The Tour visits Courchevel
The Tour has only been here twice. The first stage finish was
in 1997 when Virenque took the stage win, with Pantani winning
the following day's stage from Courchevel to Morzine. In 2000
it was Pantani's turn to win in Courchevel. And Virenque took
the following day's stage from Courchevel to Morzine.
July 12th in the Tour
- In 1947 Jean Robic took the stage from Luchon to Pau. And
two years later on the same date he would win again, going
in the reverse direction from Pau to Luchon.
- In 1957 a young and dashing Jacques Anquetil won the
TT in Barcelona on his way to his first Tour win. And he
would do it again six years later, this time winning the
TT to Besancon.
- In his prime Erik Zabel was a threat on this day. In 1997
he won the stage to Bordeaux, and then again in 2002, this
time in Alencon. It was his last stage win in the Tour.
- And Merckx? I've been making a big deal about how every day
is the anniversary of a Merckx victory. So what happened to
Merckx on July 12th in history? July 12th turned out to be
the luckiest day of his Tour career, even though he never
won on this date.
In 1971 Luis Ocana was doing what no one thought possible.
He was defeating Eddy Merckx. July 12th brought the Tour
to the Pyrenees, close to Ocana's native Spain. A couple
of days in the mountains, where he was clearly superior
to Merckx. He had taken nine minutes out of Merckx at
Orcieres-Merlette.
The weather in the mountains that day was awful. Torrential
rains hindered sight and made the roads slick and dangerous.
Merckx attacked as the conditions deteriorated. A series of
crashes occured on the slopes of the Col de Mente. The most
seriously injured was Ocana, ending his Tour. Jose Manuel
Fuente took the stage win in Luchon. But Merckx would win the
Tour.
http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/images/legendes/ocana_mente.jpg
Bob Schwartz
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