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The 1986 Tour de France was a cycling race held in France, from 4 July to 27 July. It was the 73rd running of the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
.
Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
of won the race, ahead of his teammate
Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...
. It was the first ever victory for a rider outside of Europe. Five-time Tour winner Hinault, who had won the year before with LeMond supporting him, had publicly pledged to ride in support of LeMond in 1986. Several attacks during the race cast doubt on the sincerity of his promise, leading to a rift between the two riders and the entire La Vie Claire team, which reached its climax on the summit of Alp d'Huez late in the race. The 1986 Tour de France is widely considered to be one of the most memorable in the history of the sport due to the battle between LeMond and Hinault.
Thierry Marie Thierry Marie (born 25 June 1963) is a French former cyclist. Marie often performed well in prologue stages: he won the Tour de France prologue three times in his career, and because of that he wore the yellow jersey in those three years, for sev ...
() took the first race leader's yellow jersey after winning the prologue
time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...
. The lead then moved to Alex Stieda () after stage 1, only for Marie to recapture the lead after his team won the
team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...
on stage 2. After short stints in the lead for
Dominique Gaigne Dominique Gaigne (born 3 July 1961 in Pacé, France) is a former French professional road bicycle racer. He won one stage in the 1983 Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for one day in the 1986 Tour de France. After retiring from competiti ...
and
Johan van der Velde Johan van der Velde (born 12 December 1956 in Rijsbergen) is a former Dutch cyclist. In the 1980 Tour de France, he won the young rider classification, also placing 12th in the general classification that year. He had been a racing cyclist for ...
, Jørgen V. Pedersen took the yellow jersey following a breakaway on stage 7 and retained the lead even after the first long time trial, won by Hinault. Stage 12 saw Hinault attack with
Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
(), who won the stage, while Hinault moved into the lead. Hinault attacked again the following day, but was caught and dropped. LeMond gained back significant time, but still trailed his teammate by 40 seconds. LeMond would move into the yellow jersey after stage 17, when Hinault fell behind on the climb of the
Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the sou ...
. Stage 18 to
L'Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of ...
saw LeMond and Hinault finish hand-in-hand, with the latter winning the stage. LeMond's overall victory was sealed when Hinault was unable to overcome his deficit in the final time trial on stage 20.
Urs Zimmermann Urs Zimmermann (born 29 November 1959 in Mühledorf) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist. He stood on the podium in two of the three Grand Tour events after finishing third in 1986 Tour de France and 1988 Giro d'Italia. He also ...
() finished third, and was the only rider who posed a threat to the La Vie Claire team, who also had the 4th placed rider in Andy Hampsten. In the race's other classifications, Hinault won the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
, rider
Eric Vanderaerden Eric Vanderaerden (born 11 February 1962) is a retired road cyclist from the town of Lummen, Belgium. He was a considerable talent, winning the prologue time trial of the Vuelta a España in his debut year of 1983. During the 1983 Tour de Fran ...
the
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
, and 's Andrew Hampsten won the young rider classification. finished at the head of the
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
by one hour 51 minutes, after placing four riders inside the final overall top-ten placings. One of cycling's
Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...
, the Tour consisted of 23 stages, beginning with a
prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
in
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...
and concluded on the
Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
in Paris. The race was organised by the
Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...
and was shown on television in 72 countries, with the total viewers estimated at one billion.


Teams

In June, 23 teams had requested to start in the 1986 Tour. The Tour organisers,
Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...
(ASO), accepted 21 applications, so a total of 21 teams participated in the 1986 Tour de France. The two teams whose application was denied were Skala-Skil and Miko. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race would start with a
peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
of 210 cyclists, a record setting total. The ASO felt that 210 starters were too many and moved to reduce the size of the squads to eight riders each, but the teams protested, and the original number remained. became the Tour's first team from the United States, with a squad consisting of eight Americans, one Canadian and one Mexican.
Jim Ochowicz Jim Ochowicz (born December 23, 1951) is a former Olympic bicyclist and manager of UCI WorldTeam . He served as president of the USA Cycling Board of Directors from 2002 to 2006.http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3512 Mark Abramson ...
, 's founder and manager, met with the ASO and persuaded them to invite his team. In the Spring, the team withdrew from competition in Europe (missing the opportunity to become the first American team in the history of the
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...
) due to the United States conflict with Libya, losing out on much needed competitive racing unavailable in the United States.
Joop Zoetemelk Hendrik Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in T ...
, the reigning road world champion, started and finished his 16th Tour de France, a record that stood until it was tied by Sylvain Chavanel in 2018. The teams entering the race were: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Pre-race favourites

Five-time Tour winner and defending champion
Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...
() had promised to support his teammate
Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
, who had finished second in 1985, following controversy during that race when LeMond felt that a chance of potential victory had been taken from him due to team tactics. was therefore considered the squad to beat, with the team also featuring strong riders such as Andrew Hampsten, who had won the
Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...
several weeks before the Tour de France. Before the start of the event, Hinault announced it would be the last Tour de France of his career. Prior to the start of the Tour, LeMond was confident of his chances, and pointed out that having Hinault, who he expected to take an early lead, would play to his advantage. Even with Hinault's assurances of support for LeMond, excitement over a possible record-breaking sixth Tour win was high in France. In a survey of 15 Dutch journalists, eight named Hinault as their main favourite for overall victory, just three chose LeMond. LeMond's season up to this point had been good, but had not yielded any victories; he finished second at
Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...
, third at
Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...
, fourth at the Giro d'Italia and third at the Tour de Suisse.
Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...
(), winner in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, was working on his comeback, having won the
La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...
classic in the spring. He had missed the chance to defend his title the year earlier due to surgery on an inflamed Achilles
tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...
. Juan Mora of ''
El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'' believed that the race would be highlighted by a duel between Fignon and Hinault. He named LeMond and Frenchman Charly Mottet as potential contenders if their team captains – Hinault and Fignon, respectively – failed to perform to the level expected. Mora believed
Pedro Delgado Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989. Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
to be the best Spanish contender for the overall title citing that his should perform well in the team time trial. Gian Paolo Ormezzano of ''
La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...
'' believed that there was no Italian rider competing that could be a legitimate threat to win the race, despite the fact that three Italian based teams were invited – the most since the 1979 edition. Ormezzano also thought the favourites going into the race were Hinault and Fignon. Fignon later recalled in his autobiography that he did not share the view of himself as a favourite, writing: "I felt terrible physically. ..My body — and perhaps my mind as well — was registering deep fatigue rather than an urge to get on with it."
Stephen Roche Stephen Roche (; born 28 November 1959) is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming the second of only two cyclists to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de Fr ...
(), third overall the year before, had injured his knee in a crash at the Paris Six-Day event in the winter, necessitating surgery in April, which meant that he arrived at the Tour out of form. Five-time Tour winner
Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the y ...
named Luis Herrera () as his main favourite. Herrera himself declared: "If I do not lose more than ten minutes before the mountains, I can win." Sean Kelly () was considered the main favourite for victory in the
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
, having won the trophy a record-equalling third time the year before. However, a crash on the last stage of the Tour de Suisse prevented Kelly from starting. In his absence,
Adrie van der Poel Adrie van der Poel (born 17 June 1959 in Bergen op Zoom) is a retired Dutch cyclist. Van der Poel was a professional from 1981 to 2000. His biggest wins included six classics, two stages of the Tour de France and the World Cyclo-Cross Championsh ...
() was given the best chances to win the classification.


Route and stages

The race route for the 1986 edition of the Tour de France was unveiled on 8 October 1985 by both
Jacques Goddet Jacques Goddet (21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986. Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance di ...
and
Félix Lévitan Félix Lévitan (12 October 1911 in Paris – 18 February 2007 in Cannes), a sports journalist, was the third organiser of the Tour de France, a role he shared for much of the time with Jacques Goddet. Lévitan is credited with looking after ...
. The race was pushed back a week from its normal date in order to prevent overlap with the
1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
, and therefore started on 4 July. Covering a total of , it included four time trials (three individual and one for teams) and ten stages deemed as flat. The race included four stages that featured a summit finish: stage 13 to
Superbagnères Superbagnères is a ski resort above the town of Bagnères-de-Luchon in the French department of Haute-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Overview The resort offers alpine ski slopes and cross-country skiing from 1440 to 2260 m. The reso ...
; stage 17 to
Col du Granon Col du Granon (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. A narrow tarmac road winds steeply up the southern approach. Gravel roads continue beyond the pass, in a military training zone. It hosted the ...
; stage 18 to
Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of th ...
; and stage 21 to
Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Puèi Domat or ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is ...
. The race took a counter-clockwise route around France. Following the prologue and opening stages in the
Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...
region, the race moved north towards the Belgian border, before turning west to
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. The Tour then traveled south to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, where a train transfer brought the riders to
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
, at the foot of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
. From there, transition stages led the race to the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, before the final stages in the
Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
and further north towards Paris. The 1986 Tour de France had one rest day, after the finish on the Alpe d'Huez. The highest point of elevation in the race was at the summit of the
Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-Mi ...
mountain pass on stage 18. The longest road-race stage was stage 11, at . Tour director Levitan felt after the
1985 Tour de France The 1985 Tour de France was the 72nd edition of the Tour de France, one of Cycle sport, cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 28 June and 21 July 1985. The course ran over and consisted of a individual time trial, p ...
that the race had been too easy, and made the course in 1986 extra difficult, including more mountain climbs than before. This angered Hinault, who threatened to skip the 1986 Tour. Before the race started, an avalanche deposited a large amount of dirt and rock on the slopes of the
Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of ...
, prompting Goddet to consider rerouting the course through the
Col d'Aubisque The Col d'Aubisque ( oc, Còth d'Aubisca) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees south of Tarbes and Pau in the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region of France.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du T ...
.


Race overview


Opening stages

The prologue was won by
Thierry Marie Thierry Marie (born 25 June 1963) is a French former cyclist. Marie often performed well in prologue stages: he won the Tour de France prologue three times in his career, and because of that he wore the yellow jersey in those three years, for sev ...
(), with Hinault in third place, just two seconds slower. Fignon and LeMond placed seventh and eighth, both four seconds back. On stage 1, Alex Stieda () attacked from the finish and collected time bonuses at the intermediate sprint, which would move him into the race lead. He was then joined in his breakaway by five other riders. The sextet held a small margin until the finish, with
Pol Verschuere Pol Verschuere (Kortrijk, 18 January 1955) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. Verschuere won a stage in the 1980, 1982 and the 1986 Tour de France. Major results ;1975 : National Amateur Road Race Championship ;1978 :Izegem :Kortrij ...
() taking the victory. Stieda, a Canadian, became the first rider from North America to wear the race leader's yellow jersey. The same afternoon, the team time trial was held. The attempt at defending Stieda's race lead by his team proved unsuccessful. A crash by
Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at th ...
slowed the team and forced several riders to take evasive action in order not to run into him, in the process scraping their tyres at the street curbing, which caused several punctures. In addition, Stieda was tired by his morning effort and fell back, getting in danger of missing the time limit. Chris Carmichael and Jeff Pierce had to fall back to lead him to the finish, which he reached in time but the yellow jersey was lost. It was regained by Marie, whose team won the time trial, while lost almost two minutes. Hinault personally instructed the team to wait for
Niki Rüttimann Niki Rüttimann (born 18 August 1962 in Untereggen) is a Swiss former road bicycle racer. Ruttiman was one of the most important domestiques of the La Vie Claire teams of the mid 1980s. In the 1984 Tour de France he finished 11th overall ridin ...
and Guido Winterberg, who were nursing the after-effects of crashes during the morning stage, accounting for 's comparatively poor performance. lost significant time and four of the team's riders were eliminated because they missed the time limit. bounced back from their disappointment the following day, with
Davis Phinney Davis Phinney (born July 10, 1959) is a retired professional road bicycle racer from the United States. He won 328 races in the 1980s and 1990s, a record for an American, including two Tour de France stages. He has worked in media since retiring ...
becoming the first American to win a road race stage. Phinney won the stage from a bunch sprint, even though he had been in the day's breakaway for most of the stage. Stage 4 went through
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, on rolling terrain.
Régis Simon Régis Simon (born 19 March 1958, in Troyes) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. He is the brother of former professional cyclists François, Pascal and Jérôme Simon. Régis Simon won a stage in the 1985 Tour de France. Ma ...
() broke away from the peloton and at from the finish, he held a lead of over ten minutes. He was eventually caught by a counterattack from
Federico Echave Federico Echave Musatadi (born 20 July 1960 in Kortezubi) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the prestigious stage up to Alpe d'Huez in 1987 Tour de France. Echave holds the record for most Vueltas finished, 14, all of ...
(). On the finishing straight,
Pello Ruiz Cabestany Pello Ruiz Cabestany (born March 13, 1962 in San Sebastián) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. Major results ;1980 : 1st Pursuit, National Track Championships ;1982 : 1st : 1st Stages 8b & 11 Vuelta a Guatemala : 1st St ...
() overtook Echave to win the stage. Dutch champion
Jos Lammertink Jos Lammertink (born March 28, 1958 in Wierden, Overijssel) is a retired road bicycle racer from the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdiv ...
() retired after suffering a broken skull in a crash, while Fabio Parra () also dropped out, courtesy of knee problems, leaving his team with only five of their original ten starters.
Dominique Gaigne Dominique Gaigne (born 3 July 1961 in Pacé, France) is a former French professional road bicycle racer. He won one stage in the 1983 Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey for one day in the 1986 Tour de France. After retiring from competiti ...
took over the yellow jersey from his teammate Marie, who he now led by six seconds.
Johan van der Velde Johan van der Velde (born 12 December 1956 in Rijsbergen) is a former Dutch cyclist. In the 1980 Tour de France, he won the young rider classification, also placing 12th in the general classification that year. He had been a racing cyclist for ...
() won stage 5 and through time bonuses at both intermediate sprints and the stage finish, moved into the overall lead. He got the better of
Joël Pelier Joël Pelier (born 23 March 1962, in Valentigney) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. After the final climb of stage 17 in the 1986 Tour de France, Pelier collapsed from exhaustion and fell into a 7-hour coma. In the 1989 Tour ...
() at the finish line. Both had been in a breakaway together, started after ridden. They finished 39 seconds ahead of van der Velde's teammate
Eddy Planckaert Eddy Planckaert (born 22 September 1958 in Nevele) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Belgium. In 1988, Planckaert enjoyed perhaps his best year by capturing the green jersey (points competition) at the 1988 Tour de France and w ...
, who in turn was followed by
Miguel Induráin Miguel Induráin Larraya (; born 16 July 1964) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 Tour de France, 1991 to 1995 Tour de France, 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five- ...
(), while the field, led by
Alfonso Gutiérrez Alfonso Gutiérrez (born 17 November 1961) is a Spanish former professional racing cyclist. He rode in three editions of the Tour de France, one edition of the Giro d'Italia and seven editions of the Vuelta a España. Major results ;1983 : 1st ...
(), was 1:15 minutes behind. The stage saw a demonstration by workers in
Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the l ...
, which did not impede the race. Van der Velde kept the race lead the following day. A five-man breakaway decided the outcome of the stage, won by
Guido Bontempi Guido Bontempi (born 12 January 1960 in Gussago) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Bontempi's career highlights include winning the spring's classic Gent–Wevelgem two times (1984 and 1986) and a total of 16 stages in the Giro d'Italia ...
of ahead of
Roberto Pagnin Roberto Pagnin (born 8 July 1962) is an Italian former professional racing cyclist. He rode in one edition of the Tour de France, ten editions of the Giro d'Italia and five editions of the Vuelta a España. He also rode in the individual road r ...
(). The yellow jersey changed hands again after stage 7. The stage began slowly, with the first breakaway established only after . The peloton was back together after , but another attack went shortly thereafter, including
Ludo Peeters Ludo Peeters (born 9 August 1953) is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1974 to 1990. He rode ten editions of the Tour de France and won 3 stages, one in 1980, one in 1982 and one in 1986. He also wore the ...
(), Jørgen V. Pedersen (), and Induráin. Other riders joined them later, but it was Peeters who eventually won the sprint from the group to win the stage, ahead of
Ron Kiefel Ronald Alexander Kiefel (born April 11, 1960 in Denver) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States. Kiefel is a seven-time Tour de France racer, Olympic bronze medalist and member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fa ...
(). Pedersen took the race lead. On stage 8, after the peloton allowed
Yvon Madiot Yvon Madiot (born 21 June 1962) is a French former racing cyclist. He won the French national road race title in 1986, going on to finish tenth in that year's Tour de France. He is the younger brother of fellow retired racing cyclist and double ...
() to drive ahead of the field to greet his family. Planckaert, not realising the situation, followed what he considered an attack in the company of Pelier, but all three were brought back. About later, another group broke away, containing
Adrie van der Poel Adrie van der Poel (born 17 June 1959 in Bergen op Zoom) is a retired Dutch cyclist. Van der Poel was a professional from 1981 to 2000. His biggest wins included six classics, two stages of the Tour de France and the World Cyclo-Cross Championsh ...
(), Mathieu Hermans, () and Andrew Hampsten. Hampsten was considered a threat to the overall classification, which led the field to give chase. The peloton was united before their arrival in the finishing town,
Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
, where
Silvano Contini Silvano Contini (born 15 January 1958) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. Career Professional from 1978 to 1990, his main successes were the 1982 Liège–Bastogne–Liège of 1982, the 1985 Grand Prix du Midi Libre and the 19 ...
() launched an unsuccessful breakaway attempt. Planckert, who only started the stage with the help of
analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...
pills from his masseur due to back pain, won the sprint, beating out his teammate
Eric Vanderaerden Eric Vanderaerden (born 11 February 1962) is a retired road cyclist from the town of Lummen, Belgium. He was a considerable talent, winning the prologue time trial of the Vuelta a España in his debut year of 1983. During the 1983 Tour de Fran ...
. Pedersen retained the overall lead.


First long time trial and transition to the mountains

The first real test for the general classification contenders came on stage 9, a individual time trial around Nantes. Hinault won the stage, 44 seconds ahead of LeMond, with Roche third, 1:01 minutes slower. Hinault benefited from a
puncture Puncture, punctured or puncturing may refer to: * a flat tyre in British English (US English "flat tire" or just "flat") * a penetrating wound caused by pointy objects as nails or needles * Lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap * Punctu ...
by LeMond, which cost him time. Fignon finished in 32nd place, 3:42 minutes behind Hinault, a result he later described as "unworthy of my status". Pedersen did enough to retain the yellow jersey. Roche moved into second place, 1:05 minutes behind Pedersen, with Hinault a further five seconds behind in third. LeMond was eighth, 1:59 minutes behind the lead. Stage 10 was won by Ángel Sarrapio (), who had been in a breakaway with
Jean-Claude Bagot Jean-Claude Bagot (born 9 March 1958) is a French former professional cyclist. He raced professionally between the years of 1983 and 1994. He is most known for winning one stage in the 1987 Giro d'Italia and winning the general classification ...
() during the stage. Pedersen kept the race lead, while Pelier used bonus seconds on the road to move ahead of Roche into second place in the general classification. On stage 11, a 12-man breakaway reached the finishing town of
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
together.
Rudy Dhaenens Rudy Dhaenens (10 April 1961 – 6 April 1998) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who is most famous for winning the World Cycling Championships in 1990 as a member of the Belgian national team. Dhaenens excelled several times i ...
() escaped from the group from the finish. On the finishing straight, he was almost caught by the fast approaching Hermans and just held on to take the stage victory. Hermans would later say that the public announcer had aided Dhaenens' victory by warning him of Hermans over the
PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
.


Pyrenees

Following a train transfer from Bordeaux to
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
at the foot of the Pyrenees in the morning, stage 12 led the riders over to Pau. The stage featured five mountain passes, with the first-category rated Col de Marie-Blanque at the end, before a descent into the finishing town. Several attacks occurred over the first part of the stage, each covered by riders of . At around from the finish, Hinault raised the pace on the ascent of the Col de Burdincurutcheta, forcing other contenders to chase back on, such as Herrera. Others, such as Roche, Fignon, and race leader Pedersen, dropped behind and would lose a lot of time by the end of the stage. Shortly before an intermediate sprint after , Hinault told his teammate
Jean-François Bernard Jean-François Bernard (born 2 May 1962) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Career He turned professional in 1984 for La Vie Claire, led by Bernard Hinault. He was seen as Hinault’s successor as a winner of stage races from ...
to accelerate, and the two, accompanied by Delgado, made the bridge to a lead group containing
Eduardo Chozas Eduardo Chozas Olmo (born 5 July 1960 in Madrid) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won four stages at the Tour de France and three in the Giro d'Italia. He was also chosen as the most combative rider of 1990 Tour de Fran ...
(). These four riders then broke clear at the front, before Chozas lost contact about later. Bernard, the work for his team leader done, fell back another down the road. Delgado and Hinault worked well together to extend their advantage to the chasers, where LeMond, bound by team tactics, was unable to give chase himself. According to Delgado, Hinault clearly wanted to make time for the overall classification, and without any negotiating between the two, he gifted the stage win to Delgado. LeMond managed to break clear of the rest of the chase group with Herrera, but still arrived in Pau 4:37 minutes behind Hinault, who was now leading the race overall. After the stage, LeMond was overheard telling his father: "Goddamnit, Dad, I am going to finish second again!" Other favourites lost even more time:
Robert Millar Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists. York won the "King of ...
() finished 11th, 5:31 minutes behind. In 20th place was Fignon, arriving 11 minutes after Hinault. Roche lost 21 minutes, Phil Anderson () 33 minutes. Stage 13 led the race through the Pyrenees again, over and four high mountain passes. The first was the
Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of ...
, coming after , followed by the
Col d'Aspin Col d'Aspin ( oc, Còth d'Aspin) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper Adour valley, with Arreau, on the River Neste. Details of the cl ...
, the
Col de Peyresourde The Col de Peyresourde ( oc, Còth de Pèira Sorda) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Bagnères-de-L ...
, and the final climb up to the ski resort of
Superbagnères Superbagnères is a ski resort above the town of Bagnères-de-Luchon in the French department of Haute-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrénées region. Overview The resort offers alpine ski slopes and cross-country skiing from 1440 to 2260 m. The reso ...
. Laurent Fignon had fallen ill with a fever and did not start the stage. Shortly after the start of the stage,
Dominique Arnaud Dominique Arnaud (19 September 1955 – 20 July 2016) was a French racing cyclist. He rode in eleven editions of the Tour de France. Arnaud won three stages in the Vuelta a España, a stage in the Midi Libre and the Tour du Limousin in 1983 ...
() attacked. When he began the ascent of the Tourmalet, he held a lead of 13 minutes over the field. A select group of favourites crossed the summit, led by Millar, now just over 7 minutes behind Arnaud. As they began the descent, Hinault attacked again, opening a gap to his opponents. As he reached the valley, his lead was at 43 seconds. Behind him, LeMond found himself again in a situation where he was unable to chase his teammate himself, while this time, the entire team was stunned by Hinault's attack, explicitly breaking the tactics the team had agreed upon in the morning, which was to sit back and have the other teams attack them. At the summit of the Aspin, Hinault's lead had increased to two minutes and he caught up with Arnaud on the subsequent descent. However, unlike the day before, the other favourites worked together to give chase, with Millar, Herrera, and
Urs Zimmermann Urs Zimmermann (born 29 November 1959 in Mühledorf) is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist. He stood on the podium in two of the three Grand Tour events after finishing third in 1986 Tour de France and 1988 Giro d'Italia. He also ...
() committed to bringing Hinault back as the group reached the climb of the Peyresourde. They made contact with him on the descent and as the group began the final climb to Superbagnères, it became clear that Hinault had overexerted himself, falling back quickly. Hampsten, who had caught up with the LeMond group, attacked during the early part of the climb to soften up the opposition for LeMond. While Herrera suffering from cramp dropped back to his team car, LeMond counter-attacked, leaving Zimmermann and Millar behind and joined his teammate at the head of the race. With Hampsten falling behind soon after, LeMond continued to the finish alone and won the stage. Hinault trailed in eleventh, 4:39 minutes behind LeMond. He therefore maintained the lead of the race overall, but now just 40 seconds ahead of second-placed LeMond. Incidentally, LeMond had gained back the exact amount of time he had lost the previous day. At the team hotel later in the evening, owner
Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bor ...
had to intervene in an argument between his two leaders and Andrew Hampsten described the mood on the squad from then on as "super tense".


Transition stages to the Alps

The fourteenth stage led the race to
Blagnac Blagnac (; oc, Blanhac) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. The city hosts the aviation museum Aeroscopia. It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Toulouse, although governed by a separate council, and is ...
and was won by
Niki Rüttimann Niki Rüttimann (born 18 August 1962 in Untereggen) is a Swiss former road bicycle racer. Ruttiman was one of the most important domestiques of the La Vie Claire teams of the mid 1980s. In the 1984 Tour de France he finished 11th overall ridin ...
(). The team had placed riders in every escape group of the day, and after about , Rüttimann managed to stay away with three other riders. They exchanged attacks in the final of the stage, with Rüttimann putting in the decisive move to win solo ahead of his pursuers, jumping into eighth place in the general classification. LeMond managed to gain six bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint, closing the gap on Hinault in the general classification to 34 seconds.
Frank Hoste Frank Hoste (born 29 August 1955, in Ghent) is a retired Belgian racing cyclist, who won the points classification in the Tour de France in 1984 as well as three stage victories. Hoste was a professional cyclist from 1977 to 1991, then he start ...
() won stage 15 in a two-man sprint against Silvano Contini (). The main field came in just eight seconds behind, but Luis Herrera lost 49 seconds after failing to bridge a gap in the peloton. The final day before the Alps was stage 16, ending in the town of Gap. The peloton had to endure significant
crosswind A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and th ...
s during the stage, accompanied by several attacks from the field. After , Hinault was part of a group of four riders splitting away from the field in the winds, quickly making contact with another four-man break to form an escape of eight riders. While Hinault was joined by teammates Rüttimann and Winterberg, the group also contained Zimmermann, third overall. LeMond, crucially, had missed the move, but his three teammates in the breakaway still rode hard tempo, drawing out an advantage of 52 seconds. LeMond, again bound not to chase his own teammates, asked Robert Millar for help, who agreed to have his team do the chase work, while LeMond promised to gift Millar a stage should they finish close together. After , the groups were back together. Jean-François Bernard from won the stage after the two other riders in the final breakaway both punctured a tyre on the descent of the Col d'Espreaux. He moved up into thirteenth place in the general classification, which meant that now had five riders in the top thirteen places. Because of Hinault's breakaway tactics during the stage, Lemond threatened to resign from the race and had to be calmed by Tapie. According to Hampsten, the team was split into three groups: the French riders around Hinault, the two Swiss riders in between, and the other riders on LeMond's side. Jean-François Bernard supported this view, saying: "The division was real. Even if it wasn't evident day-to-day, or on the surface, it was there the whole Tour. You could feel it." Hinault was unapologetic, saying: "What's his eMond'sproblem? Are his legs hurting? It might be just as well if he quits if he doesn't want to win the race any more."


Alps

Stage 17 finished on the
Col du Granon Col du Granon (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. A narrow tarmac road winds steeply up the southern approach. Gravel roads continue beyond the pass, in a military training zone. It hosted the ...
, the highest mountain-top finish in Tour history up to that point, at an elevation of . Before the Col du Granon, the riders also had to ride across the Col de Vars and the
Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the sou ...
. Eduardo Chozas () was in a solo breakaway and won the stage. Behind him, Hinault began to struggle on the climb of the Izoard, falling behind the others contenders. He suffered from pain in his left knee, a recurrence of an injury sustained in 1983. Zimmermann, third overall at this point, sensed weakness in , and attacked, a move that was covered by LeMond. Zimmermann took second place on the stage, 6:26 minutes behind Chozas, with LeMond right behind him. Hinault came in thirteenth, losing 3:21 minutes to LeMond, who took over the race lead. LeMond led Zimmermann by 2:24 minutes, with Hinault a further 23 seconds behind. It was the first time that a rider from the USA wore the yellow jersey in the history of the Tour. The night before stage 18 to
L'Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part of ...
, Hinault called a team meeting, complaining about the fact that Zimmermann now split the two riders. He called for the team to attack Zimmermann the following day, "until he was broken". Another dispute broke out with LeMond, who pointed out that with a time trial still to come, a discipline that did not favour Zimmermann, there was no need for an all-out attack. Tapie had to talk to the riders until four o'clock in the morning to handle the situation. Shortly after the start of the stage in
Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...
, the first climb of the day was the
Col du Lautaret Col du Lautaret () is a high mountain pass in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It marks the boundary between the valleys of the Romanche and the Guisane, a tributary of the Durance which has its source at the col. The valleys are linke ...
. A breakaway formed, including Herrera and Winterberg, who left their companions on the following climb, the Col du Galibier. Behind them, in the group of favourites, Zimmermann was closely guarding LeMond, while Hinault made several small accelerations to test the opposition. On the descent of the Galibier, Hinault attacked, only into the stage. He caught Herrera and Winterberg and they were joined by LeMond, Bauer and Ruiz Cabestany. As they reached the next small climb, the
Col du Télégraphe Col du Télégraphe is a mountain pass in the French Alps situated above the Maurienne valley between the eastern end of the massif d'Arvan-Villards and the massif des Cerces. The pass links Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne to the north and Valloire t ...
, Hinault attacked again, going clear on his own. LeMond, having strict instructions from his team not to work with Zimmermann, was again stuck behind. LeMond dropped back to his team car for instructions by coach Paul Köchli, who urged him to attack Zimmermann instead of leading him towards Hinault, who at that point had a lead of about one-and-a-half minutes. LeMond attacked shortly before the summit and opened up a gap to Zimmermann on the descent, eventually catching up to Hinault, together with Bauer and Ruiz Cabestany. Bauer then did the lead work until the foot of the next climb, the
Col de la Croix de Fer Col de la Croix de Fer ( en, Pass of the Iron Cross) (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Details of climb The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne i ...
, where he dropped back. Ruiz Cabestany fell behind soon after. On the ascent, Hinault asked LeMond to ease the tempo, due to his aching knee, and set the pace himself. By the summit, they led Zimmermann by 2:50 minutes. On the descent, both set a high tempo, extending the lead over Zimmermann to 4:30 minutes as they reached the climb of Alpe d'Huez. Sensing that the French public, clearly favouring Hinault, made LeMond nervous, the former led all the way up the climb, with both riders steadily increasing their advantage over everybody else. Close to the finish line, LeMond drove alongside Hinault, putting his arm around him for a short conversation. At the finish, Hinault took LeMond's hand in an apparent gesture of comradery and they crossed the line together, with Hinault taking the stage win. Tapie later revealed that he had orchestrated the moment, having told LeMond before the climb to Alpe d'Huez that he had effectively won the race and that he should let Hinault take the stage. Zimmermann finished third, 5:15 behind the pair. The illusion of a ''détente'' between the two leaders lasted only a few hours. In the evening, both appeared on French television in a joint interview with Jacques Chancel. Asked if the battle between them was over, Hinault answered that it would not be until the final time trial in
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...
. He reiterated the statement on the following day, the only rest day of the Tour. During a press conference, he declared: "I'm very proud of what we did together, but let me say one more time: the Tour isn't over. Who was stronger on the climb? Go on, ask Greg." LeMond felt betrayed by Hinault's apparent unwillingness to honour the deal between the two riders. Hinault in turn promised that, should LeMond still lead the Tour after the final time trial, he would not attack again. This pledge came at the insistence of Tapie, after LeMond had once again threatened to leave the race should Hinault continue attacking. Pedro Delgado, winner of stage 12 and lying fifth overall, retired from the race during stage 18, having learned of the death of his mother. Robert Millar, having been fourth at the summit of the Galibier, lost over 19 minutes during the later part of the stage, dropping from fourth to eighth overall. In 2015, cycling journalist Peter Cossins called stage 18 "the best remembered on the mountain lpe d'Huez, while describing it as "a victory parade rather than a sporting contest."


Conclusion

As the conclusion of the race drew closer, LeMond suspected that the public and a large part of the riders would prefer a record-breaking victory for Hinault. Before the start of stage 19, a journalist suggested to him that 80 percent of the riders would support Hinault, to which he jokingly replied that he was surprised if twenty percent supported him. Indeed, Hinault attacked once more during the stage, during the feed zone, a clear breach of cycling etiquette which dictates that no rider should attack while his competitors take on food and drinks. Bauer and Hampsten assisted LeMond in bringing Hinault back into the field. During an intermediate sprint, Hinault gained back two seconds to cut his disadvantage to 2:43 minutes.
Julián Gorospe Julián Gorospe Artabe (born 22 March 1960 in Mañaria) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1982 and 1994, entirely for the team. Gorospe also worked as the directeur sportif of between 1998 a ...
won the stage for , ahead of Anderson. Under growing suspicion that other riders would interfere with his race to favour Hinault, LeMond stated after the stage: "If they want to crash me, I'd rather they tell me now. I'd rather give the race to them." Hinault's tactics were confusing to other riders as well. Speaking of the stage, Hampsten later recalled: "It's the only time I ever chased a teammate in my life. It felt weird; I felt sick doing it. ..I knew it was the right thing to do." Phil Anderson, riding for , was equally angry with Hinault, scolding him publicly after the stage for attacking his teammate in the yellow jersey. The night before the time trial, Tour director Jacques Goddet came to see LeMond at dinner and warned him to watch his water bottles and other equipment, saying: "There are many who do not want you to win." LeMond heeded this advice, with his parents buying his own food. At the daily doping controls, he left his fingerprint in the sealing wax and photographed the urine bottles. According to LeMond, one rider even offered Hinault to cause a crash for LeMond, but Hinault refused. The decisive stage of the race was the following day, a time trial around Saint-Étienne. After , LeMond was eight seconds faster than Hinault. However, with raced, LeMond crashed in a right-hand corner. While he was able to get up quickly and resume, his brake rubbed on the front wheel, making it necessary to change bikes. Hinault profited from LeMond's mishap to win the stage, but managed to only claw back 25 seconds to his teammate, who finished second. Both were in a class of their own, with Hinault catching up with Zimmermann at the finish line, even though the latter had started three minutes ahead of him. Following the stage, Hinault acknowledged his defeat, stating: "After today, we won't fight any more." LeMond now led Hinault by 2:18 minutes. Stage 21 was the last to feature significant climbing, finishing at the
Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Puèi Domat or ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is ...
. Hinault, now no longer trying to dislodge LeMond, instead focused on securing his lead in the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
, which he did by collecting maximum points at the top of the Croix de l'Homme, the first climb of the day.
Erich Maechler Erich Mächler (also spelled Maechler) (born 24 September 1960 in Hochdorf) is a former professional Swiss cyclist. In the 1987 Tour de France, he wore the yellow jersey for 6 days. He was the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1984. Major r ...
() won the stage, having moved clear of a leading group at the start of the final ascent. Second was
Ludo Peeters Ludo Peeters (born 9 August 1953) is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1974 to 1990. He rode ten editions of the Tour de France and won 3 stages, one in 1980, one in 1982 and one in 1986. He also wore the ...
(), 34 seconds behind. LeMond came in 6:06 minutes behind, in eighteenth place. Hinault, having worked for his teammate during the stage, fell back on the final climb and lost 43 seconds to LeMond, who extended his overall advantage to 3:10 minutes. Robert Millar, fighting sickness, dropped out during this stage. Guido Bontempi won the final two stages of the race, first stage 22 into
Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...
, edging out Hoste and Vanderaerden in a sprint finish. On the final, ceremonial stage into Paris, LeMond crashed and Hinault made a point to personally escort him back into the field. Hinault then contested the final sprint, won by Bontempi, and finished fourth to close out his Tour de France career. LeMond became the first rider from an English-speaking country to win the event, at an average speed of . Only 132 of the 210 starters finished the race in Paris. Robert Millar described the race as "by far the hardest" Tour he had ridden, adding: "I don't think we ever climbed the mountains so fast." was the only team to arrive in Paris with all ten starters. The ''
lanterne rouge The ''lanterne rouge'' is the competitor in last place in the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French for "Red Lantern" and refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train or the brake van of a freight tr ...
'', the last-placed finisher of the race, was
Ennio Salvador Ennio Salvador (born 19 July 1960) is a former Italian racing cyclist. He finished in last place in the 1986 Tour de France. Major results ;1981 :1st Stage 7 Giro Ciclistico d'Italia :2nd GP Palio del Recioto ;1982 :3rd Trofeo Matteotti :3rd G ...
(), 2:55:51 hours behind LeMond.


Aftermath

Perception of the 1986 Tour de France and the rivalry between LeMond and Hinault remain divided. LeMond felt betrayed by Hinault's failure to live up to the clear assertion that he would assist him to win the Tour, saying: "He made promises to me he never intended to keep. He made them just to relieve the pressure on himself." He showed disappointment when the public alleged that he had only won due to Hinault allowing it. Hinault's view of the 1986 Tour differs from LeMond's. In his autobiography, he wrote: After the final time trial, Hinault claimed to have attacked repeatedly to toughen LeMond up, adding: "Next year maybe he'll have to fight off another opponent who will make life miserable for him. Now he'll know how to fight back." Cycling historians Bill and Carol McGann refuse this argument, writing: "Of course, Hinault reneged on his promise. His words, that he was trying to toughen LeMond or get him to earn his Tour, are obvious nonsense." In France, Hinault's aggressive riding style was widely celebrated and did much to improve his public image, which had suffered due to an alleged lack of panache during his Tour wins and his behaviour towards fans and officials. Robert Millar suggested that he specifically rode the way he did in 1986 to win over the French public. Friction between LeMond and Hinault continued into the
Coors Classic The Coors International Bicycle Classic (1980–1988) was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor; the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1 ...
later in the year, the last stage race of Hinault's career. When LeMond attacked during a stage to move up from third to second place overall, Hinault accused him of riding against him, who was in the lead. LeMond countered, assuring him of his assistance and adding: "That's a promise, which is something that you can't keep." Hinault, as he had announced previously, retired at the end of the season, on his 32nd birthday. LeMond meanwhile was unable to defend his Tour title, suffering a near-fatal hunting accident on Easter 1987. He returned to the Tour in 1989, winning the event for a second time and adding a third victory in
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. The rivalry between Hinault and LeMond in both the 1985 and 1986 Tours was the subject of the documentary ''Slaying the Badger'', part of
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's series ''
30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes three "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series un ...
''. Based on the book by the same name by journalist Richard Moore, it premiered on 22 July 2014.


Classification leadership and minor prizes

There were several classifications in the 1986 Tour de France, six of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the
general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour. No time bonuses were given at stage finishes, a change from the 1985 edition. Time bonuses were given for the intermediate sprints. Over the first half of the race, each intermediate sprint gave 12, 8, and 4 bonus seconds to the first three riders across the line, while during the second half, 6, 4, and 2 seconds were awarded. There were 94 intermediate sprints over the course of the 1986 Tour, a record number. In the team time trial on stage 2, the real time of the finishing teams was used to calculate the overall classification, taken on the sixth rider of each team to cross the finish line. The time that could be lost was limited at five minutes, however, if a rider did not finish with the rest of his team, his real time was used, even if it exceeded five minutes. Additionally, there was a
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
, where cyclists were given points for finishing in the top 25 on a stage. All stages awarded the same number of points: 25 for the winner, with each subsequent place receiving one fewer point. In this edition, no points were awarded at intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and was identified with a green jersey. Eric Vanderaerden was the winner of this classification. There was also a
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
. The Tour organisers categorised some climbs as either ''
hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is the ...
'', first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. Climbs rated ''hors catégorie'' gave 40 points to the first rider across, down to one point for the 15th rider to reach the summit. First-category climbs awarded 30 points, second category ones 20 for the first rider. Third- and fourth-category mountains awarded 7 and 4 points respectively to the first man across. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and wore a white jersey with red
polka dot Red polka dots on a yellow background Girl wearing polka dot dress Polish ceramics German ceramics Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size. Polka dots are commonly seen on children's clothing, ...
s. Bernard Hinault won the mountains prize. There was also a combination classification. This classification was calculated as a combination of the other classifications; its leader wore the combination jersey. Being in first place in the general, points, mountains, or intermediate sprints classification awarded 25 points, down to one point for 25th place. For the second consecutive year, Greg LeMond was the winner of this classification. Another classification was the debutant classification. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders that rode the Tour for the first time were eligible, and the leader wore a white jersey. 79 out of the 210 starters were eligible. Andrew Hampsten was the first-placed rider in this classification. The sixth individual classification was the intermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but points were only awarded on intermediate sprints. Its leader wore a red jersey. Gerrit Solleveld () won this classification. For the
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification were identified by yellow
caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
. There was also a team points classification. Cyclists received points according to their finishing position on each stage, with the first rider receiving one point. The first three finishers of each team had their points combined, and the team with the fewest points led the classification. The riders of the team leading this classification wore green caps. won the team classification, while won the team points classification. In addition, there was a
combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider. References {{cycling-stub Cycling jerseys ...
, in which a jury composed of journalists gave points after each mass-start stage to the cyclist they considered most combative. At the conclusion of the Tour, Bernard Hinault won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists. The
Souvenir Henri Desgrange The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the highest a ...
was given in honour of Tour founder
Henri Desgrange Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France. Yo ...
to the first rider to pass the summit of the
Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-Mi ...
on stage 18. This prize was won by Luis Herrera. Other minor prizes given included one for the best teammate, won by
Bruno Leali Bruno Leali (born 6 March 1958 in Roe Volciano) is an Italian former professional racing cyclist. He rode in 14 editions of the Giro d'Italia, six editions of the Tour de France and four editions of the Vuelta a España. After retiring from cyc ...
(). An award for the "most amiable" rider was given to Ruiz Cabestany. Zoetemelk received a prize for
fairplay FairPlay is a digital rights management (DRM) technology developed by Apple Inc. It is built into the MP4 multimedia file format as an encrypted AAC audio layer, and was used until April 2009 by the company to protect copyrighted works sold ...
. There was also a fairplay award given after every stage, and the winners were allowed to wear special socks during the next stage, showing the logo of Paris' eventually unsuccessful bid to host the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
. Between
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
and 1985, a system of "flying stages" had been used. This included a finish line at the middle part of the stage, with the first rider across awarded the same bonuses and prizes as regular stage winners. However, due to a lack of public acceptance for the concept, it was scrapped for the 1986 edition.


Final standings


General classification


Points classification


Mountains classification


Young rider classification


Combination classification


Intermediate sprints classification


Team classification


Team points classification


Super Prestige Pernod ranking

Riders in the Tour competed individually for points that contributed towards the
Super Prestige Pernod The Super Prestige Pernod was a season-long competition in road bicycle racing between 1958 and 1987. For the first edition it was known as the Prestige Pernod, and for the last four years as the Super Prestige Pernod International. History Disag ...
ranking, an international season-long road cycling competition, with the winner seen as the best all-round rider. The 250 points accrued by Greg LeMond moved him from fourth to the top of the ranking, replacing Sean Kelly, who did not ride the Tour.


Doping

No rider tested positive for
performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...
during the 1986 Tour. Had a positive test occurred, the penalty would have been a ten-minute time penalty for the general classification and a demotion to last place on the stage. In his book '' Rough Ride'', rider
Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for ''The ...
() revealed that during the final stage into Paris, he witnessed riders injecting substances with needles, telling him that they were not afraid to get caught, since only the stage winner and top finishers were tested. In a television interview in late 1999,
Peter Winnen Peter Johannes Gertrudis Winnen (born 5 September 1957) is a Dutch former road racing cyclist. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in road racing and finished in 26th place. After the Games he turned professional in 1981. Among his 14 vict ...
() revealed that he had used
testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...
to help him get through the Tour in 1986.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * *


See also

*
1986 Giro d'Italia The 1986 Giro d'Italia was the 69th running of the Giro d'Italia. The race started in Palermo, on 12 May, with a prologue and concluded in Merano, on 2 June, with a mass-start stage. A total of 171 riders from nineteen teams entered the 2 ...
* 1986 Vuelta a España * 1986 in sports


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:1986 Tour De France Tour de France by year
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
1986 Super Prestige Pernod International