The 1977 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré was the 29th edition of the cycle race and was held from 30 May to 6 June 1977. The race started in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

and finished at

Thonon-les-Bains Thonon-les-Bains (; ), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is part of a ...

. The race was won by

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, 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 ...

of the

Gitane–Campagnolo Gitane–Campagnolo was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1969 to 1977. Its main sponsor was the French bicycle manufacturer Gitane. History The Sonolor team was created for the 1969 season after the Pelforth–Sauvage–Le ...

team. An all time highlight from this race was on the stage to

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

when Hinault miscalculated a high speed turn and went into a ravine. He left his totaled bike at the bottom, climbed back up, got on a new bike and went on to win the stage and the race by nine seconds over

Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet (; born 10 January 1948) is a retired professional cyclist. His sporting career began with ACBB Paris. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx, though ...

. This race included five eventual

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

winners, all of whom finished in the top 10 including previous winners Merckx, Van Impe and Thevenet as well as future winners Hinault and Zoetemelk.

Teams

Nine teams, containing a total of 89 riders, participated in the race: * * * * * Lejeune–BP * * * *

Route

General classification

References

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

1977 in French sport 1977 Super Prestige Pernod May 1977 sports events in Europe June 1977 sports events in Europe {{France-cycling-race-stub