Sport | Road bicycle racing |
---|---|
Competition | Tour de France |
Awarded for | First across a particular point |
Location | Various |
Country | France |
History | |
First award | 1947 |
Editions | 77 (as of 2024) |
First winner | Raymond Impanis (BEL) |
Most wins | Richard Virenque (FRA) Nairo Quintana (COL)
|
Most recent | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) |
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 and iconic climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees. [1] It is named in honour of the creator and first race director of the Tour, French sports journalist Henri Desgrange, [2] who was passionate about taking the Tour de France as high up in the mountains as possible using the most difficult routes. [3]
Following the death of Desgrange in August 1940, [4] an award was given in his honour for the first time in the 1947 Tour, the first Tour since 1939, having been cancelled during World War II. [5] On stage 11, Raymond Impanis was the first of the field to pass a point by Desgrange's final residence, the "Villa Mia" in Beauvallon, Grimaud, on the French Riviera. [6] [7] In the first stage of the 1948 Tour, the prize was earned by Roger Lambrecht in the opening few kilometres at the summit of the Côte de Picardie climb in Versailles, Paris. [8] [9] [10] Beauvallon again hosted the award the following year, [11] before the 1950 and 1951 Tours saw the award marker point moved into the mountains atop the 2,058 m (6,752 ft)-high Col du Lautaret, [12] [13] [14] the pass that directly precedes the Galibier climb from the south. [15] In 1949, a monument to Desgrange was built 150 m (492 ft) from the southern entrance of the summit tunnel atop the Col du Galibier in the Alps, his favourite and one of the Tour's most iconic climbs. [16] [17] A wreath is laid at the monument when the Tour passes. [18] Beginning in 1952, [19] the marking point for the prize took place by the monument for the subsequent times the Tour visited the Galibier. [19] Since the 1965 Tour, the Galibier has always been used when it was passed. [19]
The tunnel at the summit of the Galibier was closed for safety reasons in 1976 – eventually re-opening in 2002. [20] [21] Bypassing the tunnel, the road was then extended a further kilometre up to the natural crest of the pass, [22] increasing the elevation of the summit by 86 meters to 2,642 m (8,668 ft). [23] This has been the award's marking point on the Galibier ever since it was first traversed in the 1979 Tour, when Lucien Van Impe claimed the award. [17] The tunnel was passed through on stage 19 of the 2011 Tour, but in that edition the Galibier was climbed twice in celebration the 100th anniversary of its appearance in the Tour. [24] The finish of the previous stage was atop the full Galibier climb, where Andy Schleck claimed memorable stage win as well as the award after his 60 km (37 mi) solo breakaway. [25] This was first ever Galibier summit stage finish and the highest ever Tour stage finish in history to that point. [24] Further notable stages featuring the award on the Galibier were in the 1952 and 1998 Tours, when Italians Fausto Coppi and Marco Pantani, respectively, took the award and then went on to win the stage, which proved decisive to both their overall general classification victories. [18] [26]
Non-summit marking points have been sparsely used for the award. [19] Beauvallon was a host for a total of six times, with a final appearance in the 1964 Tour. [19] The village of Cysoing in the far north hosted on the 1956 Tour, marking 200,000 kilometres travelled in Tour de France history. [27] Only twice have non-summit marking points happened since 1964. [19] Stage 11 of the 1978 race saw the award given to Christian Seznec at the legendary village of Sainte-Marie de Campan in the valley between the Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aspin in the Pyrenees, [28] made famous when in the 1913 Tour, per the rules, Eugène Christophe was forced walk 14 km (9 mi) down the Tourmalet carrying his bicycle broken before repairing it at a forge in Campan. [29] The last time a non-summit point took place during the Grand Départ (opening stages) of the 1981 Tour, hosted by Nice, with the award at first planned to take place in the final kilometres of stage 1a beside the Carrefour supermarket on the Promenade des Anglais. This break from tradition was seen by the media as disrespectful to the race and the legacy of Desgrange. [30] [31] For unknown reasons the marking point banner was stolen the night before. [31] The replacement banner was strung up in the Landes forest 42 km (26 mi) before the end of stage 7 in Bordeaux, [32] [33] which was won unexpectedly by Theo de Rooij as a result of him being at the front of the leading breakaway group. [34]
From the 1965 Tour onwards, if the Galibier was not passed then the award was instead given atop a climb of similarly equal height, most commonly the Tourmalet, and beginning with the 1997 Tour, the highest climb of a Tour was mostly used when the Galibier was not included. [19] [35] Between the 2013 Tour and the 2023 Tour, the highest climb was always used. The 2024 Tour saw the award return to the Galibier, despite a higher climb occurring on stage 19. On two occasions, the Galibier climb was cancelled due to bad weather and the award locations were moved; [36] snow in 1996 saw it replaced by the 1,709 m (5,607 ft)-high Pyreenan Col d'Aubisque, [37] [38] [39] and landslides in 2015 moved the award to 2,250 m (7,382 ft)-high Alpine Col d'Allos. [40]
The amount of cash given as a prize for the award was higher in the early Tours. [19] Cash prizes have also been given to the second and third placed riders. Since 2003, the winner has received a €5000 prize. [19] Only in the 1963 Tour has the award not been given, although at the conclusion of that race there was a special "Desgrange prize" given to the general classification winner Jacques Anquetil who was adjudged to have had the best "head and legs" throughout the Tour. [19] [41] The Souvenir Jacques Goddet, honouring the second Tour director Jacques Goddet, is a similar award in the race given since the 2001 Tour mostly atop the Tourmalet. [42] [43]
* | Col du Galibier was passed but not used for the award |
---|---|
^ | Highest point of elevation reached on that year's Tour |
‡ | Winner of the award also won the overall general classification |
† | Winner of the award also won the stage finish |
Winner(#) | Multiple award winner and number of times they had won the award at that point |
The following riders have won the Souvenir Henri Desgrange on 2 or more occasions.
Cyclist | Total | Years |
---|---|---|
Richard Virenque (FRA) | 3 | 1994, 1995, 1997 |
Nairo Quintana (COL) | 3 | 2013, 2018, 2021 |
André Darrigade (FRA) | 2 | 1955, 1964 |
Julio Jiménez (ESP) | 2 | 1966, 1967 |
Lucien Van Impe (BEL) | 2 | 1977, 1979 |
Andy Schleck (LUX) | 2 | 2010, 2011 |
Riders from seventeen different countries have won the Souvenir Henri Desgrange.
Country | No. of wins | No. of winning cyclists |
---|---|---|
France | 17 | 14 |
Spain | 14 | 13 |
Colombia | 10 | 8 |
Italy [lower-alpha 7] | 8 | 8 |
Belgium | 7 | 6 |
Netherlands | 4 | 4 |
Luxembourg | 3 | 2 |
Slovenia | 2 | 2 |
Australia | 1 | 1 |
Denmark | 1 | 1 |
Germany [lower-alpha 6] | 1 | 1 |
Great Britain | 1 | 1 |
Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 |
Portugal | 1 | 1 |
Sweden | 1 | 1 |
Switzerland | 1 | 1 |
Austria | 1 | 1 |
Col | Total | Last |
---|---|---|
Col du Galibier | 30 | Tadej Pogačar in 2024 |
Col du Tourmalet | 9 | Andy Schleck in 2010 |
Col du Lautaret | 7 | Luciano Conati in 1976 |
Beauvallon, Grimaud | 6 | André Darrigade in 1964 |
Port d'Envalira | 3 | Nairo Quintana in 2021 |
Col d'Aubisque | 2 | Neil Stephens in 1996 |
Col de la Madeleine | 2 | Gilberto Simoni in 2004 |
Col de la Loze | 2 | Felix Gall in 2023 |
16 locations | 1 | Iseran (Egan Bernal, 2019) |
The 1985 Tour de France was the 72nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 28 June and 21 July. The course ran over 4,109 km (2,553 mi) and consisted of a prologue and 22 stages. The race was won by Bernard Hinault, who equalled the record by Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx of five overall victories. Second was Hinault's teammate Greg LeMond, ahead of Stephen Roche.
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. Greg LeMond of La Vie Claire won the race, ahead of his teammate Bernard 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. 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.
The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 26 July. It consisted of 25 stages over 4,231 km (2,629 mi). It was the closest three-way finish in the Tour until the 2007 Tour de France, among the closest overall races in Tour history and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place riders each wore the Yellow jersey at some point during the race. It was won by Stephen Roche, the first and so far only Irishman to do so.
The 1988 Tour de France was the 75th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 4 to 24 July. It consisted of 22 stages over 3,286 km (2,042 mi). The race was won by Pedro Delgado with the top three positions at the end of the race being occupied by specialist climbers. This Tour was nearly 1,000 km shorter than the previous few editions, which were over 4,000 km, but by no means easier as it included five consecutive mountain stages including a mountain time trial.
The 1983 Tour de France was the 70th edition of the Tour de France, run from 1 to 24 July, with 22 stages and a prologue covering a total distance of 3,809 km (2,367 mi) The race was won by French rider Laurent Fignon. Sean Kelly of Ireland won the points classification, and Lucien Van Impe of Belgium won the mountains classification.
The 1966 Tour de France was the 53rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 21 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,329 km (2,690 mi).
The 1962 Tour de France was the 49th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 4,274-kilometre (2,656 mi) race consisted of 22 stages, including two split stages, starting in Nancy on 24 June and finishing at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 15 July. There were four time trial stages and no rest days. After more than 30 years, the Tour was again contested by trade teams instead of national teams. Jacques Anquetil of the Saint-Raphaël–Helyett–Hutchinson team won the overall general classification, defending his title to win his third Tour de France. Jef Planckaert (Flandria–Faema–Clément) placed second, 4 min 59 s in arrears, and Raymond Poulidor (Mercier–BP–Hutchinson) was third, over ten minutes behind Anquetil.
The 1971 Tour de France was the 58th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,608-kilometre (2,242 mi) race consisted of 22 stages, including three split stages, starting in Mulhouse on 26 June and finishing at the Vélodrome de Vincennes in Paris on 18 July. There were three time trial stages and two rest days. Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team won the overall general classification, defending his title to win his third Tour de France in a row. Joop Zoetemelk (Flandria–Mars) finished second, 9:51 minutes behind, and Lucien Van Impe was third (Sonolor–Lejeune), just over 11 minutes in arrears.
The 1981 Tour de France was the 68th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 19 July. The total race distance was 24 stages over 3,753 km (2,332 mi). It was dominated by Bernard Hinault, who led the race from the sixth stage on, increasing his lead almost every stage. Only Phil Anderson was able to stay close to him, until the 16th stage when he fell behind by about 7:00, and then on the 17th stage he would lose another 17 minutes. In the end only Lucien Van Impe, Robert Alban and Joop Zoetemelk were able to finish inside 20:00 of the now three time champ.
The 1978 Tour de France was the 65th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 29 June and 23 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 3,908 km (2,428 mi).
The 1973 Tour de France was the 60th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 30 June and 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 4,090 km (2,541 mi). Eddy Merckx, winner of the previous four editions, did not start the 1973 Tour, partly to avoid angry French fans and partly to please his sponsor; instead he rode and won the 1973 Vuelta a España and the 1973 Giro d'Italia. In his absence, Luis Ocaña dominated the race by winning four mountain stages and two time trials. The result being a margin of victory exceeding 15 minutes.
The 1972 Tour de France was the 59th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place from 1 to 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 3,846 km (2,390 mi). After riding strongly in the first two weeks of the race and being the closest GC contender to Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña crashed, in the Pyrenees, leaving Merckx to battle Cyrille Guimard for the win. Guimard, having won four stages, had to leave the race after stage 17 in second place, but was given the combativity award after the race.
The 1969 Tour de France was the 56th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 28 June and 20 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,117 km (2,558 mi). The participant teams were no longer national teams, but were once more commercially sponsored. The race was won by Eddy Merckx who absolutely dominated the rest of the field. As an example in 1967 nine riders finished within 20:00 of the winner, in 1968 nineteen riders were within 20:00 but in 1969 the 10th place rider was +52:56, the 20th place rider was +1:17:36 and only Roger Pingeon finished inside 20:00 of Merckx.
The 1967 Tour de France was the 54th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 29 June and 23 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,779 km (2,970 mi). Thirteen national teams of ten riders competed, with three French teams, two Belgian, two Italian, two Spanish, one each from Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and a Swiss/Luxembourgian team.
The 1965 Tour de France was the 52nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 22 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,188 km (2,602 mi). In his first year as a professional, Felice Gimondi, a substitute replacement on the Salvarani team, captured the overall title ahead of Raymond Poulidor, the previous year's second-place finisher.
The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over 4,358 km (2,708 mi).
The 1964 Tour de France was the 51st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 22 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,504 km (2,799 mi). Stages 3, 10 and 22 were all two-part stages with the first half being a regular stage and the second half being a team or individual time trial. It was the only Tour de France to include a mid-stage climb to the Alpe d'Huez ski resort. The race was eventually won by Jacques Anquetil following an epic shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Raymond Poulidor during stage 20.
The 1960 Tour de France was the 47th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 26 June and 17 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of 4,173 km (2,593 mi). The race featured 128 riders, of which 81 finished, and was won by the Italian Gastone Nencini.
The 1954 Tour de France was the 41st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 8 July to 1 August 1954. It consisted of 23 stages over 4,656 km (2,893 mi). The race was won by Louison Bobet, the second of his three consecutive wins.
Media related to Monument Henri Desgrange at Wikimedia Commons