1959 Tour de France

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1959 Tour de France
Race details
Dates 25 June–18 July 1959
Stages 22
Distance Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).
Winning time 123h 46' 45"
Palmares
Winner 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (Spain) (Spain)
Second  Henry Anglade (France) (Centre-Midi)
Third  Jacques Anquetil (France) (France)
Points  André Darrigade (France) (France)
Mountains 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (Spain) (Spain)
Team Belgium
← 1958
1960 →

The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July 1959. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over 4,391 km, and the winner had an average speed of 35.474 km/h.[1]

The race was won by Spanish cyclist Federico Bahamontes, who also won the mountains classification. The points classification was won by French sprinter André Darrigade. The Belgian team became the winner of the team classification.

Although the French national team had the favourites, the race was contested between Anglade, in a French regional team, and Bahamontes, in the Spanish national team. After the French national team refused to help Anglade, Bahamontes won the race. It was the first win by a Spanish cyclist.

Differences from the 1958 Tour de France

For the first time, helicopters were used for the television coverage.[2]

Participants

The French team included Jacques Anquetil, Louison Bobet, Raphael Géminiani and Roger Riviere, who were all considered possible Tour winners.[3] This also posed a problem, as they did all want to be team captain, and refused to work for each other.[4] The Spanish team was headed by Federico Bahamontes, who in previous years did not care for flat stages and time trials, and only tried to win the mountains classification. In the 1959 season, Bahamontes had Fausto Coppi as manager, and Coppi convinced Bahamontes to focus on the general classification.[4] The defending champion Charly Gaul was again placed in a mixed team of Luxembourgian and Dutch cyclists, and expected little support.[4] The Italian team did not include Vito Favero and Gastone Nencini, who had performed well in the 1958 Tour. Their team captain was Ercole Baldini, winner of the 1958 Giro d'Italia, but he was not expected to be able to compete against Gaul, Bahamontes and Anquetil.[4] Of the cyclists in the French regional teams, Henri Anglade was the most notable. He was included in the Centre-Midi team,

The cyclists were represented by agents, who negotiated for the prices in post-tour criteriums. There were two major agents: Daniel Dousset, who represented Anquetil, Rivière and Bahamontes, and Piel Poulidor, who represented Anglade. This made it more important for Anquetil to help Bahamontes than Anglade.[4]

Race details

During the Tour, a package of strychnine, addressed to one of the teams, was intercepted by the Tour doctor.[5]

Like in the previous years, Darrigade won the first stage.[4] In the third stage, a group of 13 cyclists escaped, none of them considered favourites for the overall victory. The favourites let them escape, knowing that they would win enough time back in the mountains, and the group won more than 10 minutes on the rest. Robert Cazala from the French national team became the new leader.[4]

Anglade was riding well in the first stages. Because of an escape in stage 7, he gained a few minutes on the top favourites.[4] In the ninth stage, the Belgian cyclists broke away, and the French team followed them. Cazala was not able to follow them, and he lost the lead. Eddy Pauwels became the new leader[4] Pauwels lost the lead in the tenth stage, and regional Michel Vermeulin became the new leader.[4]

After stage 12, Anglade was in fifth place in the general classification,[6] the first of the favourites for the overall victory. In the thirteenth stage, Anglade attacked and won the stage.[3] He jumped to second place in the general classification.

The French team director then concentrated the strategy on beating Anglade, because he though Anglade was the main threat.[3] The fifteenth stage was an individual mountain time trial, won by Spaniard Bahamontes. Bahamontes climbed to the second place in the general classification, only 4 seconds behind Jos Hoevenaers, the last man from the escaped group in stage 3 to stay high in the general classification. Eddy Pauwels was in third place, while Anglade was still in fourth place, only 43 seconds behind Hoevenaers.[4] In the sixteenth stage, Pauwels was in the escaped group, and won enough time to take over the lead in the general classification. In the seventeenth stage, Bahamontes and Gaul escaped. Gaul won the stage, but Bahamontes took the leading position.[3]

The eighteenth stage would determine the outcome of the race. Bahamontes was leading, but his team mates had used a lot of energy the day before. The French national team was expected to attack.[4] In the eighteenth stage, Gaul was the first one to attack, and reached the top of the Galibier first, but later the other riders got back to him. On the way down from the Iseran, Bahamontes and Gaul were left behind, and Anquetil and Rivière were expected to increase their efforts, such that Bahamontes and Gaul would not be able to get back to them. Anquetil and Rivière did not want to assist each other and did nothing, so Bahamontes and Gaul were able to get back. Anquetil and Rivière then were left behind. On the last climb, Anglade attacked. Baldini and Gaul could follow, but Bahamontes could not, and at some moment was five minutes behind. This made Anglade the virtual race leader, which was against the wishes of the national team. Anquetil and Rivière then reached Bahamontes, and helped him to get back to Anglade.[3]

The only risk for Bahamontes left was the time trial in stage 21. At the start, Bahamontes was leading by 5'40". In the time trial, Anglade won 1'39" back on Bahamontes, but that was not enough.[3]

When the Tour ended in the Parc des Princes velodrome in Paris, the French crowd booed the French national team, because they did not allow Anglade the victory.[3]

Stages

The 1959 Tour de France started on 25 June in Mulhouse, and had 2 restdays, in Bayonne and Saint-Étienne.[7]

Stage results[8][9]
Stage Date Route Terrain Length Winner
1 25 June Mulhouse – Metz Plain stage 238 km (148 mi)  André Darrigade (FRA)
2 26 June Metz – Namur Plain stage 234 km (145 mi)  Vito Favero (ITA)
3 27 June Namur – Roubaix Plain stage 217 km (135 mi)  Robert Cazala (FRA)
4 28 June Roubaix – Rouen Plain stage 230 km (140 mi)  Dino Bruni (ITA)
5 29 June Rouen – Rennes Plain stage 286 km (178 mi)  Jean Graczyk (FRA)
6 30 June Blain – Nantes Individual time trial 45 km (28 mi)  Roger Rivière (FRA)
7 1 July Nantes – La Rochelle Plain stage 190 km (120 mi)  Roger Hassenforder (FRA)
8 2 July La Rochelle – Bordeaux Plain stage 201 km (125 mi)  Michel Dejouhannet (FRA)
9 3 July Bordeaux – Bayonne Plain stage 207 km (129 mi)  Marcel Queheille (FRA)
10 5 July Bayonne – Bagnères-de-Bigorre Stage with mountain(s) 235 km (146 mi)  Marcel Janssens (BEL)
11 6 July Bagnères-de-Bigorre – Saint-Gaudens Stage with mountain(s) 119 km (74 mi)  André Darrigade (FRA)
12 7 July Saint-Gaudens – Albi Plain stage 184 km (114 mi)  Rolf Graf (SUI)
13 8 July Albi – Aurillac Stage with mountain(s) 219 km (136 mi)  Henry Anglade (FRA)
14 9 July Aurillac – Clermont Ferrand Stage with mountain(s) 231 km (144 mi)  André Le Dissez (FRA)
15 10 July Puy de Dôme – Puy de Dôme Mountain time trial 12 km (7.5 mi) 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP)
16 11 July Clermont Ferrand – Saint-Étienne Plain stage 210 km (130 mi)  Dino Bruni (ITA)
17 13 July Saint-Étienne – Grenoble Stage with mountain(s) 197 km (122 mi)  Charly Gaul (LUX)
18 14 July Le Lautaret – Saint-Vincent Stage with mountain(s) 243 km (151 mi)  Ercole Baldini (ITA)
19 15 July Saint-Vincent – Annecy Stage with mountain(s) 251 km (156 mi)  Rolf Graf (SUI)
20 16 July Annecy – Chalon-sur-Saône Plain stage 202 km (126 mi)  Brian Robinson (GBR)
21 17 July Seurre – Dijon Individual time trial 69 km (43 mi)  Roger Rivière (FRA)
22 18 July Dijon – Paris Plain stage 331 km (206 mi)  Joseph Groussard (FRA)

Classification leadership

Stage General classification
 Points classification
 Mountains classification Team classification
1  André Darrigade (FRA)  André Darrigade (FRA)  Louis Bergaud (FRA) France
2
3  Robert Cazala (FRA)  Louis Bergaud (FRA)
 Eddy Pauwels (BEL)
4
5
6
7
8
9  Eddy Pauwels (BEL) Belgium
10  Michel Vermeulin (FRA)  Armand Desmet (BEL)
11 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP)
12
13  Jos Hoevenaers (FRA)
14
15
16  Eddy Pauwels (BEL)
17 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP)
18
19
20
21
22
Final 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP)  André Darrigade (FRA) 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP)  Belgium

Results

General classification

The time that each cyclist required to finish each stage was recorded, and these times were added together for the general classification. If a cyclist had received a time bonus, it was subtracted from this total; all time penalties were added to this total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.

Final general classification (1–10)[8]
Rank Name Team Time
1 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP) Spain 123h 46' 45"
2  Henry Anglade (FRA) Centre-Midi +4' 01"
3  Jacques Anquetil (FRA) France +5' 05"
4  Roger Rivière (FRA) France +5' 17"
5  François Mahe (FRA) West-South West +8' 22"
6  Ercole Baldini (ITA) Italy +10' 18"
6  Jan Adriaensens (BEL) Belgium +10' 18"
8  Jos Hoevenaers (BEL) Belgium +11' 02"
9  Gérard Saint (FRA) West-South West +17' 40"
10  Jean Brankart (BEL) Belgium +20' 38"

Points classification

The points classification was calculated differently than in the years before. The winner of a stage received 100 points, down to 1 point for the 25th cyclist.

Points given in each stage
Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Points 100 80 60 50 40 35 30 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

André Darrigade took the lead by winning the first stage, and remained the leader for the rest of the race.

Final points classification (1–10)[10]
Rank Rider Team Points
1  André Darrigade (FRA) France 613
2  Gérard Saint (FRA) West/South West 524
3  Jacques Anquetil (FRA) France 503
4 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP) Spain 425
4  Charly Gaul (LUX) Netherlands/Luxembourg 425
6  Rolf Graf (SUI) Switzerland/Germany 394
7  Roger Rivière (FRA) France 390
8  Jos Hoevenaers (BEL) Belgium 387
9  Henri Anglade (FRA) Centre-Midi 383
10  Michel van Aerde (BEL) Belgium 366

Mountains classification

The mountains classification was calculated by adding the points given to cyclists for reaching the highest point in a climb first.

Final mountains classification (1–10)[10]
Rank Rider Team Points
1 23x15px Federico Bahamontes (ESP) Spain 73
2  Charly Gaul (LUX) Netherlands/Luxembourg 68
3  Gérard Saint (FRA) West/South West 65
4  Valentin Huot (FRA) Centre-Midi 33
5  Roger Rivière (FRA) France 27
6  Louis Bergaud (FRA) Centre-Midi 24
7  Adolf Christian (AUT) Internationals 19
7  Michele Gismondi (ITA) Italy 19
9  Henri Anglade (FRA) Centre-Midi 15
10  François Mahé (FRA) West/South West 14

Team classification

The team classification was calculated as the sum of the daily team classifications, and the daily team classification was calculated by adding the times in the stage result of the best three cyclists per team. It was won by the Belgian team.

Final team classification[10]
Rank Team Time
1 Belgium 372h 02' 13"
2 France +31' 25"
3 Centre-Midi +59' 01"
4 West/South West +1h 17' 38"
5 Spain +2h 17' 22"
6 Italy +3h 11' 27"
7 Netherlands/Luxembourg +3h 15' 00"
8 Switzerland/Germany +4h 11' 47"
9 Internationals +4h 34' 57"
10 Paris/North East +4h 45' 19"

Other classifications

The combativity award was given to Gerard Saint.[1]

References

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