The Tour visits Pau
Pau is the third most visited city after Paris and Bordeaux.
Pau first hosted a stage finish in 1930, won by the great
Alfredo Binda in his only appearance in the Tour. The list
of riders that have won in Pau is a listing of the Tour's
best. Pelissier, Vietto, Sylvere Maes all won in Pau. Julian
Berrendero, an early hero of the Vuelta, took a stage in Pau.
Magne, Coppi, Roger Riviere, the ill-fated hour record holder,
all won in Pau. It's position as the Pyreneean gateway allowed
both mountain climbers and sprinters see success. Bahamontes,
Gimondi, Hinault won here, but also Kelly, Vanderaerden, and
Zabel. The most recent stage winner was Patrice Halgand in
2002.
July 19th in the Tour
- In 1910 it was Octave Lapize that won in Luchon, on his way
to Paris where he would claim the overall win. On the way
the Tour went over once of it's oldest and most visited climbs,
the Col de Portet d'Aspet.
- Marcel Buysse won 6 of the 15 stages of the 1913 Tour,
including a win on this date in Geneva. He finished 3rd in
Paris, behind Philippe Thys.
- In 1925 Ottavio Bottechia won in Paris while in yellow.
- Max Bulla won in Aix les Bains in 1931. That was the last
Austrian stage win until Georg Totschnig did the trick. It
was a long wait for Austria.
- Basso was the stage winner in 1967 in Bordeaux. Marino Basso,
- Merckx won a ton of stages, including the final day TT in
Paris in 1970
- In 1984 it was Fignon winning at Crans-Montana before knee
troubles would hamper his career.
- Gert-Jan Theunisse got to L'Alpe d'Huez first in 1989. But
it was Fignon that made the news after he put enough time
into Greg Lemond to take the yellow jersey with a slight lead.
- Have you ever driven across North Dakota? Sucked, didn't it.
It's hard to imagine a state that flat could have produced a
great climber like Andy Hampsten. But he showed them in his
1992 win at L'Alpe d'Huez.
- Lance Armstrong took the stage to Plateau de Beille in 2002.
Bob Schwartz
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