 Route of the 1994 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 2–24 July 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 + Prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,978 km (2,472 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 103h 38' 38" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1994 Tour de France was the 81st edition of theTour de France, one of cycling'sGrand Tours. The Tour began on 2 July with a 7.2 km (4.5 mi) prologue around the French cityLille. After 21 more days of racing, the Tour came to a close on the street of theChamps-Élysées. Twenty-one teams entered the race that was won byMiguel Induráin of theBanesto team.[1] Second and third respectively were the LatvianPiotr Ugrumov and the Italian rider,Marco Pantani.
Miguel Induráin first captured the lead after the stage 9 individual time trial.Chris Boardman was the first rider to wear the yellow jersey as leader of thegeneral classification after winning the opening prologue. Boardman lost the lead toJohan Museeuw after Museeuw'sGB–MG Maglificio team won the stage threeteam time trial.Flavio Vanzella took the lead away from Museeuw the next day as the Tour made its way into Great Britain. Vanzella lost the lead toSean Yates after the race's sixth stage. Yates led the race for a single day before losing it to Museeuw after the conclusion of stage 7. Museeuw lost the lead to Indurain after the stage 9 individual time trial, who then successfully defended the lead through theAlps andPyrenees and to the Tour's finish in Paris.
Indurain became the third rider to win four consecutive Tours de France. In the race's other classifications,Team Polti–Vaporetto riderDjamolidine Abdoujaparov won the points classification,Richard Virenque of theFestina–Lotus team won the mountains classification,Carrera Jeans–Tassoni riderMarco Pantani won the youth classification for the best rider aged 26 or under in the general classification after having finished third overall, and Eros Poli of theMercatone Uno–Medeghini team won the combativity classification. Festina–Lotus won the team classification, which ranked each of the twenty teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.
A total of 21 teams were invited to participate in the 1994 Tour de France. Fifteen teams were announced in May, based on theirUCI ranking:[2] Although the organisation had planned to give five additional wildcards in June, after the1994 Giro d'Italia, it was decided to invite one extra team, and sixwildcards were given.[3] TheJolly Componibili–Cage team ofZenon Jaskuła, who had finished in third place in the1993 Tour de France, was not selected.[3] Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Tour began with a peloton of 189 cyclists;[4] of these, a total of 117 riders made it to the finish in Paris.[5]
The teams entering the race were:[4]
Qualified teams
Invited teams
The 1994 edition of the Tour de France began with a short 7.2 km (4.5 mi) prologue that navigated around the French city ofLille. There were a total of six stages that held many high mountains, while there was only one hilly stage that contained climbs of lesser degree. Eleven of the stages were primarily flat stages. The official route contained four time trials, three of which wereindividual and one of which was ateam event.[6]
The tour visited England for the second time to mark the opening of theChannel Tunnel.[7] Stage 4 began in the Channel port ofDover, running through the Kent and Sussex countryside toBrighton, and Stage 5 was a loop around the naval city ofPortsmouth.
Of the stages that contained mountains, four contained summit finishes: stage 11 toHautacam, stage 12 toLuz Ardiden, stage 16 toAlpe d'Huez, and stage 17 toVal Thorens. The nineteenth stage, an individual time trial, had a summit finish toAvoriaz. Thehighest point of elevation in the race was 2,275 m (7,464 ft) at the summit of theVal Thorens climb on stage 17.[8][9]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2 July | Lille | 7.2 km (4.5 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Chris Boardman (GBR) |
| 1 | 3 July | Lille toArmentières | 234.0 km (145.4 mi) |  | Plain stage |  Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) |
| 2 | 4 July | Roubaix toBoulogne-sur-Mer | 203.5 km (126.4 mi) | | Plain stage |  Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED) |
| 3 | 5 July | Calais toEurotunnel | 66.5 km (41.3 mi) | | Team time trial | GB–MG Maglificio |
| 4 | 6 July | Dover (United Kingdom) toBrighton (United Kingdom) | 204.5 km (127.1 mi) | | Plain stage |  Francisco Cabello (ESP) |
| 5 | 7 July | Portsmouth (United Kingdom) | 187.0 km (116.2 mi) | | Plain stage |  Nicola Minali (ITA) |
| 6 | 8 July | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin toRennes | 270.5 km (168.1 mi) | | Plain stage | Gianluca Bortolami (ITA) |
| 7 | 9 July | Rennes toFuturoscope | 259.5 km (161.2 mi) | | Plain stage |  Ján Svorada (SVK) |
| 8 | 10 July | Poitiers toTrélissac | 218.5 km (135.8 mi) | | Plain stage |  Bo Hamburger (DEN) |
| 9 | 11 July | Périgueux toBergerac | 64.0 km (39.8 mi) | | Individual time trial | Miguel Induráin (ESP) |
| 10 | 12 July | Bergerac toCahors | 160.5 km (99.7 mi) | | Plain stage |  Jacky Durand (FRA) |
| 11 | 13 July | Cahors toHautacam | 263.5 km (163.7 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | Luc Leblanc (FRA) |
| 14 July | Lourdes | Rest day | ||||
| 12 | 15 July | Lourdes toLuz Ardiden | 204.5 km (127.1 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Richard Virenque (FRA) |
| 13 | 16 July | Bagnères-de-Bigorre toAlbi | 223.0 km (138.6 mi) | | Plain stage | Bjarne Riis (DEN) |
| 14 | 17 July | Castres toMontpellier | 202.0 km (125.5 mi) | | Plain stage | Rolf Sørensen (DEN) |
| 15 | 18 July | Montpellier toCarpentras | 231.0 km (143.5 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eros Poli (ITA) |
| 16 | 19 July | Valréas toAlpe d'Huez | 224.5 km (139.5 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Roberto Conti (ITA) |
| 17 | 20 July | Le Bourg-d'Oisans toVal Thorens | 149.0 km (92.6 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  Nelson Rodríguez (COL) |
| 18 | 21 July | Moutiers toCluses | 174.5 km (108.4 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  Piotr Ugrumov (LAT) |
| 19 | 22 July | Cluses toAvoriaz | 47.5 km (29.5 mi) |  | Mountain time trial | Piotr Ugrumov (LAT) |
| 20 | 23 July | Morzine toLac Saint-Point | 208.5 km (129.6 mi) |  | Hilly stage | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) |
| 21 | 24 July | Disneyland Paris to Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 175.0 km (108.7 mi) | | Plain stage | Eddy Seigneur (FRA) |
| Total | 3,978 km (2,472 mi)[12] | |||||
The 1994 edition of the Tour de France began with a brief 7.2 km (4.5 mi) prologue around the city ofLille.[13] EnglishmanChris Boardman set a blistering pace on the course en route to winning the stage by fifteen seconds over the second-place finisherMiguel Induráin.[13] Stage 1 was a relatively flat stage that came down to a bunch sprint that was marred by a large crash.[13] As the riders were sprinting to the finish line, a policeman leaned out to take a photograph causingWilfried Nelissen to slam on his brakes and crash into the policeman while also taking outLaurent Jalabert in the process.[13]Djamolidine Abdoujaparov ultimately won the stage while Jalabert and Nelissen were forced to drop out of the race due to the injuries they had sustained.[13]
The Yellow Jersey switched riders multiple times through the first eight stages but in the Stage 9 individual time trial Indurain absolutely obliterated the entire field with only eight riders able to keep him within 6:00, and of those riders onlyTony Rominger was able to keep Indurain within four minutes. Amazingly a youngLance Armstrong was able to hold onto a top 10 placing through Stage 10, but other than Rominger no one was in a position to threaten Indurain's lead.
As the race entered thePyrenees in stages 11 and 12 Indurain built on his lead over Rominger who abandoned the Tour in Stage 13. As the race climbedMont Ventoux and crossed the AlpsMarco Pantani andPiotr Ugrumov began to climb through the top 10 asRichard Virenque held onto 2nd place, but Indurain's lead was secure with Virenque more than 7:00 behind.
In the final time trial in Stage 19 Ugrumov won the stage with Pantani coming in second both riders gaining considerable time on Indurain, but by the end of the day it was too little too late for both riders as Indurain's 4th consecutive Tour de France victory was all but secure as he held a commanding lead of 5:39 over the now 2nd place Ugrumov.[13]
There were several classifications in the 1994 Tour de France.[14] The most important was thegeneral classification, 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.[15]
Additionally, there was apoints classification, 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 lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[16]
There was also amountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as eitherhors catégorie, 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 redpolka dots.[17]
The fourth individual classification was theyoung rider classification, 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.[18]
For theteam classification, 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.[19]
In addition, there was acombativity award given after eachmass-start stage to the cyclist considered most combative. 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.[20]Eros Poli won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award.[6] TheSouvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founderHenri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of theCol du Tourmalet on stage 12. This prize was won by Richard Virenque.[21][22]
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the winner of thegeneral classification[1] |  | Denotes the winner of themountains classification[1] |
 | Denotes the winner of thepoints classification[1] | ||
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miguel Induráin (ESP) | Banesto | 103h 38' 38" |
| 2 | Piotr Ugrumov (LAT) | Gewiss–Ballan | + 5' 39" |
| 3 | Marco Pantani (ITA) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | + 7' 19" |
| 4 | Luc Leblanc (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | + 10' 03" |
| 5 | Richard Virenque (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | + 10' 10" |
| 6 | Roberto Conti (ITA) | Lampre–Panaria | + 12' 29" |
| 7 | Alberto Elli (ITA) | GB–MG Maglificio | + 20' 17" |
| 8 |  Alex Zülle (SUI) | ONCE | + 20' 35" |
| 9 |  Udo Bölts (GER) | Team Telekom | + 25' 19" |
| 10 |  Vladimir Poulnikov (UKR) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | + 25' 28" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (UZB) | Team Polti–Vaporetto | 322 |
| 2 | Silvio Martinello (ITA) | Mercatone Uno–Medeghini | 273 |
| 3 | Ján Svorada (SVK) | Lampre–Panaria | 230 |
| 4 | Gianluca Bortolami (ITA) | Mapei–CLAS | 188 |
| 5 | Miguel Induráin (ESP) | Banesto | 132 |
| 6 | Olaf Ludwig (GER) | Team Telekom | 122 |
| 7 |  Johan Museeuw (BEL) | GB–MG Maglificio | 118 |
| 8 | François Simon (FRA) | Castorama | 105 |
| 9 | Luc Leblanc (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | 103 |
| 10 | Ángel Edo (ESP) | Kelme–Avianca–Gios | 102 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Virenque (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | 392 |
| 2 | Marco Pantani (ITA) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | 243 |
| 3 | Piotr Ugrumov (LAT) | Gewiss–Ballan | 219 |
| 4 | Miguel Induráin (ESP) | Banesto | 215 |
| 5 | Peter De Clercq (BEL) | Lotto | 192 |
| 6 | Luc Leblanc (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | 176 |
| 7 | Oscar Pelliccioli (ITA) | Team Polti–Vaporetto | 151 |
| 8 | Roberto Conti (ITA) | Lampre–Panaria | 147 |
| 9 | Nelson Rodríguez (COL) | ZG Mobili | 142 |
| 10 | Udo Bölts (GER) | Team Telekom | 119 |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Pantani (ITA) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | 103h 45' 57" |
| 2 | Richard Virenque (FRA) | Festina–Lotus | + 2' 51" |
| 3 | Bo Hamburger (DEN) | TVM–Bison Kit | + 36' 25" |
| 4 | Beat Zberg (SUI) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | + 49' 17" |
| 5 | Abraham Olano (ESP) | Mapei–CLAS | + 54' 10" |
| 6 | Laurent Dufaux (SUI) | ONCE | + 1h 02' 11" |
| 7 | Eddy Seigneur (FRA) | GAN | + 1h 39' 56" |
| 8 | Andrea Peron (ITA) | Team Polti–Vaporetto | + 1h 46' 28" |
| 9 |  Vladislav Bobrik (RUS) | Gewiss–Ballan | + 1h 47' 53" |
| 10 | Vicente Aparicio (ESP) | Banesto | + 1h 52' 15" |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Festina–Lotus | 311h 28' 53" |
| 2 | Gewiss–Ballan | + 42' 57" |
| 3 | Mapei–CLAS | + 44' 38" |
| 4 | Banesto | + 48' 25" |
| 5 | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | + 50' 55" |
| 6 | GB–MG Maglificio | + 1h 06' 06" |
| 7 | ONCE | + 1h 20' 47" |
| 8 | Team Telekom | + 1h 51' 04" |
| 9 | Kelme–Avianca–Gios | + 1h 55' 47" |
| 10 | Castorama | + 2h 14' 58" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eros Poli (ITA) | Mercatone Uno–Medeghini | 34 |
| 2 | Marco Pantani (ITA) | Carrera Jeans–Tassoni | 32 |
| 3 | Piotr Ugrumov (LAT) | Gewiss–Ballan | 21 |
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Media related toTour de France 1994 at Wikimedia Commons
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