French army, teeing up the professional career that would soon follow. Riding in a very different era, Anquetil never denied doping, saying during a television debate: "Leave me in peace; everybody takes dope". Anquetil died in 1987 from stomach cancer, aged 53.

Chris Froome

Froome's awkward-looking style on a bike might frequently be mocked, but none can now question the success it has brought him with seven Grand Tour trophies in the cabinet. His Tour successes in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 have been complimented by his stunning 2018 Giro victory and Vuelta titles from 2011 and 2017 – the 2011 title having only been awarded last year after Juan Jose Cobo was found guilty of doping, retroactively making Froome Britain's first Grand Tour winner. Many believe Froome was strong enough to have beaten Sir Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour but for team orders, and it remains to be seen if his chance at a record-equalling fifth title is now gone after a high-speed crash during last year's Criterium du Dauphine left him with a long list of injuries which may prevent him from ever getting back to his best again.

Greg LeMond

LeMond's victory in 1986 went down in history as one of the most fascinating ever Tours given the intra-team battle with Hinault, but for the American it was only the beginning as he followed up with an even more dramatic win in 1989. After suffering life-threatening injuries in a 1987 hunting accident, LeMond's future in the sport was in question – he was not considered a contender in 1989 and had told his wife he was thinking about retirement. But he bossed the stage-five time trial and battled tooth and nail with Laurent Fignon through the mountains. As they began a rare time trial into Paris on the final stage, LeMond began some 50 seconds behind Fignon but stunned the Frenchman to win the Tour by just eight seconds, going on to take the world title a month later. LeMond would claim a third Tour title in 1990.

Louison Bobet

★ D-55 ★ 1955, Louison Bobet, taking a lap of honor in the Parc des Princes, wins the Tour! #TDF pic.twitter.com/6XQQIjsTrg — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) May 5, 2013

Regarded as the first great rider of the post-war era, Bobet was the first to win the Tour in three consecutive years as he dominated from 1953 to 1955. Having taken up cycling after serving in the army during World War II, Bobet's introduction to the Tour was an inauspicious one as his 1947 debut ended in an early withdrawal and earned him the nickname 'cry-baby' as he wept at the difficulty of the race. But he returned a year later to spend two days in yellow and finished third in 1950 to point to far greater potential. He won the 1955 Tour despite saddle boils which required surgery and which Bobet said made him a lesser rider for the rest of his days. After missing the 1956 and 1957 Tours, he returned in 1958, finishing seventh, but was no longer able to compete for yellow.

Philippe Thys

Philippe Thys won his 3 @letour with the number 15 & it's not the end...Learn more > https://t.co/aHbuSnUsPf pic.twitter.com/l0UlesMUff — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 9, 2016

'The Basset Hound' was the first three-time winner of the Tour and a man who would no doubt have contended for or won many more but for the First World War. The Belgian's first win came in 1913 despite him suffering a broken fork and incurring a 10-minute penalty when he stopped at a bike shop for repairs. He won again in 1914 but, with the intervention of war, had to wait until 1920 for his third. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange wrote: "France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth."

Raymond Poulidor

1⃣9⃣6⃣6⃣ Rivalry Anquetil/Poulidor reaches its peak 👉👈🇷️🇹️ Poulidor / ❤ AnquetilRead more> https://t.co/byljkwm1rX pic.twitter.com/1UgHNH9YNn — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 3, 2016

Raymond Poulidor never won the Tour de France but he rode his way into its legend during his long rivalry with Jacques Anquetil. 'Pou-Pou' became known as the 'Eternal Second' as he finished second three times and third five times, riding on to the age of 40 in his hunt for the yellow jersey – a garment that would always elude him. Poulidor came closest in 1964, losing by only 55 seconds to Anquetil after the two men rode themselves to exhaustion on the Puy de Dome. But with every failure, Poulidor's popularity with the French crowds only grew, even as he was competing with a compatriot, and by the time of his death last year he was arguably France's most popular ever rider.

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish sits in a category of his own in the history of the Tour as its greatest ever sprinter. Though effectively competing in a different event to those seeking to wear the yellow jersey in Paris, Cavendish became synonymous with Tour success as he utterly dominated the flat stages at his peak. Between 2008 and 2011 he won an incredible 20 stages and in total the Manxman has piled up 30 victories – second only to the record of Merckx – before illness and injury slowed him and left a question mark where there had once appeared near certainty he would one day take the record for himself.

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Ten of the best Tour de France past winners

Mathew Mitchell

• Published on June 20, 2023
• in Men's Cycling

The Tour de France, since its inaugural race in 1903, has consistently proven to be the pinnacle of professional cycling. It has borne witness to several extraordinary champions, whose triumphs, struggles, and rivalries have shaped the race’s rich history. Let’s revisit ten of the most iconic Tour de France past winners, spread across more than a century of gripping competition.

Table of Contents

1. Maurice Garin (1903)

The first-ever winner of the Tour de France, Maurice Garin, dominated the inaugural edition of the race in 1903. He won 3 out of 6 stages and finished nearly 3 hours ahead of his closest competitor, Lucien Pothier, in an event far more gruelling than today’s race.

Known as ‘the Chimney Sweep’, was born in Italy but became a naturalised French citizen in 1901. Prior to his Tour de France victory, he was already a successful cyclist, with wins in Paris-Brest-Paris and Bordeaux-Paris. His first Tour victory in 1903 was overshadowed by disqualification in the following year due to alleged cheating, a controversy that has since become part of Tour lore.

2. Philippe Thys (1913, 1914, 1920)

Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys holds the distinction of being the first rider to secure three Tour de France victories. His tactical prowess and remarkable physical endurance brought him successive victories in 1913 and 1914, and a triumphant return in 1920.

Philippe Thys’ victories were built on his ability to endure long stages, some over 300 km, which were characteristic of the early Tours. Known for his smart race tactics, Thys is often credited with being the first rider to use a strategy of saving energy for critical parts of the race, an approach that would become a staple of Tour racing.

3. Antonin Magne (1931, 1934)

Magne, known as ‘The Monk’ for his quiet and solemn demeanour, claimed the yellow jersey twice, in 1931 and 1934. The Frenchman defeated esteemed rivals like Rafaele di Paco and Giuseppe Martano through his consistent performances and excellent time-trialling abilities.

Apart from his Tour de France victories, Antonin Magne had an illustrious career which included wins in the French National Championships and the prestigious ‘Monument’ Classic, the Milan-San Remo. Magne also mentored another Tour de France champion, Louison Bobet, further cementing his legacy in French cycling.

4. Gino Bartali (1938, 1948)

Italy’s Gino Bartali’s victories are particularly notable for their ten-year gap – the longest between Tour de France wins. Despite the fierce competition, including a rising star Fausto Coppi, Bartali’s tenacity and strength saw him triumph, securing his status as one of Italy’s greatest cyclists.

Gino Bartali was not only an exceptional cyclist but also a war hero. During World War II, he worked with the Italian resistance, using his training rides as a cover to carry messages and documents. His 1948 Tour de France victory is also credited with helping to quell civil unrest in Italy, demonstrating the cultural impact of his cycling career.

5. Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961-1964)

Jacques Anquetil, the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, was renowned for his time-trialling prowess. His key rivals included Raymond Poulidor, with their battle during the 1964 Tour being one of the most memorable in the event’s history.

Jacques Anquetil was a master of the time trial, earning him the nickname ‘Monsieur Chrono’. His cool demeanour and calculated racing style often contrasted with the passionate and aggressive riding of his rivals. Anquetil also had success in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, making him one of the few cyclists to win all three Grand Tours.

6. Eddy Merckx (1969-1972, 1974)

Belgian Eddy Merckx , widely considered one of the greatest cyclists of all time, won the Tour de France five times. Known as ‘The Cannibal’ for his insatiable appetite for victory, Merckx often triumphed over skilled competitors like Roger De Vlaeminck and Luis Ocaña.

Beyond the Tour de France, Eddy Merckx’s list of achievements is astonishing, with victories in all five ‘Monument’ Classics and multiple World Championship titles. Renowned for his aggressive, attacking style, Merckx also holds the record for the most stage wins in Tour de France history, with an astounding 34 victories.

7. Bernard Hinault (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985)

Bernard Hinault, another five-time winner, is one of the ‘Greats’ of French cycling. Hinault’s career was marked by his rivalry with Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond, especially during the 1985 and 1986 Tours.

Bernard Hinault, known as ‘The Badger’ for his fierce competitiveness, was a versatile cyclist who could excel in both mountains and time trials. Like Merckx and Anquetil, he too won all three Grand Tours. Hinault now works closely with the Tour de France organisation, a role that allows him to remain influential in the sport.

8. Greg LeMond (1986, 1989, 1990)

Greg LeMond, the first non-European winner of the Tour, is best remembered for his 1989 victory, where he beat Laurent Fignon by a mere 8 seconds in the final time trial on the Champs Élysées . His comeback after a near-fatal shooting accident makes his victories even more remarkable.

Greg LeMond’s victories paved the way for non-European riders in the Tour de France. He was known for his innovation and is often credited with popularising aerodynamic time trial helmets and triathlon handlebars in professional cycling. After his cycling career, LeMond has remained active in the sport, advocating for clean competition and anti-doping regulations.

9. Miguel Indurain (1991-1995)

Spain’s Miguel Indurain dominated the early 1990s, winning five consecutive Tours. Known for his calm demeanour and extraordinary physical abilities, Indurain overcame rivals like Claudio Chiappucci and Alex Zülle in his impressive run.

Miguel Indurain was known for his stoic persona and incredible physical ability, including an extraordinary lung capacity and low resting heart rate. He was particularly dominant in time trials but could also hold his own in the mountains. Indurain’s string of five consecutive victories set a new benchmark for consistency in the Tour de France.

10. Chris Froome (2013, 2015-2017)

Chris Froome, a four-time winner, was a dominant force in the 2010s and the most recent of the Tour de France past winners to make this list. His victories were defined by his fierce rivalry with Nairo Quintana. Froome’s journey from a humble background in Kenya to Tour de France stardom makes his achievements particularly compelling. It might have been 5 in a row if not for a crash before the cobbles on a Paris Roubaix -style stage in 2014.

Chris Froome’s journey to Tour de France success started in the high-altitude landscapes of Kenya and South Africa, where he developed his immense endurance. His tactical acumen and time-trialling prowess, combined with his impressive climbing abilities, made him one of the most complete riders of his generation. Despite a severe crash in 2019, Froome’s determination and resilience have seen him return to professional racing, a testament to his character.

While each of these Tour de France past winners has carved their unique paths to victory, they share a common trait – an indomitable will that enabled them to conquer one of the most gruelling races in the world. Their stories, rivalries, and victories continue to inspire and will forever be etched in the annals of the Tour de France. A usual book to explore more of the Tour de France past winners is the Official History of the Tour de France .

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Top 10: Tour de France riders

The Tour de France – originally scheduled to run from June 27 to July 19 – will now start on August 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look through the history books to profile 10 of the greatest riders from the race’s history.

Eddy Merckx

Widely considered the greatest ever cyclist, ‘the Cannibal’ won the Tour in each of the first five editions he entered, four in a row between 1969 and 1972, then again in 1974 after he skipped the 1973 race to win the Giro-Vuelta double instead. Merckx’s insatiable desire for victory saw him win a record 34 stages of the Tour in his career. He completed the Giro-Tour double three times, and in 1974 became the first man to win cycling’s ‘triple crown’ of the Giro, Tour and World Championships road race, an achievement matched only once since by Stephen Roche in 1987. Merckx’s hopes of a sixth title in 1975 were ruined when he was punched by a spectator on the Puy-de-Dome during stage 14, battling on to finish second overall despite suffering from an inflamed liver as a result of the incident. He would never again win another stage of the race he had dominated for so long, with his only other appearance in 1977 ending in a sixth-placed finish.

Bernard Hinault

The last Frenchman to celebrate victory in the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault took the title in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985. A sixth title eluded ‘the Badger’ – a knee injury forced Hinault to withdraw in 1980 while in the yellow jersey, with a similar problem preventing him from starting in 1983. But most fascinating of all was the 1986 race, in which Hinault had pledged to help La Vie Claire team-mate Greg LeMond. If he did help, he did so grudgingly, happy to play up to the idea he was capable of winning a sixth title. An attack on stage 12 to Pau put him more than five minutes clear of LeMond and he held yellow for five days, losing it after stage 17. The pair finished arm-in-arm on Alpe d’Huez at the end of stage 18 but the gesture seemed an empty one given Hinault’s interview immediately afterwards claiming the race was still on. LeMond eventually triumphed by three minutes but the distrust lingered, and Hinault retired at the end of the season, still only 32.

Miguel Indurain

Of the four men to have won five Tour titles, only Spaniard Indurain achieved it with five consecutive victories as he seized control of the race from 1991 to 1995. It was a record perhaps in keeping with a rider many criticised as “robotic” as he ripped up time trials to stamp his authority on the race. Indurain’s success came in the second half of his career – he had competed in the Tour and Vuelta a combined 10 times, never cracking the top 15 until he finished 10th in the 1990 Tour and seventh in that year’s Vuelta, teeing up the success that began a year later. He also claimed two Giro titles, in 1992 and 1993, but never bettered his second place from 1991 in his home Grand Tour.

Jacques Anquetil

★ D-61 ★ Jacques Anquetil, ahead of Imerio Massignan, wins one of his 5th Tour, unstoppable "Maitre Jacques"… #TDF pic.twitter.com/R0zkbqn39v — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) April 29, 2013

Anquetil was the first man to win the Tour five times, taking victory in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, with a Tour-Vuelta double in 1963 and a Giro-Tour double in 1964. After emerging as a strong amateur, Anquetil broke the prestigious Hour Record while on national service in the French army, teeing up the professional career that would soon follow. Riding in a very different era, Anquetil never denied doping, saying during a television debate: “Leave me in peace; everybody takes dope”. Anquetil died in 1987 from stomach cancer, aged 53.

Chris Froome

Froome’s awkward-looking style on a bike might frequently be mocked, but none can now question the success it has brought him with seven Grand Tour trophies in the cabinet. His Tour successes in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 have been complimented by his stunning 2018 Giro victory and Vuelta titles from 2011 and 2017 – the 2011 title having only been awarded last year after Juan Jose Cobo was found guilty of doping, retroactively making Froome Britain’s first Grand Tour winner. Many believe Froome was strong enough to have beaten Sir Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour but for team orders, and it remains to be seen if his chance at a record-equalling fifth title is now gone after a high-speed crash during last year’s Criterium du Dauphine left him with a long list of injuries which may prevent him from ever getting back to his best again.

Greg LeMond

LeMond’s victory in 1986 went down in history as one of the most fascinating ever Tours given the intra-team battle with Hinault, but for the American it was only the beginning as he followed up with an even more dramatic win in 1989. After suffering life-threatening injuries in a 1987 hunting accident, LeMond’s future in the sport was in question – he was not considered a contender in 1989 and had told his wife he was thinking about retirement. But he bossed the stage-five time trial and battled tooth and nail with Laurent Fignon through the mountains. As they began a rare time trial into Paris on the final stage, LeMond began some 50 seconds behind Fignon but stunned the Frenchman to win the Tour by just eight seconds, going on to take the world title a month later. LeMond would claim a third Tour title in 1990.

Louison Bobet

★ D-55 ★ 1955, Louison Bobet, taking a lap of honor in the Parc des Princes, wins the Tour! #TDF pic.twitter.com/6XQQIjsTrg — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) May 5, 2013

Regarded as the first great rider of the post-war era, Bobet was the first to win the Tour in three consecutive years as he dominated from 1953 to 1955. Having taken up cycling after serving in the army during World War II, Bobet’s introduction to the Tour was an inauspicious one as his 1947 debut ended in an early withdrawal and earned him the nickname ‘cry-baby’ as he wept at the difficulty of the race. But he returned a year later to spend two days in yellow and finished third in 1950 to point to far greater potential. He won the 1955 Tour despite saddle boils which required surgery and which Bobet said made him a lesser rider for the rest of his days. After missing the 1956 and 1957 Tours, he returned in 1958, finishing seventh, but was no longer able to compete for yellow.

Philippe Thys

Philippe Thys won his 3 @letour with the number 15 & it’s not the end…Learn more > https://t.co/aHbuSnUsPf pic.twitter.com/l0UlesMUff — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 9, 2016

‘The Basset Hound’ was the first three-time winner of the Tour and a man who would no doubt have contended for or won many more but for the First World War. The Belgian’s first win came in 1913 despite him suffering a broken fork and incurring a 10-minute penalty when he stopped at a bike shop for repairs. He won again in 1914 but, with the intervention of war, had to wait until 1920 for his third. Tour organiser Henri Desgrange wrote: “France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth.”

Raymond Poulidor

1⃣9⃣6⃣6⃣ Rivalry Anquetil/Poulidor reaches its peak 👉👈🇷️🇹️ Poulidor / ❤ AnquetilRead more> https://t.co/byljkwm1rX pic.twitter.com/1UgHNH9YNn — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) June 3, 2016

Raymond Poulidor never won the Tour de France but he rode his way into its legend during his long rivalry with Jacques Anquetil. ‘Pou-Pou’ became known as the ‘Eternal Second’ as he finished second three times and third five times, riding on to the age of 40 in his hunt for the yellow jersey – a garment that would always elude him. Poulidor came closest in 1964, losing by only 55 seconds to Anquetil after the two men rode themselves to exhaustion on the Puy de Dome. But with every failure, Poulidor’s popularity with the French crowds only grew, even as he was competing with a compatriot, and by the time of his death last year he was arguably France’s most popular ever rider.

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish sits in a category of his own in the history of the Tour as its greatest ever sprinter. Though effectively competing in a different event to those seeking to wear the yellow jersey in Paris, Cavendish became synonymous with Tour success as he utterly dominated the flat stages at his peak. Between 2008 and 2011 he won an incredible 20 stages and in total the Manxman has piled up 30 victories – second only to the record of Merckx – before illness and injury slowed him and left a question mark where there had once appeared near certainty he would one day take the record for himself.

Rating the 2021 Tour de France top 10

From Uran to Pogacar, we assess the performances of this year's best GC riders

The  2021 Tour de France  was wrapped up in Paris on Sunday, with  Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) topping the overall standings with his second victory in as many years. 

His victory seemed ingrained since the very first week, and similarly the podium ended up being a very clear-cut affair, with debutant Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) the only riders able to get near the yellow jersey in the Pyrenees. 

Filling out the rest of the top 10 were a couple of surprise packages, a couple of consistent performances, and a couple of disappointments. Cyclingnews  takes a look at where the 2021 Tour de France leaves its top-10 finishers, and what now lies ahead.

10. Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo)

Age: 34 

Highlight: Two top 10s, 10th overall, and a couple of decent attacks in the first half of the race. 

Tour report: 10th in the Tour de France is nothing to be sniffed at, and half the squads in this year’s race would have taken that result had it been offered to them at the Grand Départ in Brest, but this wasn’t what EF or Urán would have settled for heading into the Pyrenees.

On the face of it, this was another impressive ride from the talismanic Colombian but it comes with caveats because, for the second year running, the wheels fell off the Urán bus in the second half of the race, and for the second straight year the veteran faded when it mattered most. There’s only so long the American team can consider Urán as a genuine Grand Tour leader, and certainly one worth divesting their complete efforts into.

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At 34, Urán is far from a finished athlete – he could do this all again next year – but it’s time for EF to also consider when to bring Hugh Carthy back to the Tour and where their next generation of GC candidacy is going to come from.

Best non-Tour results of 2021: The stage win and second place in the Tour de Suisse was a timely reminder of Urán’s undoubted class and how far he’s come since his injuries of 2019.

Tour 2022? It really depends on the route. If the ASO sticks three time trials in the parcours then Carthy heads back to the Giro and Urán, along with the rest of the team, can hit the Tour looking for stage wins.

9. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious)

Highlight: A top 10 on the Col du Portet.

Tour report: Bilbao was one of many riders in the top 10 who was almost anonymous in the GC battle. Sure, he followed in the mountains, but the top three – and certainly Pogačar – were so dominant that many riders including Bilbao were effectively riding a different race.

This was still a commendable result for the former Astana rider who moved into a GC position once Jack Haig left the race in an ambulance. He was dogged in the mountains, turned out a couple of average time trials but paced himself when the road went uphill. The fact that he’s raced four Grand Tours since last August and been in the top 20 in each of them is a more impressive stat than his ninth in Paris.

It must be mentioned that Bilbao’s hotel room – along with those of all of his teammates – were searched by 50 police officers in Pau, and that, while nothing was found, the team have been placed under a preliminary investigation for doping. The team deny all wrongdoing.

Best non-Tour results: Won a stage in the Tour of the Alps.

Tour 2022? Several key climbers are out of contract at Bahrain Victorious but, with no major signings on the horizon, Bilbao may have done enough to secure himself a leadership role in one of the three Grand Tours. That’s unlikely to be the Tour de France but it’s not impossible to imagine him in a free role at the Giro or Vuelta and asked to ride support in July.

8. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis)

Highlight: A couple of top 10s and the ability to flip his focus to the GC halfway through the race.

Tour report: Martin came into the Tour de France aiming for stage wins and with little to no determination to target the GC. That appeared to be a sound approach given his somewhat underwhelming ride in the Critérium du Dauphiné but, two days in the breaks during the opening half of the race propelled him into the top 10 before the road to Quillan catapulted him from ninth to second overall.

That sort of a head-start ahead of the final week ensured that Martin’s approach changed and, although he dropped to ninth before rising to eighth again, this was a best-ever finish by the Frenchman.

Best non-Tour results: He won the Classic Alpes-Maritimes in May and also picked up sixth in Paris-Nice.

Tour 2022? Even though the route isn’t out until October, there’s little chance of Martin targeting the GC in another Grand Tour unless he takes on the Vuelta after the Tour and looks to hold form into the second half of the year. France’s top finisher will be back at the Tour next year.

7. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-PremierTech)

Highlight: Lutsenko was never lower than 14th overall in the race, which demonstrates his consistency.

Tour report: With Jakob Fuglsang having an off Tour and the rest of the team threatening but never quite making a lasting impression, it was down to Lutsenko to fly the flag for a squad that, minus a clutch of national championships, has been devoid of regular wins and inspiration.

It wasn’t spectacular or pretty; Lutsenko ground his way up the climbs and rattled off a couple of strong time trials but in a results business his seventh place in Paris rescued the race for Astana. This was easily Lutsenko’s best result in a three-week race and, following on from his second place in the Critérium du Dauphiné, the 28-year-old has seemingly remoulded himself as a stage racer.

Best non-Tour results: A stage win and second overall at the Dauphiné.

Tour 2022? With Alexander Vlasov and a host of riders heading to the exit door, Astana need new faces to step up. Without a huge budget, that might mean riders like Lutsenko are forced to spin plates in events that aren’t typically their specialty. That said, he’s won a stage and finished in the top 10 in the last two years, so he clearly has a knack for peaking at the right time.

6. Enric Mas (Movistar Team)

Highlight: Fourth on the stage to Luz Ardiden provided a timely reminder of his ability.

Tour report: As in 2020, Mas only began to find his best form just when the race was heading into its final throws, but his attacks at Luz Ardiden were entertaining nonetheless and, for the briefest of moments, it looked as though a maiden Tour stage win was on the horizon.

Those moves were also the only time a rider inside the top 10 and outside the top three put in repeated digs against Pogačar but Movistar ultimately want more than just an opportunist and sixth in Paris is arguably a small step back given that Mas was fifth last year and a number of high profile riders crashed or cracked. The Spaniard and his team did well to avoid the crashes but Movistar didn’t sign the 2018 Vuelta runner-up in order to see Ben O’Connor and Jonas Vingegaard finish so far ahead of him.

Best non-Tour results: Won a stage in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

Tour 2022? Mas is consistent, he just doesn’t win a lot and at some point the bosses at Movistar might decide to change tact and pivot him towards a Giro/Vuelta combination. 

5. Wilco Kelderman (Bora Hansgrohe)

Highlight: Looked on the money in the first two stages and climbed well during the entire three weeks.

Tour report: Seventh, third and fifth in his last three Grand Tours – it really was a shocking decision for DSM to let him walk out the door last year given their lack of experience. It’s true, Kelderman doesn’t have the acceleration of the pure climbers, his time trialing seems to be going backwards ever so slightly, and he hits the deck with frustrating regularity, but he’s still a formidable stage racer. His TT on stage 5 was average by his standards but in the Alps and the Pyrenees especially, he rode his own race and paced himself faultlessly. 

Best non-Tour results: Fourth in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Tour 2022? With Jai Hindley on the way and Vlasov also expected to link up with Bora over the winter, it’s not clear how the German team will split their Grand Tour arsenal. With top-10 results in all three major events, it could be Kelderman who is dispatched to target either the Giro or the Vuelta.

4. Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën)

Highlight: Winning the stage into Tignes and igniting not just his Tour but his entire team’s season.

Tour report: Not quite the revelation of the Tour de France but O’Connor certainly left his mark. After the opening week in which he crashed, it looked as though the Australian would play a minor role in the race but everything changed on the road to Tignes with a stage win that also vaulted the Australian into second overall.

Holding that position was always going to be a tall order but the 25-year-old clung on to a top-five before Urán dramatically cracked, which allowed him into fourth. For a Tour de France debut, this was the realms of dreamland, especially given that here was rider who was struggling for a top-level contract last year.

Some might say that without the time he was afforded in the break he would never have been inside the top 10 but racing doesn’t work like that; it’s not a 100-metre dash but a complex journey in which subplots and tactics are often just as important as who has the strongest legs. O’Connor more than held his own in the GC battle and fully deserved his position in Paris.

Best non-Tour results: He’s been consistent in a number of week-long stage races this year, proving that his Tour was no fluke.

Tour 2022? Team boss Vincent Lavenu was building a Classics team in the winter and moved on a number of his Grand Tour specialists but that’s all changed now with the emergence of O’Connor. He’ll be back at the Tour next year and that means Lavenu will need to sign a couple of climbers in order to give his leader some much needed support.

3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers)

Highlight: You can question the tactics, you can question the leadership, but you can’t fault Carapaz’s tenacity and determination. He’s now the first rider from Ecuador to make the Tour de France podium

Tour report: Ineos came into the Tour with four potential leaders but just a week into the race and only Carapaz remained in contention. He was the only rider to consistently try and dismantle Pogačar in the mountains but the fact remains that he was never able to drop the two riders above him in the GC, and his time trial – while decent – was never in the same ball park. All that said, at least he made a race of it. Just imagine how tepid the GC battle would have been without him.

Best non-Tour results: Winning the Tour de Suisse.

Tour 2022? Carapaz is world class, of that there’s no doubt, but unless his rivals make a tactical blunder as they did in the 2019 Giro or he can reach an entirely new level in 2022, he just doesn’t have the weapons to hurt both Roglič and Pogačar. He couldn’t even crack Roglič’s debutant teammate.

If Ineos are serious about regaining the Tour title they need to draft in Bernal and do away with their multiple leader ethos. They have a way of riding and a particular style and that’s fine, it’s brought them success in the past, so their best bet would be to dispatch Carapaz to the Giro or alternatively stack everyone into their Tour team but remain entirely committed to Bernal.

2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)

Highlight: Finishing second on his debut.

Tour report: Originally not even in the team, Vingegaard was drafted into the eight-man selection after Tom Dumoulin took a well-needed break but the Dane seized his chance with arguably the best Tour debut since Pogačar’s in 2020.

Vingegaard was emphatic in the time trials and robust in the mountains, with his attack on Mont Ventoux providing a brief flicker of hope that the GC battle wasn’t over. He raced intelligently, despite being isolated at times, and looks like a genuine Grand Tour winner in waiting.

Best non-Tour results: Winning a stage in the UAE Tour ahead of Pogačar.

Tour 2022? A number of the Jumbo-Visma riders are on the wrong side of 30, so the Dane offers hope for the future and a post-Roglič world. It’s unlikely that the squad's strategy will change much next year with Roglič still the leader but Vingegaard is likely to ride as a support before having his own opportunity a year or two later. He will definitely have a chance to lead in another Grand Tour between now and then.

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

Highlight of the 2021 Tour de France: It’ll be easier to list what he didn’t win.

Tour report: At times Pogačar looked like he was in a different race, toying with the breathless and desperate as he dropped them either one-by-one or all at once. The time trial on stage 5 was a marker but the attack on stage 8 with around 30 kilometres to go ended the Tour as a contest, while the back-to-back stage wins in the Pyrenees were typified by repeated and rapid accelerations. Pogačar is well and truly the poster boy of what modern cycling has become.

Best non-Tour results of 2021: Winning Tirreno-Adriatico.

Tour 2022? If he skips the Vuelta later this year then it’s possible he could take on a Giro-Tour combination next year. He’s unstoppable.

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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.

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By the Numbers: The Greatest Tour de France Ever

That's 1989, yo.

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With all due respect to Richard Moore, there is a clear winner in the category of Greatest of All Time (GOAT) Tour de France, and it's not his beloved and very consideration-worthy 1986 edition. It's 1989, and not entirely for the reason you are thinking of. The 1989 Tour remains to this day the closest and most dramatic finish to a Tour de France, and maybe any grand tour. I'm sure there are other nominees for GOAT that, if they took place today, would rank higher in our collective minds. But 1989 was a great one, didn't happen all that long ago, and benefited from significant enough media coverage that the entire world could decipher what was happening.

And what was happening was a collection of charismatic individuals (including three former winners and one rather notable future one), a series of I-can't-believe-it moments, and a series of stages which flipped the overall lead and set up the incredible finish. It took place at a crossroads in the sport's history, where technology was about to evolve and played deeply into the result; where TV coverage was growing; and where doping was about to hijack the entire enterprise. 1986 may have been great, and set the standard for inter-team shenanigans which will never be beat. But if you are looking for things to talk about for decades to come, the 1989 edition has much more going for it.

Let's dig in.

1. I see you and your hair, Gert-Jan Theunisse

If there was a more imposing figure in the sport at that time than Theunisse, I couldn't tell you who it was. The Dutch climber was coming off a breakout Tour in 1988 that included a ten-minute penalty for taking testosterone, and on this day he was about to cap off his legend by winning atop Alpe d'Huez. If you want to know why people call it Dutch Mountain, it has less to do with Theunisse's win there than perhaps any other. Theunisse's 1989 effort was actually the last win by a Dutch rider atop the Alpe, but in the 13 previous finishes there had been seven Dutch winners, including Steven Rooks the previous year and multiple victories by Peter Winnen, Hennie Kuiper and Joop Zoetemelk.

Theunisse's style was wooden-faced, and his shady history, lowland upbringing and long hair gave him an air of absolute defiance. His life after the 89 Tour is no less stunning. He got popped for PEDs on multiple occasions, though he largely pre-dated EPO. His career stalled out after 1989, and he eventually retired with heart trouble, a condition that has included multiple heart attacks prior to his acquisition of a pacemaker. He got hit by a car while training in 1997 and suffered spinal column damage that occasionally renders him unable to walk. He took to mountain biking, coaching and riding allegedly 150km a day. He went on to win 12 races including the European over-30 championship, but continued to suffer heart, spinal and muscular problems, and is considered partially handicapped. He retired from mountain biking in 2005, but works with disabled athletes in Mallorca and is said to be aiming to complete in the paralympics.

I could have sworn back in the day that Phil Liggett called him the Cannibal, though that sounds absurd in hindsight. I see that he had several nicknames, including the Blond Angel and "d e Maaskant, " which I thought was a surname and doesn't seem to want to translate for me. If he's game for another one, may I respectfully suggest "Rasputin"?

2. I see you there, Laurent Fignon

I'm going to save him for last.

3. I see you there and couldn't miss your kit from outer space, Greg LeMond

LeMond, of course, won this Tour and is as famous a cyclist to our forum as anyone. At this time his back story was well known. He was the first American to win the Tour in 1986, in that legendary edition. He could have won in 1985, when he acceded to the team's request to not attack out of deference to his wounded leader, Bernard Hinault -- a request that was justifiable at the time, if laughably hypocritical a year later.

His race in 1989 began with a prologue showing that was better than expected -- LeMond was coming off a poor Giro d'Italia, but began receiving anti-anemia treatments during the race and finished with a strong time trial, so being six seconds down wasn't a shock. Still, he wasn't thought of as a favorite, coming back from two years of injuries and the hunting accident, until he won the 73(!)km ITT to Rennes on stage 5, putting him in yellow a scant five seconds up in Fignon. And even then, few believed he would survive through the mountains (including LeMond himself, IIRC). What transpired was a two-man battle like no other.

• Fignon, at 0.05
• Lemond, at 0.07
• Fignon, at 0.40
• Fignon, at 0.53
• LeMond, at 0.26
• LeMond, at 0.50
• Fignon, at 0.08

His stage 21 performance still arguably ranks as the fastest time trial in Tour history, even with all the doping that came into vogue later on. Two prologues (including this year's) were faster, but prologues are prologues. Also Dave Zabriskie topped LeMond in 2005, but that result was later voided.

I wonder if LeMond looks back on his life in complete wonderment. Drama seems to permeate his entire existence. He was born in Nevada, with generational athletic ability, particularly in his cardiovascular system. Cycling managed to find him, which wasn't a given in those days, though it had a foothold in nearby California. He survived sexual abuse by an uncle, the sort of thing that has ruined untold lives. He got to Europe, which was remarkable enough, and dominated races to the point where he was chosen by Cyrille Guimard to be the successor to Bernard Hinault , for crissakes. He went on to serve on two of modern cycling's greatest Tour factories, Guimard's Renault venture and the La Vie Claire program of Hinault, Kochli and Tapie. The former won more and for longer, but the latter dominated the race completely for two years, taking ten stages, the top two GC spots both years, and six top-ten placements.

He had exactly the personality needed for an American to succeed -- defiant, independent, and confident enough to rewrite the traditional rules of the sport; smart enough to learn French and sincere enough to become a beloved figure in Belgium and France. Not crippled by the homesickness that had prevented most Americans from even approaching the scene. All of this made him exactly the wrong person to serve as Hinault's appointed successor, not unlike so many successions of royal authority in history, which led to the drama in '85-86, but if he had been meek enough to do Hinault's bidding, he'd have gone home before the trouble started.

He was an early world champion. He won the Tour. Then he was shot, and almost died. Probably should have. Then he was back, and 1989 happened. He won another Tour in 1990, though that was hardly routine too. He was a forerunner for technological change, then he became a victim of doping, losing perhaps two more Tour victories to EPO, on top of the two he lost to injury after the shooting. In retirement chapters 9, 10, 11 and so on of his life story were tied to Lance Armstrong -- engulfing his status as a businessman selling bikes, a commentator on Armstrong and the sport, and his place as the great American pioneer. Only in recent times, with Armstrong going away and a vindicated LeMond just living his life, does the drama seem to have loosened its grip on America's greatest -ever cycling hero.

4. I see you there, Pedro Delgado

If LeMond had a stranglehold on most dramatic grand tour career, Delgado did his part to stay in contention. He was an instant success at the Tour, holding a podium place through stage 17 at the age of 23 before falling back. By 1985 he was a mountain stage winner. In 1987 he lost the (then) second-closest Tour in history, to Stephen Roche, by 40 seconds. He won in 1988, in dominant fashion over a weakened field, but not before getting popped for probenicid and briefly risking a serious penalty before the Tour determined that the rules did not call for any. That was a bit like getting popped for weed at a club that went on to become Studio 54 the next year. The Tour director asked him to voluntarily walk away, but he insisted he was taking it for his kidneys, not to mask steroid use. Delgado has no further doping history and his reign as the 1988 winner is secure.

So secure, apparently, that he saw no need to hurry up and get to the start house for his prologue time at the beginning of the 1989 Tour. By the time he discovered the problem and got out of the start house, he had added 2.40 to his time. This sent him into a terrible emotional crisis, where he lost sleep and was so bad in the next day's road stage/TTT double-dip that he was more than seven minutes out on day 2. He finally got his act together, finished second in the 73km ITT, and spent the rest of the Tour climbing brilliantly. Heading into the final Paris ITT, Delgado was a mere 2.28 behind Fignon on GC -- the "virtual Tour leader" if you could wipe out his self-imposed deficit. Considering he would have been in a position to beat LeMond and Fignon, this was arguably the greatest grand tour of his career. With a good start, it's not hard to imagine him winning. Sure, he lost a minute to LeMond in the final ITT, but that was a mere post-script. Oh, and he would have had plenty of team support: five of his teammates finished in the top 33, including a young guy from Pamplona, name of Indurain.

And yet, this might not be the most dramatic moment of his career. Plenty of people, led by Robert Millar, would argue that the shenanigans of the 1985 Vuelta a Espana, Delgado's first major victory, put it over the 1989 Tour in terms of drama. But that's a story for another day. Ultimately Delgado is remembered partly as the dominant climber of his time, which he was, and partly as a one-off Tour winner, which is a pretty fair assessment. He maybe lacked the killer instinct to dominate the sport, but he was certainly the strongest rider when LeMond and Fignon weren't around, and occasionally when they were too.

5. I don't see you very well, Steven Rooks

The forgotten figure of this Tour, Rooks was a player in the latter half of this race and the reigning #2 from 1988. He won the uphill time trial to Orcieres-Merlette, and the year before he won on Alpe d'Huez -- Dutch Mountain. He's also a two-time national champion and a winner of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Zurich and Amstel Gold. Later he confessed to doping but only after 1989.

A few more...

6.  I see you there... Paul Kimmage?

Here's where this photo thing gets tricky. I honestly can't see this person well enough, but am using the presence of a Fagor rider to mention a couple items of interest. One is about Kimmage. As LeMond always says, doping took over the sport by 1991, and that didn't happen overnight. Kimmage, who went on to become more famous for his reporting work, particularly challenging Lance Armstrong and Pat McQuaid for their transgressions than he was as a cyclist, was in fact a cyclist and formed his opinions of doping at this very stage of his career.

He was also an Irishman, and Irish riders spent the 1980s making some incredible memories. In 1989 Kimmage was riding in support of Roche, who had moved to Fagor after falling out with the same Carrera team for whom he won the Giro-Tour-Worlds Triple Crown in 1987. Kimmage occasionally rode in support of Sean Kelly, at Worlds and at the Nissan Classic, won by Kelly in 1987.

7. I see you there, unknowable 7-Eleven rider

For all their colorful history, Team 7-Eleven had run out of miracles in 1989. The previous year, Andy Hampsten had won the Giro d'Italia, the first and only American ever to do so. In 1987, Hampsten had won the Tour de Suisse. In '86 they made their well-documented Tour debut, winning a stage and briefly holding the maillot jaune. In 1985, they made their entry into European cycling with two Giro stage wins.

I wonder what happened to cause Raul Alcala to leave 7-Eleven before the 1989 season, when he joined up with PDM. Probably money. Maybe the addition of Hampsten, who fled the madness of La Vie Claire in time for the 1987 season. Anyway, Hampsten was a brilliant climber but lacked consistency (hello, clean cycling). His 22nd in 1989 was his worst Tour finish (his best was fourth in 1986, for La Vie Claire). Meanwhile, Alcala seemed like an ideal fit, the first great Mexican rider on a North American team (7-Eleven was Canadian-friendly too). He won a stage in the Coors Classic that got him noticed, and by 1989 he was reaching his peak at the Tour, finishing eighth. Might have paired well with Hampsten, if there were room for both. Oh well. IIRC Alcala still hasn't retired, though he hasn't won a major race since a national title in 2010. At the age of 46.

8. I see you there, unknowable Team Z guy

Another random placement, and an excuse for a sidebar. One point people make about LeMond in the 1989 Tour is that his team, ADR, was terrible. It's true that he lacked support in the mountains, but they did finish with four riders, and you can only throw so much shade at a team that included a young Johan Museeuw and an aging Eddy Planckaert. There were three stages in Belgium, and LeMond came out of those pretty well. So there's that.

Still, by 1990 LeMond was on top of the world again -- literally, with the rainbow jersey -- and could ride with whomever he wanted. He chose Team Z, in part for the money and also because he could count on some support in the mountains of the Tour de France. One of those supporters would be Robert Millar, an opponent who was on friendly terms with LeMond in 1985 and 86, when LeMond was isolated by his own team. It may be that Millar offered him support in 1989 when again LeMond was isolated. Or I'm making that up. In any case, Millar was a fine climber and a bit of a character, an ideal teammate for LeMond. So too were Eric Boyer, Ronan Pensec and Bruno Cornillet, all of whom were top-20 finishers or thereabouts. LeMond's 1990 Tour was a topsy-turvy event anyway, with a massive gap being let out early on and the yellow being held by Steve Bauer of 7-Eleven, then Pensec, then Chiappucci -- all beneficiaries of that stage one gap -- until LeMond finally claimed it on stage 19. That was his one year with a team truly behind him.

I can't for the life of me tell you who the "Z" sponsor was, but the team went on to become Credit Agricole and lasted until 2008.

9. I see you there... Martial Gayant?

La Vie Claire... or their shadow anyway. I think this is Gayant, but again it's hard to say. Gayant was a northern French guy, and a classics hardman. He's still around coaching at FDJ with one of his 1989 teammates, Marc Madiot. By 1989 things had changed a lot from the La Vie Claire days. Now called Toshiba-Look, owner Bernard Tapie was slowly ceding control of the venture and would depart after the season. Already gone by 1989 was Paul Koechli, who had "directed" the victories of Hinault and LeMond, albeit with much interference by Tapie. Hinault more or less founded the team with Tapie in 1984, but by 1989 he was out of successors. First LeMond got shot and departed. So too did Hampsten, in part because he was sure that they wanted Jean-Francois "Jeff" Bernard to be their next leader. Bernard won a stage in 1987 and took over the maillot jaune... it was all so perfect... but Bernard cracked under the pressure, by his own admission, and saw his career derailed by knee injuries. Their Tour team was bereft of a grand tour challenger in 1989, and their top finisher was Fabrice Philipot, 24th. The Toshiba team and its Piet Mondrian-inspired jersey were consigned to history after the 1991 season.

10. I see you there... Dominique Arnaud?

Once again, I can't really tell who this is, but Arnaud was one of the challengers for the Red Jersey, and was built like an NFL fullback, at least by cycling standards. So I think that's him.

The red jersey? This defunct classification was awarded to the winner of the most points from intermediate sprints. Back in the day, every mass-start stage included multiple intermediate sprints, which also came with time bonuses and cash awards. It was worth pursuing, and anyway the points counted toward the Green Jersey points classification as well. By 1989, the red jersey was in its last go-round, presumably because of that last thing I said -- if it counts toward the green, you're probably giving both jerseys to the same guy, like Sean Kelly, who won both in 1989. Also on its way out was the combined jersey that added points from the green, red, yellow and polka-dot classifications. I always liked that jersey, usually because someone important was wearing it. But it too was kinda redundant.

11. I see you there, Jean-Marie Wampers?

Again, identification isn't easy here, but I think the ears nail down this one. Wampers was a twelve-year pro in his ninth season at this point. His first eight didn't yield a lot of flashy results, but in this photo he's the recently-crowned champion of no less a race than Paris-Roubaix, which he took in a two-up sprint from Dirk De Wolf, a star of the Ardennes in the early 1990s. Not too shabby.

I remember you well, Laurent Fignon

If you only knew Fignon from the 1989 Tour, you might remember him for being just a couple things -- the tragic loser of the race on the Champs-Elysees, and an unpopular guy with the media. Both of these impressions were foremost on my mind for much of my formative cycling-watching years. But I have completely changed my mind about him. Fignon was a great, proud champion, an imperfect guy, and yet another fascinating character from that era.

He was an excellent all-round rider, with time trial victories dating back to his first, shocking Tour de France victory in 1983 to high mountain wins in places like La Plagne and Villard-de-Lans to hilly stages as late as 1992. He was a free spirit, treating the press as he liked and admitting to using stimulants in his frank autobiography "We Were Young and Carefree." He rode with attacking flair, in contrast to LeMond (for example) in 1989. When he won, he won with style, and when he lost, it was usually something crazy, from the Paris ITT in '89 to the nonsense at the 1984 Giro. That was something -- the race canceled the highest stage to shelter Francesco Moser from getting thrashed by Fignon, and on the final ITT a helicopter rode in front of him, creating his own private headwind. The Sheriff won by 1.04. Fignon won the Giro in 1989. Knee injuries robbed us all of an era in which he and LeMond -- originally teammates at Renault-Elf -- slugged it out for years.

The loss in 1989 will go down as the most-discussed Tour time trial possibly ever. The most painful part has to be the choice of equipment, where Guimard allowed Fignon to ride with bullhorns, while LeMond rode with aero bars, apparently because Fignon believed the aero bars were prohibited and urged Guimard to protest. Fignon also eschewed the aero helmet of the type worn by LeMond, though he did use a front disc (which LeMond didn't) so the technological advantage was only 90% in LeMond's favor. It's interesting that he rode for Guimard for almost his entire career -- at Renault, at Systeme U, and at Castorama -- before spending his last couple years in the Gatorade outfit. For all the greats we have discussed who left Guimard, the partnership he had with Fignon was the one that lasted. Maybe it failed them in the end. Eight seconds could have easily been found in the final choice of equipment. But presumably it helped Fignon on too many other occasions to be overshadowed by that one day.

As you would expect, Fignon was haunted by that experience. LeMond told a story of how Fignon hated to go to the Champs-Elysees, because he would find himself counting out eight seconds as he walked, or biked home at the end of another Tour. When people would point out to him his notoriety, he would mention that he wasn't that guy who lost but rather a two-time Tour champion, of which he was rightfully proud. The misery didn't consume him, but it was hard to shake, of course.

His greatest tragedy was his last. After retiring to a life that seemed to include a lot of golf and eventually the ownership and organization of Paris-Nice, Fignon was diagnosed with metastatic cancer in 2009 and died a year later at the age of 50. it would be the worst kind of hyperbole to wrap this up by saying he died of a broken heart from the 1989 Tour. He didn't. He was a proud person, a fantastic and underrated cyclist, and could only have been struck down by a horrible, deadly disease. I'm sure he wouldn't mind my concluding with "fuck you cancer." But instead I'll go with Chapeau Laurent. You were a great champion, and even in defeat in '89, you played to win.

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Tour de France 2022: 10 best riders as Jonas Vingegaard misses out on top spot - Blazin’ Saddles

Updated 26/07/2022 at 12:42 GMT

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard was a fitting winner of a Tour de France that started in Copenhagen – but was the 25-year-old even the best rider in the race? With the dust now settled on the Champs-Elysees, Felix Lowe takes a look back at an intense three weeks and picks out the best riders of a pulsating 109th edition of the world’s biggest bike race.

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9. Simon Geschke (Cofidis)

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8. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)

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7. Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma)

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6. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers)

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5. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

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4. Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost)

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2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)

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1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma)

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Tour de France 2023: Riders with most stage wins in Tour history - Complete list

Mark Cavendish and Eddy Merckx hold the top position on the all-time list of stage winners, each with an impressive 34 victories. Here is the full list of riders with 10 or more wins.

A total of thirty-four riders have won 10 or more stages at the road cycling 's Tour de France.

Belgian legend Eddy Merckx and British sprinter Mark Cavendish currently share the record for most wins (34 each).

Below is the complete list, with an asterisk indicating active riders.

Tour de France 2023: Daily stage results and general classification standings

Tour de france 2023 preview: full schedule and how to watch live.

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"The Last Rider” movie review: a timeless tale of perseverance, love and America's true Tour de France hero

Now showing in theaters nationwide, the new Greg LeMond feature film is so much more than another Tour de France documentary

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If the Netflix series "Unchained" doesn't rapt American audiences, perhaps the new Greg LeMond feature film will connect them to cycling in a new way. 

Premiering today in theaters across the country, " The Last Rider " is a feature-length documentary that chronicles Greg LeMond's rock bottom year and his legendary comeback at the nail-biting 1989 Tour de France .

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Alex Holmes, the race almost serves as a backdrop. Instead, viewers are offered an intimate portrait of one of America's greatest athletes of all time as he maneuvres betrayal, childhood sexual abuse, getting shot, and coming back from the brink of death to face his rivals and win the Tour de France by just eight seconds — the closest winning margin in the race's history till this day.

The film features never-before-seen footage from the 1989 race as well exclusive interviews with LeMond himself, his former coach Cyrille Guimard and his wife Kathy, whom LeMond credits for his success.

The film has been a long time in the making. Holmes first met LeMond when making his 2014 film, Stop at Nothing, about the now-disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong . That film was "a very dark story about a man who set out to destroy anyone who questioned his reputation," Holmes said, and upon finishing that project, he felt inclined to make a film that shines a more positive light on the sport.  

"Good stories; they're timeless in a way," LeMond told  Cycling Weekly , "And it's funny; it's only years later that people can appreciate something. Had I had a Netflix [show] to help others understand what was happening at that time, that would have been…well, I'd love to have had a little more forgiveness at the time and understanding what I went through."

Intrigued? See a list of theaters currently showing the film here.  

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L'Americain

It's been more than 40 years since LeMond burst onto the international cycling scene, so you'd be forgiven if you're not too familiar with LeMond's story. Allow me to give you the Cliffs Notes on America's greatest cyclist .

Born in California in 1961, LeMond started cycling in his early teens and proved to be a natural. He reportedly won the first 11 races he entered, and that success followed him on the world's stage as he earned several junior national and world titles.

He was scouted by famed team director Cyrille Guimard in 1980, and LeMond made his professional debut with the Renault team in 1981 alongside cycling great Bernard Hinault . LeMond would become the first American to infiltrate the Euro-centric cycling world, and his nickname became, simply, "L'Americain" — the American. 

When he won the UCI Road World Championship in 1983, he was the first American male cyclist to do so. Similarly, with his first Tour de France victory in 1986, he became the first non-European professional cyclist to win the men's Tour.

"When I started cycling, Americans could never compete against the Europeans," LeMond says in the film. "For me, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, that was my dream. Being the first American ever to put on the yellow jersey...That was the most magical thing I've ever experienced."

LeMond would go on to win the Tour de France two more times and earn a second world title as well. With his successes, LeMond played a key role in popularizing cycling in the United States —even appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated!— and inspired an entire generation of American cyclists to start pedaling.

Off the bike, LeMond is known for surviving a near-fatal hunting accident in which he got shot with a pellet gun and nearly lost his career. A champion of equipment innovation,  LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerobars and carbon fiber frames — which he later produced under the eponymous bike brand .

Hitting rock bottom and cycling back out

Greg LeMond on his way to an 8-second victory margin in the 1989 Tour de France

The film does a good job introducing LeMond to the viewers, starting with his entry into the sport and leading up to the year that changed everything. 

It was 1986, and LeMond had done it. He stood on the Champs Elysees podium wearing the iconic Tour de France yellow jersey, a lifelong dream fulfilled, yet the first-ever American victor was far from happy. The win had been a bitter one. Betrayed by his friend and mentor, Bernard Hinault, he'd had to fight tooth and nail for every single second. The peloton had turned against him, the outsider, and he'd had to go it alone. 

The betrayal triggered a deep-seated trauma for LeMond: that of childhood sexual abuse and one that he'd been suppressing, perhaps outrunning, by cycling. His moment of victory spiraled into a depression.

"Nobody had any clue what I was going through physically and psychologically," LeMond says. "Trauma changes a person."

And things were about to get even worse. 

Just months after his historic Tour win, LeMond was accidentally shot by his brother-in-law in a hunting accident; dozens of lead pellets burying deep into LeMond's every major organ. He came within 20 minutes of bleeding to death but survived, yet the recovery years would be his toughest battle yet. 

And this is what the heart of "The Last Rider" is about: the journey of persistence, of hope and overcoming, of reclaiming a lifelong dream, and of one of the greatest comeback stories in sports. 

While this comeback happens at one of the most nail-biting editions of the Tour de France's 109-year history —and the film does do an excellent job building the tension— "The Last Rider" is much more than a documentary of that legendary race. 

"The Last Rider" is a showcasing of one man's personal journey with his mental and physical health, a true love story between him and his childhood sweetheart turned wife Kathy, and our beloved sport at its absolute best.

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Cycling Weekly 's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a cycling journalist for 11 years. 

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Tour de France

The power numbers at this year’s tour de france are the highest in the modern era of cycling, in this column, we dive into the power numbers of the world’s best riders at the tour de france..

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

We are only nine stages into the Tour de France, and five mountainous stages have already blown the GC to shreds. After countless attacks, breakaways, satellite riders, bonus seconds, and mountain top finishes, only 17 seconds separate Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar in the fight for the yellow jersey.

Read also: Power Analysis: Tour de France – Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Victor Lafay

Two of those stages flipped the original script, which saw 2022 Tour de France winner Vingegaard take over a minute on Pogačar on stage 5 to Laruns. We are in for a show in the next two weeks of racing, which includes the Grand Colombier, Col de Joux Plane, and Col de la Loze.

The power numbers from this year’s Tour de France are the highest in the modern era of cycling. 7w/kg for 20 minutes is the new standard for GC contenders, and many of these performances come after 3500 kJs of work, at 1000-2000 meters above sea level, and in 30+°C (86+°F) temperatures.

Unlike 2022, Vingegaard didn’t wait long to play his cards and attack Pogačar. Stage 5 from Pau to Laruns included the Col du Soudet (15.2km at 7%), Col d’Ichere (4.2km at 6.2%), and the Col de Marie Blanque (7.8km at 8.4%) whose final 4.8km average 10.5%.

A massive breakaway stayed away for the stage win while Jumbo-Visma laid the battleground for Vingegaard. When the Dane launched off Sepp Kuss’ wheel, Pogačar didn’t even respond. Vingegaard did one of the best climbing performances of his career on the steepest slopes of the Col de Marie Blanque, pushing nearly 7w/kg for over 20 minutes. The reigning Tour Champion continued pushing over the top of the climb to the finish line in Laruns where he took one minute and four seconds on Pogačar.

While we don’t have Vingegaard’s power data, we can make an educated guess based on other riders’ power data and times on the Col de Marie Blanque. In 2020, a 21-year-old Pogačar climbed the Col de Marie Blanque over a minute and a half slower than Vingegaard’s 2023 time, but still won stage 9 of the 2020 Tour ahead of Primož Roglič and Marc Hirschi.

Pogačar – Col de Marie Blanque in the 2020 Tour de France Time: 24:28 Average Power: 428w (6.4w/kg) Final 2.5km: 9:23 at 458w (6.9w/kg)

Vingegaard (2023): 22’ 56” at ~6.9w/kg

Many wrote off the 2023 Tour after Vingegaard’s stage 5 performance, citing Pogačar’s ongoing wrist recovery as the reason for his subpar performance. But the Slovenian struck back less than 24 hours later on the Cauterets-Cambasque (final 5.3km at 7.5%).

Before Pogačar’s winning attack, Jumbo-Visma had blown the race apart 40km earlier on the Col du Tourmalet (17km at 7.4%). Long, high-altitude climbs are typically Pogačar’s weakness, and Jumbo-Visma thought they might be able to crack the Slovenian for the second day in a row.

Vingegaard launched off of Kuss’ wheel again with 4.7km to the top of the Tourmalet, but Pogačar stayed glued to his wheel. Both riders did ~6.8w/kg for over 13 minutes, but neither rider cracked on the legendary climb. The final 4.8km of the Tourmalet climbs from 1700m to 2100m, so these power numbers are even more impressive when you consider the high altitude.

The closest rider to Vingegaard and Pogačar with power data was Steff Cras, who pushed nearly 6w/kg for 15 minutes but still lost two minutes to the leading pair.

Pogačar – Final 4.7km of the Tourmalet Time: 13:19 Estimated Average Power: ~449w (6.8w/kg)

Steff Cras: 15’ 19” at 360w (5.6w/kg)

After a long descent and rolling uphill, the final slopes of the Cote de Cauterets began. Vingegaard attacked on the 10% section of the climb and continued to pace with Pogačar in his wheel. But to almost everyone’s surprise, Pogačar attacked and dropped Vingegaard, soaring to the stage win and taking 28 seconds back on the defending Tour champion.

This result was shocking because Vingegaard clearly wasn’t at his best when you look at the power data. Pogačar did roughly 6.7w/kg for 13 minutes on the Cote de Cauterets, while Vingegaard only managed 6.6w/kg.

Michał Kwiatkowski had been caught from the breakaway, and he was the only rider who could stay in the wheels of Vingegaard and Pogačar for the first part of the Cote de Cauterets. The former world champion was pushing 6.5w/kg in the draft before finally succumbing to the ferocious pace.

Kwiatkowski – Cote de Cauterets Time: 16:22 Average Power: 342w (5.2w/kg) First 1.3km with Vingegaard and Pogačar: 4’ at 430w (6.5w/kg)

Pogačar : 13:00 at ~6.7w/kg Vingegaard: 13:24 at ~6.6w/kg

Just 24 hours previous, Vingegaard pushed ~6.9w/kg for nearly 23 minutes on the Col de Marie Blanque. Thus, the Cote de Cauterets was a disappointing performance. This could be a sign of Vingegaard’s inconsistency. Or perhaps he peaked too early in this year’s Tour de France. The next 12 stages will reveal the answer.

The last test before the Tour’s first rest day was the Puy du Dôme (final 4.5km at 11.5%), a ridiculously steep climb to the top of a dormant volcano outside Clermont-Ferrand. Mike Woods won the stage from the breakaway after overcoming a 2-minute deficit to Matteo Jorgenson in the final 4km. The Canadian pushed nearly 6w/kg for 15 minutes after more than 3800 kJs of work in the break.

14 minutes later, the GC group hit the steepest slopes of the Puy du Dôme, and Jumbo-Visma lined it out for the yellow jersey wearer, Vingegaard. However, neither Vingegaard nor Pogačar seemed confident in their legs when the pace slowed after Sepp Kuss’ final pull. Pogačar waited until 1.3km to go to launch his attack, going out of the saddle for nearly 30 seconds and gapping Vingegaard.

The Dane stayed strong, and Pogačar’s gap didn’t waver until the final 200 meters. Vingegaard only ceded eight seconds to Pogačar by the line, which meant that he took a 17-second GC lead into the Tour’s first rest day.

Woods was two minutes and five seconds slower than Pogačar in the final 4.5km of the Puy du Dôme, despite pushing nearly 6w/kg.

Woods – Puy du Dôme (final 4.3km) Time: 16:51 Average Power: 369w (5.9w/kg)

Pogačar: 14:46 at ~6.9w/kg Vingegaard : 14:54 at ~6.8w/kg

After the first nine stages of the Tour, a handful of bonus seconds and meters separates Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar. Most of the mountain stages have been won and lost in 15-20 minute performances, and Vingegaard’s effort up the Col de Marie Blanque remains the biggest outlier (22’ 56” at ~6.9w/kg).

We know that Vingegaard and Pogačar can do 6.9w/kg for 15 minutes at the end of a five-hour Tour de France stage. But can they do it stage after stage, week after week, for 12 more days? Heat and high altitude have a history of causing cracks in Pogačar, whereas Vingegaard has already shown a bit of inconsistency on consecutive mountain stages. The 2023 Tour de France Champion is anyone’s guess.

*** Power Analysis data courtesy of Strava

Strava sauce extension

Tadej Pogačar 

Michał Kwiatkowski

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“The Greatest Tour de France Climber of All Time” Has Died at Age 95

Federico Bahamontes , known as the “Eagle of Toledo”, was the first Spanish rider ever to win the Tour de France.

Federico Bahamontes, who was the first Spanish rider ever to win the Tour de France, died Tuesday at the age of 95.

“It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the loss of Federico Martin Bahamontes, the Eagle of Toledo, a benchmark in sport who has taken the name of our city to the very top,” Toledo’s mayor Carlos Velázquez said in a statement following Bahamontes’s death. “Adopted son of the city of Toledo, admired and loved, Fede has thrilled us with his extraordinary climbs. His bicycle shop, in our Plaza de la Magdalena, has been a place of pilgrimage for all fans … Thanks to him we all won the Tour.”

Federico Bahmontes was born in 1928 in the central Spanish province of Toledo. That geography would earn him the nickname “The Eagle of Toledo” later in his career.

Due to the Spanish civil war, Bahmontes’s family spent much of the mid-1930s fleeing from their hometown of Santo Domingo-Claudilla to Madrid and then, eventually, to the village of Villarubbia de Santiago.

In the wake of the war, the country was under food rationing orders. This led Bahamontes to buy his first bike at the age of eighteen in order to transport and sell food illegally between towns and villages.

Soon after, in July 1947, he entered his first bike race, finishing second.

Bahamontes spent the next half decade racing as an amateur, which allowed him to earn more than his black-market food trade.

In 1953, Bahamontes entered his first professional race, the Vuelta a Asturias. After winning the opening stage, Bahamontes finished the race in twenty-first place out of a field of sixty-nine racers.

That same year, Bahamontes won the King of the Mountains classification in the Volta a Catalunya, which, as the Vuelta a España was not run between 1950 and 1955, was the country’s biggest race at the time.

He competed in his first Tour de France the following summer, initially declining an invite to the race on the grounds that he didn’t have any luggage. He won that year’s KOM classification and finished the race twenty-fifth overall.

In 1959, Bahamontes won the Tour de France, becoming the race’s first-ever Spanish yellow jersey.

However, over his career, the Eagle of Toledo was best known for his climbing acumen. He won the Tour de France’s KOM jersey a total of six times (1954, ’58, ’59, ’62, ’63, and ’64), the Giro’s KOM in 1956, and Vuelta’s KOM in 1957, where he also finished second overall.

Following his retirement in 1965, Bahamontes returned to Toledo to run a bicycle shop.

In 2013, in celebration of the Tour’s hundredth anniversary, French newspaper L’Equipe named Bahamontes the greatest Tour de France climber of all time.

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike. 

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