 Route of the 1963 Tour de France | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 23 June – 14 July 1963 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21, including two split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,138 km (2,571 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 113h 30' 05" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1963 Tour de France was the 50th edition of theTour de France, one of cycling'sGrand Tours. It took place between 23 June and 14 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of 4,138 km (2,571 mi). Stages 2 and 6 were both two part stages, the first half being a regular stage and the second half being ateam orindividual time trial.
The Tour organisers were trying to break the dominance of Anquetil, who had won already three Tours, by reducing the time trials length to only 79 km (49 mi), so that the climbing capabilities would be more important.[1]
Nonetheless, the race was won by Anquetil, who was able to stay close to his main rivalFederico Bahamontes in the mountains, one time even by faking a mechanical problem in order to get a bicycle that was more suited for the terrain. Bahamontes finished as the second-placed cyclist, but won themountains classification. Thepoints classification was won byRik Van Looy.
The 1963 Tour started with 130 cyclists, divided into 13 teams.[2] The IBAC–Molteni team was a combination of five cyclists fromIBAC and five fromMolteni, each wearing their own sponsor's jerseys.[1]
The teams entering the race were:[2]
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The main favourite before the race wasJacques Anquetil, at that moment already a three-time winner of the Tour, including the previous two editions. Anquetil had shown good form before the Tour, as he wonParis–Nice, theDauphiné Libéré, theCritérium National and the1963 Vuelta a España. Anquetil was not sure if he would ride the Tour until a few days before the start; he had been infected by a tapeworm, and was advised not to start.[3] Anquetil had chosen to ride races with tough climbs, to prepare for the 1963 Tour de France.[4]
The major competitor was thought to beRaymond Poulidor, who had shown his capabilities in the1962 Tour de France.[3]
The 1963 Tour de France started on 23 June in Paris, and had one rest day, inAurillac.[5] Thehighest point of elevation in the race was 2,770 m (9,090 ft) at the summit of theCol de l'Iseran mountain pass on stage 16.[6][7]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 June | Paris toÉpernay | 152 km (94 mi) |  | Plain stage |  Eddy Pauwels (BEL) |
| 2a | 24 June | Reims toJambes (Belgium) | 186 km (116 mi) | | Plain stage | Rik Van Looy (BEL) |
| 2b | Jambes (Belgium) | 22 km (14 mi) |  | Team time trial | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | |
| 3 | 25 June | Jambes (Belgium) toRoubaix | 223 km (139 mi) | | Plain stage |  Seamus Elliott (IRL) |
| 4 | 26 June | Roubaix toRouen | 236 km (147 mi) | | Plain stage | Frans Melckenbeeck (BEL) |
| 5 | 27 June | Rouen toRennes | 285 km (177 mi) | | Plain stage |  Antonio Bailetti (ITA) |
| 6a | 28 June | Rennes toAngers | 118 km (73 mi) | | Plain stage | Roger de Breuker (BEL) |
| 6b | Angers | 25 km (16 mi) | | Individual time trial |  Jacques Anquetil (FRA) | |
| 7 | 29 June | Angers toLimoges | 236 km (147 mi) | | Plain stage |  Jan Janssen (NED) |
| 8 | 30 June | Limoges toBordeaux | 232 km (144 mi) | | Plain stage | Rik Van Looy (BEL) |
| 9 | 1 July | Bordeaux toPau | 202 km (126 mi) | | Plain stage | Pino Cerami (BEL) |
| 10 | 2 July | Pau toBagnères-de-Bigorre | 148 km (92 mi) |  | Stage with mountain(s) | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) |
| 11 | 3 July | Bagnères-de-Bigorre toLuchon | 131 km (81 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Guy Ignolin (FRA) |
| 12 | 4 July | Luchon toToulouse | 173 km (107 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | André Darrigade (FRA) |
| 13 | 5 July | Toulouse toAurillac | 234 km (145 mi) | | Plain stage | Rik Van Looy (BEL) |
| 6 July | Aurillac | Rest day | ||||
| 14 | 7 July | Aurillac toSaint-Étienne | 237 km (147 mi) | | Plain stage | Guy Ignolin (FRA) |
| 15 | 8 July | Saint-Étienne toGrenoble | 174 km (108 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) |  Federico Bahamontes (ESP) |
| 16 | 9 July | Grenoble toVal d'Isère | 202 km (126 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Fernando Manzaneque (ESP) |
| 17 | 10 July | Val d'Isère toChamonix | 228 km (142 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) |
| 18 | 11 July | Chamonix toLons-le-Saunier | 225 km (140 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Frans Brands (BEL) |
| 19 | 12 July | Arbois toBesançon | 54 km (34 mi) | | Individual time trial | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) |
| 20 | 13 July | Besançon toTroyes | 234 km (145 mi) | | Plain stage | Roger de Breuker (BEL) |
| 21 | 14 July | Troyes to Paris | 185 km (115 mi) | | Plain stage | Rik Van Looy (BEL) |
| Total | 4,138 km (2,571 mi)[10] | |||||
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In the first stage, four men escaped. One of them wasFederico Bahamontes, the winner of the1959 Tour de France. Bahamontes was known as a climber, so it was unexpected that he gained time on a flat stage.[3] The third stage saw another successful breakaway.Seamus Elliott won the stage, and became the new leader in the race; it was the first time that an Irish cyclist led the Tour de France.
The time trial in stage 6b was won by Anquetil, with Poulidor in second place.Gilbert Desmet became the new leader. The situation did not change much in the next stages until the stages in the Pyrenees, starting with the tenth stage. Bahamontes lead the first group, but Anquetil was able to stay in that first group, which was a surprise. Anquetil stayed in that first group until the finish, where he outsprinted the rest to win his first mountain stage.[3]In the other two stages in the Pyrenees, Anquetil was able to stay in the first group, lost little time on his competitors, and kept getting closer to Desmet, who was still leading the general classification.
The fifteenth stage was the first in the Alps. Bahamontes won this stage, and in the general classification jumped to second place, three seconds ahead of Anquetil. In the sixteenth stage,Fernando Manzaneque won, eight minutes ahead of Bahamontes and Anquetil who stayed together. Because Desmet was further behind, Bahamontes became the new leader of the race, with a margin of three seconds on Anquetil.
The race was decided in the seventeenth stage. The rules in 1963 did not allow cyclists to change bicycles, unless there was a mechanical problem. Anquetil's team director,Raphaël Géminiani, thought that Anquetil could use a different bicycle on the ascent of theCol de la Forclaz, so he advised Anquetil to fake a mechanical problem on the start of that climb; Géminiani cut through a gear cable, and claimed that it snapped.[11] Anquetil could thus use a light bicycle with lower gears, especially suited for a climb, which gave him an advantage on his competitors. Bahamontes reached the top of the Forclaz first, and only Anquetil had been able to follow him.[12] After the top, Anquetil got his regular bicycle back, and rode to the finish together with Bahamontes. Anquetil won the sprint, and the bonus time made him the new leader.[3][13] As expected, Anquetil won some more time in the time trial in stage 19, and became the winner of the 1963 Tour.
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There were several classifications in the 1963 Tour de France, two of them awardingjerseys to their leaders.[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. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish. 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 either 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, but was not identified with a jersey.[17]
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. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellowcaps.[18]Carpano and the combined team IBAC-Molteni did not finish with three or more cyclists, so they were not included in the team classification.
In addition, there was acombativity award, in which a jury composed of journalists gave points after each stage to the cyclist they considered most combative. The split stages each had a combined winner.[19] At the conclusion of the Tour, Rik Van Looy won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists.[5]
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 113h 30' 05" |
| 2 | Federico Bahamontes (ESP) | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | + 3' 35" |
| 3 | José Pérez Francés (ESP) | Ferrys | + 10' 14" |
| 4 | Jean-Claude Lebaube (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | + 11' 55" |
| 5 | Armand Desmet (BEL) | Flandria–Faema | + 15' 00" |
| 6 | Angelino Soler (ESP) | Flandria–Faema | + 15' 04" |
| 7 | Renzo Fontona (ITA) | IBAC–Molteni | + 15' 27" |
| 8 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | + 16' 46" |
| 9 |  Hans Junkermann (FRG) | Wiel's–Groene Leeuw | + 18' 53" |
| 10 | Rik Van Looy (BEL) | G.B.C.–Libertas | + 19' 24" |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rik Van Looy (BEL) | G.B.C.–Libertas | 275 |
| 2 | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 138 |
| 3 | Federico Bahamontes (ESP) | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | 112 |
| 4 | Benoni Beheyt (BEL) | Wiel's–Groene Leeuw | 111 |
| 5 | José Pérez Francés (ESP) | Ferrys | 81 |
| 6 | Jean Gainche (FRA) | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | 78 |
| 7 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | 77 |
| 8 | Guy Ignolin (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 65 |
| 9 | Jean Graczyk (FRA) | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | 64 |
| 10 | Willy Derboven (BEL) | G.B.C.–Libertas | 54 |
| Frans Brands (BEL) | Flandria–Faema |
| Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Federico Bahamontes (ESP) | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | 147 |
| 2 | Raymond Poulidor (FRA) | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | 70 |
| 3 | Guy Ignolin (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 68 |
| 4 | Claude Mattio (FRA) | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | 51 |
| 5 | Jacques Anquetil (FRA) | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 47 |
| 6 | Eddy Pauwels (BEL) | Wiel's–Groene Leeuw | 46 |
| 7 | Guy Epaud (FRA) | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | 38 |
| 8 | Renzo Fontona (ITA) | IBAC–Molteni | 33 |
| 9 | Armand Desmet (BEL) | Flandria–Faema | 29 |
| 10 | Angelino Soler (ESP) | Flandria–Faema | 27 |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani | 340h 35' 25" |
| 2 | Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune | + 36' 49" |
| 3 | Flandria–Faema | + 43' 13" |
| 4 | Wiel's–Groene Leeuw | + 59' 03" |
| 4 | Ferrys | + 59' 03" |
| 6 | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | + 1h 04' 21" |
| 7 | Mercier–BP–Hutchinson | + 1h 24' 34" |
| 8 | Peugeot–BP–Englebert | + 1h 42' 13" |
| 9 | Kas–Kaskol | + 1h 56' 08" |
| 10 | G.B.C.–Libertas | + 2h 05' 26" |
| 11 | Solo–Terrot | + 4h 18' 36" |
Anquetil, who had been criticized that he just a time trial specialist, showed that he was also capable of mountain stages, and everybody agreed that Anquetil was the best cyclist overall.[13]Anquetil was the first cyclist to win a fourth Tour de France. In the next year, he set the record sharper by winning his fifth Tour.The French public had expected much fromRaymond Poulidor, but Poulidor only made the eighth place. Normally, Poulidor was more popular than Anquetil even when Anquetil won, but this time Poulidor received "contemptuous whistles" at the finish in theParc des Princes,[3] while Anquetil received a standing ovation.[4]
After Anquetil and Géminiani had shown that the rule that bicycle changes were not allowed was easily circumvented by faking a mechanical problem, this rule was removed for the next year.[4]
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Media related toTour de France 1963 at Wikimedia Commons
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