Description
1967 Tour de France
The 1967 Tour de France was the 54th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling’s Grand Tours. It was held from June 29th to July 23rd, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,779 km (2,970 mi). Thirteen national teams of ten riders competed, with three French teams, two Belgian, two Italian, two Spanish, one each from Germany, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, and a Swiss/Luxembourgian team. The Tour was marred by the horrific fatal collapse of Tom Simpson on the slopes of Mont Ventoux.
Teams
In previous years, trade teams contested the Tour. Tour director Félix Lévitan held the team sponsors responsible for the riders’ strike in the 1966 Tour de France, and therefore, race organizers changed the formula, and the national teams returned. The Tour started with 130 cyclists, divided into 13 teams of 10 cyclists.
The teams entering the race were:
National Teams: France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland/Luxembourg
Secondary National Teams: Red Devils (Belgium), Esperanza (Spain), Primavera (Italy), Bleuets de France, Coqs de France
Route and Stages
The 1967 Tour de France started on June 29th and was the first to have a prologue, a short individual time trial before the stage racing, held in the evening, adding to the occasion. There were two rest days, in Belfort and Sète. In previous years, the trend had been that the Tour became shorter, but 1967 it was longer, at 4,779 km. The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,556 m (8,386 ft) at the summit tunnel of the Col du Galibier mountain pass on Stage 10.
Lucien Aimar, Stage 22 Time Trial
Stage 17 Winner, Raymond Mastrotto with Wife and Son
Raymond Poulidor is pushed back into the action by teammate Jean-Pierre Genet on Stage 13
Jan Janssen finishes in 6th place on the Puy de Dome, Stage 20
Race Overview
The prologue was won by Spanish José María Errandonea, with Raymond Poulidor in second place, six seconds behind. In the following few stages, the lead in the general classification changed hands several times, but the margins between the top favorites were small.
In the first part of Stage 5, which occurred in Belgium, a group of fourteen cyclists, including some Belgian cyclists, escaped early. On the advice of his teammate Jean Stablinski, Roger Pingeon bridged the gap and joined the escaped group. The group stayed away, and Pingeon escaped 60 km before the finish, riding alone until the end of the stage. Pingeon won the stage and also became the leader of the general classification.
Pingeon’s lead was not challenged in Stage 6, but he lost it in Stage 7 to his teammate Raymond Riotte after Riotte was in the escape group. On Stage 8, Riotte lost considerable time, and Pingeon was back in the lead. On that stage, Raymond Riotte lost more than 11 minutes because of a fall and mechanical problems and announced that he would ride the rest of the Tour in support of Pingeon.
Pingeon gained a few seconds in the ninth stage after a split in the peloton. In the tenth stage, Poulidor helped Pingeon over the major climbs, and after that stage, Pingeon had a margin of more than four minutes over the next rider, Désiré Letort, from the Bleuets team.
The general classification changed little in the following two stages. The thirteenth stage took place on a scorching hot day with significant climbs. During the ascent of the Ventoux, Tom Simpson died. Unaware of what happened behind them, Jan Janssen won the stage, closely followed by Roger Pingeon, who extended his lead.
The peloton riders decided to ride the fourteenth stage in dedication to Tom Simpson and let his teammate Barry Hoban win.
On Stage 16 in the Pyrenees, Julio Jiménez won back a few minutes and was now in second place behind Pingeon, 123 seconds behind. In the twentieth stage, with a finish on top of the Puy-de-Dôme, Jiménez won back some more time and was now 1 minute and 39 seconds behind Pingeon. This was not enough to put Pingeon’s victory in danger; the Tour ended with an individual time trial, and Pingeon rode it much better than Jiménez and won the Tour de France of 1967.
Doping
After the death of Tom Simpson on Stage 13, there were accusations of doping use. The organization decided to increase the doping controls, not only on the Tour but also on the simultaneously run Tour de l’Avenir. The Tour de France had no positive tests, but several riders from the Tour de l’Avenir were disqualified.
Photos are from The Horton Collection Archives
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