The 1999 Tour de France was a
multiple stage bicycle race
"Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song "Fat Bottomed Girls", rea ...
held from 3 to 25 July, and the 86th edition 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 ...
. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
originally won the event, the
United States Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
announced in August of 2012 that they had disqualified Armstrong from all his results since 1998, including his seven consecutive Tour de France wins from 1999 to
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
(which were, originally, the most wins in the event's history); the
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues racing ...
confirmed the result.
There were no French stage winners for the first time since the
1926 Tour de France. Additionally,
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
won four stages in a row, setting the post-World War II record for consecutive stage wins (breaking the record of three, set by
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...
in 1948.)
Teams
After the doping controversies in the
1998 Tour de France, the Tour organisation banned some riders from the race, including
Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", ...
,
Laurent Roux
Laurent Roux (born 3 December 1972 in Cahors) is a French former road bicycle racer.
Doping
In 1999, he was found guilty of using amphetamines and was suspended for six months. In 2002, he was tested non-negative for amphetamines after an out ...
and
Philippe Gaumont
Philippe Gaumont (22 February 1973 – 17 May 2013) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He earned a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics, 100 km team time trial. In 1997 he won the Belgian classic Gent–Wevelgem and h ...
, manager
Manolo Saiz
Manuel "Manolo" Saiz Balbás (born 16 October 1959 in Torrelavega, Cantabria) is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish professional road bicycle racing teams, first called Team ONCE, then Liberty Seguros-Würth, Astana ...
and the entire team.
Virenque's team Polti then appealed at the
UCI against this decision, and the UCI then forced the organisers of the Tour,
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), to allow Virenque and Saiz entry in the Tour. Initially, the team had been selected, but after their team leader
Serhiy Honchar
Serhiy Gonchar ( uk, Сергій Гончар; born 3 July 1970) is a Ukrainian former professional road racing cyclist. He won the World Time Trial Championship in 2000.
Due to a temporary spelling error in his passport, he is often incorre ...
failed a blood test in the 1999
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 ...
, the ASO removed Vini Caldirola from the starting list, and replaced them by , the first reserve team.
Each team was allowed to field nine cyclists.
The teams entering the race were:
Qualified teams
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Invited teams
*
*
*
Route and stages
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 9.
Race overview
Following the
Festina Affair
The Festina affair was a series of doping scandals within the sport of professional cycling that occurred during and after the 1998 Tour de France. The affair began when a large haul of doping products was found in a support car belonging to t ...
of the previous year the 1999 edition was billed as the "Tour of Renewal" from the very beginning.
Doping
This tour also saw the mistreatment of
Christophe Bassons
Christophe Bassons (born 10 June 1974) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. His career ended when he spoke out about doping in the Tour de France.
Origins
Christophe Bassons was born in Mazamet, France, in the Tarn department. ...
by his fellow riders of the peloton (notably Armstrong) for speaking out against doping. The
1998 tour had been marred by the
Festina
Festina F16184
Festina is a Spanish watch brand. In 1985, businessman Miguel Rodríguez acquired Festina, a brand founded in Switzerland in 1902, thus forming the ''Festina-Lotus group.''
History
Festina was created in 1902 by the Stüdi f ...
doping scandal. Bassons later told ''Bicycling'', "The 1999 Tour was supposed to be the "Tour of Renewal," but I was certain that doping had not disappeared."
[Bassons: ‘People Now See I Wasn’t Lying’]
, James Startt, Bicycling.com, 15 October 2012 He quit the tour without finishing after "cracking" mentally due to his treatment by the peloton, especially in stage 10.
[Peddlers - Cycling's Dirty Truth]
, 54:00, Mark Chapman, including interviews with Tyler Hamilton, Bassons, and others. BBC Radio 5 live, 2012 10 15, retr 2012 10 16
Subsequent to Armstrong's statement to withdraw his fight against
United States Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
's (USADA) charges, on 24 August 2012, the USADA said it would ban Armstrong for life and stripped him of his record seven Tour de France titles. Later that day it was confirmed in a USADA statement that Armstrong was banned for life and would be disqualified from any and all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to 1 August 1998, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, winnings, finishes, points and prizes.
On 22 October 2012, the
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues racing ...
endorsed the USADA sanctions, and decided not to award victories to any other rider or upgrade other placings in any of the affected events.
Other incidents
The 1999 edition of Tour de France had two bizarre moments. The first was on stage 2 when a 25-rider pile-up occurred at
Passage du Gois. The Passage du Gois is a two-mile causeway which depending on the tide can be under water. A rider came down in the middle of the field during the passage, leading to the crash that cost pre-race favourites
Alex Zülle
Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1 ...
,
Christophe Rinero
Christophe Rinero (born 29 December 1973 in Moissac) is a former French professional road racing cyclist. His sporting career began with CA Castelsarrazin. Rinero's greatest achievements have been to win the Tour de l'Avenir in 1998 and the Kin ...
and
Michael Boogerd
Michael Boogerd (born 28 May 1972) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the leaders of a generation of Dutch cyclists in the late 1990s and early 2000s, together with teammate Erik Dekker and female cyclist Leontien ...
more than five minutes to the lead group. The second bizarre incident was on stage 10, one kilometre from the summit of
Alpe d'Huez. Leading Italian rider
Giuseppe Guerini was confronted by a spectator holding a camera in the middle of the road. Guerini hit the spectator but recovered and went on to win the stage.
Classification leadership and minor prizes
There were several classifications in the 1999 Tour de France. 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.
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 ...
, which awarded a green jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.
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 organisation had 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. The cyclist with the most points lead 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.
The fourth individual classification was the
young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for rid ...
, which was not marked by a jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 26 years were eligible.
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.
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 ...
given after each
mass-start stage to the cyclist considered most combative, who wore a red number bib the next stage. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification.
Jacky Durand
Jacky Durand (born 10 February 1967 in Laval, Mayenne) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Durand had an attacking style, winning the Tour of Flanders in 1992 after a breakaway, and three stages in the Tour de France.
Durand tu ...
won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award. 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 9. This prize was won by
José Luis Arrieta.
*In stage 1,
Alex Zülle
Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1 ...
wore the green jersey.
*In stages 3 through 6,
Tom Steels
Tom Steels (born 2 September 1971) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, specialising in sprint finishes and one-day races. He was one of the top sprinters in the peloton.
Steels competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, ...
wore the green jersey.
*In stage 7,
Erik Zabel
Erik Zabel (; born 7 July 1970) is a German former professional road bicycle racer who raced most of his career with Telekom. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some to be one of the greatest German cycl ...
wore the green jersey.
*In stage 8,
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
wore the green jersey.
Final standings
General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
Team classification
Combativity classification
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
*
1999 Tour de Franceat
Cyclingnews.com
Cyclingnews.com is a website providing cycling news and race result owned by Future.
History
In 1995 Australian Bill Mitchell, a keen cyclist and professor of economics at the University of Newcastle, created the website titled "Bill’s Cycli ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:1999 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 ...