7 Tour de France Facts
Posted by Cags R under Cycling on 7 Jul 2012 at 11:00 PM
Le Tour is well and truly underway, with ups, downs, collisons and sprint finishes! The men of Tribesports are showing Bradley Wiggins their support with the Burns Like Bradley Challenge and lots of takers for the Get on your bike everyday of Le Tour Challenge too.
So here are some fun facts for you to amaze your friends with:
1. The average rider will go through 3 chains - think about how long yours has lasted! In the 2010 Tour, Andy Schleck suffered severely for his chain going at a crucial moment; Alberto Contador was close on his heels and stole the win in the final climb causing controversy as race etiquette decrees that when the lead rider is stopped due to injury or mechanical issues the race waits for him.
2. Between 1969 and 1975, Eddie Merckx won an astounding 34 stages of the Tour de France, winning the entire Tour 5 times and is generally accepted to be the most successful cyclist of all time. In 1974 he won the triple crown; Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the World Championships. He has better sideburns than Wiggins and hair that Cav would kill for too!
3. Albert Bourlon holds the record for the longest solo break away, in 1947 he took a 253km lead!
4. In 1989 only 8 seconds separated winner Greg LeMond from second place Laurent Fignon, over the course of 3285km the two riders were never more than 53 seconds apart!
LeMond went on to win again the following year but there has never been such a closely pitted race!
5. In the 1920s riders would wear woollen jerseys and the Tour leaders lit up cigarettes on route:
In 2002 Mario Cipollini also enjoys a toke (times haven't changed too much then!):
6. In 2003, mountain biker Dave Watson showed the Tour how to have some fun in the mountains! A slightly sloppy landing put him in the hospital with a separated shoulder, sore back and neck and some pretty impressive bruises, this picture was definitely worth it though!
7. Lance Armstrong. 7 times winner. Holds the record for the fastest average speed of 40.276kph. LAD.
-
encouraged this.
Comments
Categories
Recent posts
- Awesome backflip burpees!
- Top 5 guides to improve Triathlon performance
- Advantage of joining a triathlon club
- Tribesports User of the Week: Russell G
- Parkour Generations Body Armour Workout
- Dumbbell Workout Routines: Top 5 Dumbbell Exercises
- I train because... Competition winner!
- Challenges to improve your tennis performance
- Flyboarding - the watersport of the future
- Staying injury-free while training for your long distance races
@cags wow wonderful article! contains a lot of information that I din't even know particularly it's run in chain....and the pictures are simply amazing...especially, Dave Watson's flying in the air and 1920's pic showing Tour leaders to light up cigarettes!
Sonu K • • Encourage
Tony G and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Good one.
Samarth A • • Encourage
Tony G and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Did you see Chris Froomes finish yesterday? - Amazing absolutely amazing
Tony G • • Encourage
Samarth A, Sharon J and 1 otherSamarth A, Sharon J and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Lovely article :-)
Sharon J • • Encourage
Tony G and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Great article!
Diana J • • Encourage
Tony G and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Here's a good one: Gino Bartali was Fausto Coppi's main rival in the 1952 Tour. His doctor failed to recognise that Gino's incredibly low resting heart rate was the mark of an endurance athlete. This resulted in his doctor advising Gino to smoke "at least" three cigarettes a day to raise his heart rate to a more *normal* level!
David G • • Encourage
Tony G, Jenna A and 3 othersTony G, Jenna A, Jack A, Ben R and Adrian K encouraged this.
Great post @cags. And lol David!
Steve R • • Encourage
Tony G and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Fact 6 and the photo of Dave Watson is stunning!
Sam S • • Encourage
Gilberto G encouraged this.
@sams1 have you seen the video? This is definitely the best angle, he fluffs the landing and it's pretty savage!
Cags R • • Encourage
Gilberto G encouraged this.
Great Article ... thanks :)
Bernice G • • Encourage
Gilberto G encouraged this.
some of the all time classic riders in there lol
Brad N • • Encourage
Gilberto G encouraged this.
Number 5 is hilarious!
Kaye D • • Encourage
Cags R and Gilberto G encouraged this.
Very nice post!
Gilberto G • • Encourage
Very nice post!
Gilberto G • • Encourage
Loved this!! thanks =) @geordaa - thankfully doctors do get better as time goes on!!!
Ben R • • Encourage
A brilliant read!
Jan M • • Encourage