Tragedy strikes – History of the Tour de France from 1960 to 1980
The rivalries ignited viewership to new highs, while the death on top of a mountain was the tragedy that sparked new rules requiring the first drug test. Sponsored teams again The 1960s saw a return to sponsored teams and commercialism, but the Tour still offered plenty of intrigue and drama. The Tour was the most watched cycling event and the sponsors badly needed the publicity. The biggest rivals on the Tour, Poulidor and Anquetil, did not really like each other and this attracted the fans.
Anquetil’s Rules
For many years, Anquetil was the best time trialist in history. He won 12 of these events in the Tour de France and even set a world record before winning the Tour for the first time. Anquetil had a bit of a rebellious reputation. He once said that his idea of training him included “a few whiskeys, blond cigarettes and a woman”. His rebellious ways extended into his private life. He had an affair with a doctor’s wife, a woman named Jeanine, and when he found out she couldn’t have a child, he convinced her to let him have a baby with her adult daughter, a woman named Annie. They had a daughter named Sofia. Of course, Annie and Jeanine started to fight. Annie moved out, and Jeanine invited her son and her wife, Dominique, to move in. Anquetil quickly seduced Dominique and a son, Christopher.
Anquetil brought his wild ways to his cycling events. Most cyclists always go for a ride on the rest day because their bodies are so used to cycling. Jacques Anquetil, on the other hand, liked to enjoy life. He would go on a picnic and amuse himself with large portions of roast lamb and lots of drink.
Anquetil, the five-time winner, sat out in 1965 and returned in 1966. But this would be his last Tour.
Tragedy strikes, doping rears its ugly head
In 1967, tragedy struck and this would be the year that the Tour would be affected for the first time by a doping scandal. Tom Simpson was the best British cyclist of his time. Unfortunately, he was a victim of doping, but actually died due to the heat while crossing Mont Ventoux. His death led to the first drug test in 1968.
Tom Simpson was a highly regarded racer. His only goal in his life was to win the Tour. Simpson knew that he had to deliver. He turned to drugs, something that was not new to the Tour. For some time, many cyclists had been using a life-threatening cocktail of drugs: amphetamines as a stimulant, Palfium to dull leg pain, and then sleeping pills at night to counteract the amphetamines.
Cycling began to deal with this problem. The early races were staggeringly long and tested the limits of human endurance. The stages of the initial Tour could take more than 17 hours to complete. From the beginning the riders took various substances that allowed them to complete their tests. When the Pélissier brothers pulled out of the 1924 Tour and gave their famous interview to Albert London, they described the long list of drugs they used. “We run on dynamite,” said Henri Pélissier.
Before World War II, amphetamines were synthesized and athletes immediately understood the advantage they provided. Throughout the 1950s, it was clear to observers that cyclists were doping. There were photos of runners with dry foam on their faces or cyclists driven mad by a combination of heat and amphetamines who stopped in the middle of a race to find relief in a fountain. After riding until he collapsed, Jean Malléjac lay on the ground still tied to his bicycle, his legs convulsively pumping the pedals. Others would get back on their bikes and take the wrong path. Sometimes one could almost follow the route of a race by the trail of syringes left by the side of the road. Roger Rivière crashed in 1960 because he had taken so much opiate Palfium to dull the pain in his legs that he couldn’t feel the brake levers. Bahamontes said he loved a nice hot day in the mountains because amphetamine-drunk cyclists couldn’t stand the heat.
Was Tom Simpson a bad person or a hero? He was neither. He knew that riding without drugs was not possible,
The day after Simpson’s death. the peloton agreed to ride if one of Simpson’s British team-mates was allowed a ceremonial stage win to honor Simpson’s memory.
Merckx rules the way
Belgium’s Eddy Merckx won in 1969, an impressive debut that earned him the nickname “cannibal”, a rider willing to devour whatever it takes to win. Merckx flew to Paris with a 17-minute head start. Merckx dominated the cycling world, winning 250 major races, one a week for six years. He was without a doubt the most complete and capable horseman alive.
In 1975, Merckx was finally defeated by Bernard Thevenet. Merckx had been knocked off his bike by a jealous French fan. This is the first year that the race has finished on the Champs Elysées
France celebrated Thevenet’s second victory in 1977. He was a wunderkind, with seven more wins at home until the last one in 1985.
The next hero of the race was a Franco-French from Brittany, Hinault, who would become the third man to win five Tours. The years between 1978 and 1984 became known as the golden age of “le blaireau” (the badger).
Then, France cheered a new hero, a sophisticated young bespectacled Parisian named Laurent Fignon. Fignon arrived in his hometown of Paris dressed in yellow, beating Hinault by 10 minutes and proving that 1983 had not been a fluke.
winners
- 1960 Gastone Nencini (Ita)
- 1961 Jacques Anquetil (France)
- 1962 Jacques Anquetil (France)
- 1963 Jacques Anquetil (France)
- 1964 Jacques Anquetil (France)
- 1965 Felice Gimondi (Italy)
- 1966 Lucien Aimar (France)
- 1967 Roger Pingeon (France)
- 1968 Jan Janssen (Ned)
- 1969 Eddy Merckx (bel)
- 1970 Eddy Merckx (bel)
- 1971 Eddy Merckx (bel)
- 1972 Eddy Merckx (bel)
- 1973 Luis Ocaña (Esp)
- 1974 Eddy Merckx (bel)
- 1975 Bernard Thevenet (France)
- 1976 Lucien Van Impe (bel)
- 1977 Bernard Thevenet (France)
- 1978 Bernard Hinault (France)
- 1979 Bernard Hinault (France)
- 1980 Joop Zoetemelk (Ned)