1966 Tour de France

1966 Tour de France
Map of France with the route of the 1966 Tour de France
Route of the 1966 Tour de France
Race details
Dates June 21–July 14, 1966
Stages 22, including three split stages
Distance 4,303 km (2,674 mi)
Winning time 117h 34' 21" (36.760 km/h or 22.842 mph)
Palmares
Winner  Lucien Aimar (France) (Ford-France–Hutchinson)
Second  Jan Janssen (Netherlands) (Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune–Wolber)
Third  Raymond Poulidor (France) (Mercier–BP–Hutchinson)
Points  Willy Planckaert (Belgium) (Smiths)
Mountains  Julio Jiménez (Spain) (Ford-France–Hutchinson)
Team Kas

The 1966 Tour de France was the 53rd Tour de France, taking place June 21 to July 14, 1966. It consisted of 22 stages over 4303 km, ridden at an average speed of 36.760 km/h.[1]

Lucien Aimar was a domestique of 5-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil. Aimar joined a breakaway in the middle of the tour and ended up on the leader board. Anquetil then began helping Aimar win the Tour, to make sure and deny it to his then-enemy Raymond Poulidor. After stage 18 Aimar's victory was certain barring disaster. Anquetil rode hard that day to ensure it and then quit the race.[2]

The points classification was won by Willy Planckaert, and the mountains classification by Julio Jiménez. The team classification was won by the Kas team.

During the Tour, word spread that there was going to be a dope test, and all the riders but Raymond Poulidor, the darling of French cycling fans, left their hotels. The other riders staged a strike in protest during stage 9 dismounting and walking their bicycles. Eventually they started riding again, but only after arguing with officials.

Participants

The 1966 Tour started with 130 cyclists, divided into 13 teams of 10 cyclists:[2]

  • Ford France-Hutchinson
  • Kamome-Dilecta-Dunlop
  • Mercier-BP-Hutchinson
  • Pelforth-Sauvage-Lejeune-Wolber
  • Peugeot-BP-Michelin

Felice Gimondi, winner of the 1965 Tour de France, did not defend his title.

Race details

Seven cyclists with the same clothes
The Televizier team during the team time trial in stage 3, which they won

Rudi Altig won the first stage with a small advantage. In the next stages, no big time differences were made, so Altig was able to defend his lead until the mountains.[3]

The first mountains were in the tenth stage. A group including Lucien Aimar and Jan Janssen gained time on pre-race favourites Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, and Tommaso de Pra won the race and became the new leader. The next stage, Lebaube became the leader, and Kunde took over in the twelfth stage.[3]

In the time trial in the fourteenth stage, Anquetil was defeated by Poulidor. Kunde remained the leader, with Janssen in second place. In the sixteenth stage, Julio Jiménez escaped in the Pyrenées, and he was followed by a group including Janssen, Anquetil and Poulidor, but without Kunde. Jiménez stayed away, but Janssen became the new leader.[3]

Even though the seventeenth stage included two mountain climbs, it was not considered too difficult, because these climbs were located in the first half of the stage. The cyclists made the climbs in one large group, but in the descent, a large group escaped. They were chased by teammates Anquetil and Aimar, and when most of the escapees were caught, Aimar continued on his own, and surprised Janssen by this. Janssen lost time on Aimar, and Aimar became the new leader.[3]

In the eighteenth stage, Janssen wanted to attack, but Aimar and Anquetil stayed close to him. Poulidor, sixth in the general classification, managed to escape, but Anquetil led the chase on him. The next day, Anquetil left the race, sick and no longer able to win himself.[3]

Janssen managed to win back some time on Aimar in the final time trial, but it was not enough, and Aimar became the winner of the Tour.[3]

Stages

The 1966 Tour de France started on 21 June, and had two rest days, in Luchon and Turin.[4]

Stage results[2][5]
Stage Date Route Terrain Length Winner
1 21 June Nancy – Charleville Plain stage 209 km (130 mi)  Rudi Altig (FRG)
2 22 June Charleville – Tournai Plain stage 198 km (123 mi)  Guido Reybrouck (BEL)
3A 23 June Tournai – Tournai Team time trial 21 km (13 mi) Televizier
3B Tournai – Dunkirk Plain stage 131 km (81 mi)  Gerben Karstens (NED)
4 24 June Dunkirk – Dieppe Plain stage 205 km (127 mi)  Willy Planckaert (BEL)
5 25 June Dieppe – Caen Plain stage 178 km (111 mi)  Franco Bitossi (ITA)
6 26 June Caen – Angers Plain stage 217 km (135 mi)  Edward Sels (BEL)
7 27 June Angers – Royan Plain stage 252 km (157 mi)  Albert Van Vlierberghe (BEL)
8 28 June Royan – Bordeaux Plain stage 138 km (86 mi)  Willy Planckaert (BEL)
9 29 June Bordeaux – Bayonne Plain stage 201 km (125 mi)  Gerben Karstens (NED)
10 30 June Bayonne – Pau Stage with mountain(s) 234 km (145 mi)  Tommaso de Pra (ITA)
11 1 July Pau – Luchon Stage with mountain(s) 188 km (117 mi)  Guido Marcello Mugnaini (ITA)
12 3 July Luchon – Revel Stage with mountain(s) 219 km (136 mi)  Rudi Altig (FRG)
13 4 July Revel – Sète Plain stage 191 km (119 mi)  Georges Vandenberghe (BEL)
14A 5 July Montpellier – Vals-les-Bains Plain stage 144 km (89 mi)  Jo de Roo (NED)
14B Vals-les-Bains – Vals-les-Bains Individual time trial 20 km (12 mi)  Raymond Poulidor (FRA)
15 6 July Privas – Le Bourg-d'Oisans Stage with mountain(s) 203 km (126 mi)  Luís Otano (ESP)
16 7 July Le Bourg-d'Oisans – Briançon Stage with mountain(s) 148 km (92 mi)  Julio Jiménez (ESP)
17 8 July Briançon – Turin Stage with mountain(s) 160 km (99 mi)  Franco Bitossi (ITA)
18 10 July Ivrea – Chamonix Stage with mountain(s) 188 km (117 mi)  Edy Schutz (LUX)
19 11 July Chamonix – Saint-Étienne Stage with mountain(s) 265 km (165 mi)  Ferdinand Bracke (BEL)
20 12 July Saint-Étienne – Montluçon Plain stage 223 km (139 mi)  Henk Nijdam (NED)
21 13 July Montluçon – Orléans Plain stage 232 km (144 mi)  Pierre Beuffeuil (FRA)
22A 14 July Orléans – Rambouillet Plain stage 111 km (69 mi)  Edward Sels (BEL)
22B Rambouillet – Paris Individual time trial 51 km (32 mi)  Rudi Altig (FRG)

Classification leadership

Stage General classification
 Points classification
 Mountains classification Team classification
1  Rudi Altig (FRG)  Rudi Altig (FRG)  Giacomo Fornoni (ITA) Molteni
2  Guido Reybrouck (BEL)  Tommaso de Pra (ITA)
3a Smith's
3b  Willy Planckaert (BEL)  Domingo Perurena (ESP)
4
5
6
7
8
9
10  Tommaso de Pra (ITA)  Tommaso de Pra (ITA) Molteni
11  Jean-Claude Lebaube (FRA)  Marcello Mugnaini (ITA) KAS
12  Karl-Heinz Kunde (FRG)  Julio Jiménez (ESP)
13
14a
14b
15  Joaquim Galera (ESP)
16  Jan Janssen (NED)  Julio Jiménez (ESP)
17  Lucien Aimar (FRA)
18
19
20
21
22a
22b
Final  Lucien Aimar (FRA)  Willy Planckaert (BEL)  Julio Jiménez (ESP) KAS

Results

There were several classifications in the 1966 Tour de France, two of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[6]

Additionally, there was a points classification. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification and was identified with a green jersey.[6]

There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorized some climbs as either first, second, third, or fourth category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, but was not identified with a jersey.[6]

For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellow caps.[7]

General classification

Jan Janssen became the first Dutch cyclist to reach the podium in the general classification in the Tour de France.[2]

Final general classification (1–10)[2]
Rank Name Team Time
1  Lucien Aimar (FRA) Ford 117h 34' 21"
2  Jan Janssen (NED) Pelforth +1' 07"
3  Raymond Poulidor (FRA) Mercier +2' 02"
4  José-Antonio Momene (ESP) KAS +5' 19"
5  Marcello Mugnaini (ITA) Filotex +5' 27"
6  Herman Van Springel (BEL) Mann +5' 44"
7  Francisco Gabica (ESP) KAS +6' 25"
8  Roger Pingeon (FRA) Peugeot +8' 22"
9  Karl-Heinz Kunde (FRG) Peugeot +9' 06"
10  Martin Vandenbossche (BEL) Smith's +9' 57"

Points classification

Final points classification (1–10)[2][8]
Rank Name Team Points
1 Willy Planckaert (BEL) Smiths 211
2 Gerben Karstens (NED) Televizier 189
3 Edward Sels (BEL) Solo 178
4 Jan Janssen (NED) Pelforth144
5 Guido Reybrouck (BEL) Smith's 119
6 Georges Vandenberghe (BEL) Smith's 112
7 Rudi Altig (FRG) Molteni 101
8 Joseph Huysmans (BEL) Mann 100
9 Walter Boucquet (BEL) Mann 82
10 Henk Nijdam (NED) Televizier 71

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10)[2][9]
Rank Name Team Points
1 Julio Jiménez (ESP) Ford-France 123
2 Joaquim Galera (ESP) Kas 98
3 Aurelio Gonzalez (ESP) Kas 51
4 Raymond Poulidor (FRA) Mercier 49
5 Franco Bitossi (ITA) Filotex 48
6 Edy Schutz (LUX) Smith's 47
7 Martin Vandenbossche (BEL) Smith's 34
8 Gregorio San Miguel (ESP) KAS 34
9 Roger Pingeon (FRA) Peugeot 26
10 Mariano Diaz (ESP) Fagor 25

Team classification

Final team classification[8]
Rank Team Time
1KAS355h 02' 45"
2Ford+17' 32"
3Peugeot+19' 04"
4Fagor+26' 30"
5Pelforth+37' 21"
6Smith's+55' 03"
7Filotex+58' 35"
8Mann+58' 54"
9Molteni+1h 01' 37"
10Mercier+1h 12' 09"
11Televizier+1h 38' 37"
12Solo+1h 56' 54"
13Kamomé+2h 13' 04"

Other classifications

The combativity award was won by Rudi Altig.[1]

Final combativity classification (1–3)[10]
RankRiderTeamPoints
1  Rudi Altig (FRG) Molteni 124
2  Raymond Poulidor (FRA) Mercier 68
3  Jan Janssen (NED) Pelforth 55
3  Julio Jiménez (ESP) Ford-France 55

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Augendre, Jacques (2009). "Guide Historique" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-09. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "53ème Tour de France 1966" (in French). Memoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Amels, Wim (1984). De geschiedenis van de Tour de France 1903–1984 (in Dutch). Sport-Express. pp. 100–101.
  4. ↑ Augendre, Jacques (2009). "Guide Historique, Part 4" (PDF) (in French). Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 July 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC Top Ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 2009-06-10. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Christian, Sarah (2 July 2009). "Tour de France demystified - Evaluating success". RoadCycling.co.nz Ltd. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Chauner, David; Halstead, Michael (1990). The Tour de France Complete Book of Cycling. Villard. ISBN 0679729364. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Clasificaciones" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 15 July 1966. p. 7. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  9. ↑ "Clasificaciones" (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 13 July 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "In en om de Tour". Leidse courant (in Dutch) (Leids regionaal archief). 15 July 1966. p. 9. Retrieved 10 February 2012.