1960 Tour de France
Route of the 1960 Tour de France followed counterlockwise, starting in Lille and finishing in Paris
Route of the 1960 Tour de France followed counterlockwise, starting in Lille and finishing in Paris
Race details
Dates26 June – 17 July 1960
Stages21, including one split stages
Distance4,173 km (2,593 mi)
Winning time112h 08' 42"
Results
Winner  Gastone Nencini (ITA) (Italy)
  Second  Graziano Battistini (ITA) (Italy)
  Third  Jan Adriaensens (BEL) (Belgium)
Points  Jean Graczyk (FRA) (France)
  Mountains  Imerio Massignan (ITA) (Italy)
  Combativity  Jean Graczyk (FRA) (France)
  Team France
← 1959
1961 →

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.

Because Jacques Anquetil was absent after winning the 1960 Giro d'Italia, Roger Rivière became the main favourite. Halfway the race, Rivière was in second place behind Nencini, and with his specialty the time trial remaining, he was still favourite for the victory. When Rivière had a career-ending crash in the fourteenth stage, this changed, and Nencini won the Tour easily.

Teams

For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 1960 Tour de France.
The Dutch team of 1960 Tour

The 1960 Tour de France was run in the national team format. The four most important cycling nations of the time, Spain, Belgium, France and Italy, each sent a national team with fourteen cyclists. There were also five smaller national teams: a combined Luxembourg/Swiss team, a Dutch team, a West German team, a British team, and a team of Internationals cyclists, all with eight cyclists. Finally, there were five regional teams, also of eight cyclists each. Altogether, 128 cyclists started the race.[1] The West German team, that had been away from the Tour since 1938, was allowed to join again.[2]

The teams entering the race were:[1]

Pre-race favourites

Jacques Anquetil, the winner of the 1957 Tour de France, had won the 1960 Giro d'Italia earlier that year. Anquetil was tired, and skipped the Tour. This made Roger Rivière the French team leader, and the big favourite for the Tour victory.[3]

Route and stages

The 1960 Tour de France started on 26 June in Mulhouse, and had one rest day, in Millau.[4] In previous years, the location of the stage finish and the next stage start had always been close together. In 1960, this changed, when cyclists had to take the train to get from Bordeaux to Mont de Marsan after the ninth stage.[5] The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,360 m (7,740 ft) at the summit of the Col d'Izoard mountain pass on stage 16.[6][7]

Stage characteristics and winners[5][4][8][9]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1a 26 June Lille to Brussels (Belgium) 108 km (67 mi) Plain stage  Julien Schepens (BEL)
1b Brussels (Belgium) 27.8 km (17.3 mi) Individual time trial  Roger Rivière (FRA)
2 27 June Brussels (Belgium) to Dunkirk 206 km (128 mi) Plain stage  René Privat (FRA)
3 28 June Dunkirk to Dieppe 209 km (130 mi) Plain stage  Nino Defilippis (ITA)
4 29 June Dieppe to Caen 211 km (131 mi) Plain stage  Jean Graczyk (FRA)
5 30 June Caen to Saint-Malo 189 km (117 mi) Plain stage  André Darrigade (FRA)
6 1 July Saint-Malo to Lorient 191 km (119 mi) Plain stage  Roger Rivière (FRA)
7 2 July Lorient to Angers 244 km (152 mi) Plain stage  Graziano Battistini (ITA)
8 3 July Angers to Limoges 240 km (150 mi) Plain stage  Nino Defilippis (ITA)
9 4 July Limoges to Bordeaux 225 km (140 mi) Plain stage  Martin van Geneugden (BEL)
10 5 July Mont-de-Marsan to Pau 228 km (142 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Roger Rivière (FRA)
11 6 July Pau to Luchon 161 km (100 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Kurt Gimmi (SUI)
12 7 July Luchon to Toulouse 176 km (109 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Jean Graczyk (FRA)
13 8 July Toulouse to Millau 224 km (139 mi) Plain stage  Louis Proost (BEL)
9 July Millau Rest day
14 10 July Millau to Avignon 217 km (135 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Martin van Geneugden (BEL)
15 11 July Avignon to Gap 187 km (116 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Michel Van Aerde (BEL)
16 12 July Gap to Briançon 172 km (107 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Graziano Battistini (ITA)
17 13 July Briançon to Aix-les-Bains 229 km (142 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Jean Graczyk (FRA)
18 14 July Aix-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains 215 km (134 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Fernando Manzaneque (ESP)
19 15 July Pontarlier to Besançon 83 km (52 mi) Individual time trial  Rolf Graf (SUI)
20 16 July Besançon to Troyes 229 km (142 mi) Plain stage  Pierre Beuffeuil (FRA)
21 17 July Troyes to Paris 200 km (120 mi) Plain stage  Jean Graczyk (FRA)
Total 4,173 km (2,593 mi)[10]

Race overview

Julien Schepens crossing the finish line ahead of Jacques Marinelli to win stage two at Heysel Stadium in Brussels

The first stage was split in two parts. In the first part, a group of fourteen cyclists cleared from the rest, and won with a margin of over two minutes. In the second part, an individual time trial, Roger Rivière won. The lead in the general classification transferred to Nencini, who had been part of the group of fourteen cyclists.[3] Federico Bahamontes, winner of the 1959 Tour, became ill and left the race in the second stage.[11]

Nencini lost the lead in the third stage to Joseph Groussard. In the fourth stage, a group including Henri Anglade escaped, and Anglade became the new leader. Anglade had already finished in second placed in 1959, and expected to be the team leader now.[11]

In the sixth stage, Rivière attacked. Only Nencini, Hans Junkermann and Jan Adriaensens could follow. Anglade asked his team manager Marcel Bidot to instruct Rivière to stop his attack, because Nencini and Adriaensens were dangerous opponents. Rivière ignored this, and continued.[11] They beat the rest by almost fifteen minutes, and Adriaensens took over the lead in the general classification.[3] After the stage, Anglade said that the French team lost the Tour in that stage. Anglade knew that Rivière would try to stay close to Nencini in the mountains, and warned that Rivière would regret staying close to Nencini downhill.[11]

The first mountains were climbed in the tenth stage. Nencini won time in the descent from the Col d'Aubisque, where Adriaensens could not follow.[3] After the Aubisque, Adriaensens worked together with his teammate Jef Planckaert to win back time, but Nencini was able to stay away from them, and became the new leader, with Rivière in second place, only 32 seconds behind.[3] Nencini gained one minute on Rivière in the eleventh stage, but Rivière knew he had the stronger team. Moreover, Rivière was at that moment the holder of the hour record, and knew he would win back enough time in the time trial in stage 19.[12]

A rock, encarved with an image of a man on a bicycle
The monument for Roger Rivière, at the location where he fell descending the Col de Perjuret

In the fourteenth stage, descending the Col de Perjuret, Rivière followed Nencini, considered one of the best descenders in the peloton [5][3] but misjudged a turn and went off a cliff. Rivière broke his back in the fall, and never raced again.[13]

Because of this, Jan Adriaensens climbed to the second place in the general classification, and he now was the main competitor for Nencini. Adriaensens lost time in the Pyrenees, and the Italians were able to put Graziano Battistini in second place.[11] In the last stages, there was no competition for the overall victory, because it was clear that Nencini's advantage was too large. Therefore, all cyclists put their energy to win the remaining stages.[3] For the points classification, Jean Graczyk had built a large lead, but the mountains classification was only clinched by Imerio Massignan in the final mountain stage.

In the twentieth stage, news came that Charles de Gaulle, the president, would be by the route at Colombey-les-deux-Églises, where he lived. The organisers, Jacques Goddet and Félix Lévitan asked the French national champion, Henry Anglade, if the riders would be willing to stop. Anglade agreed and the news was spread through the race. One rider, Pierre Beuffeuil had stopped to repair a tyre and knew nothing of the plan, being three minutes behind the race. When he reached Colombey, he found the race halted in front of him. He decided to pass all the waiting cyclists and continued alone, and won the stage alone on the boulevard Jules-Guesde by 49 seconds.[14] "I voted for de Gaulle", he said.[15]

Classification leadership and minor prizes

There were several classifications in the 1960 Tour de France, two of them awarding jerseys to their leaders.[16] The most important was the general classification; it was calculated by adding for each cyclist he times that he required to finish each stage. If a cyclist had received a time bonus, it was subtracted from this total; all time penalties were added to this total. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey.[17]

Points given in each stage
Position 1 2 3 4 5 6
Points 10 6 4 3 2 1

The points classification was calculated differently than in the years before. The top six cyclists of each stage received points; the winner 10 points, down to 1 point for the 6th cyclist. Because only a few cyclists received points, in the first stages of the Tour the lead was shared by up to 5 cyclists. In stage 4, when Jean Graczyk won the stage, he took the leading, having finished second in the stage 2. Graczyk remained leader for the rest of the race. The leader of the points classification was identified by the green jersey.

The mountains classification was calculated by adding the points given to cyclists for reaching the highest point in a climb first. There was no jersey associated to this classification in 1960.[18]

Finally, the team classification was calculated as the sum of the daily team classifications, and the daily team classification was calculated by adding the times in the stage result of the best three cyclists per team.[19] It was won by the French team. For the smaller teams (made of 8 cyclists), a separate classification was made, here the Dutch team won. The Great Britain team and the Internationals did not finish with three cyclists, so were not included in the team classification.

In addition, there was a combativity 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.[20] At the conclusion of the Tour, Jean Graczyk won the overall super-combativity award, also decided by journalists.[4] The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Lautaret on stage 17. This prize was won by Graczyk.[21][22]

Classification leadership by stage[23][24]
Stage Winner General classification
 Points classification
 Mountains classification[a] Team classification Combativity award Bad luck award
1a Julien Schepens Julien Schepens Julien Schepens no award Belgium Joseph Groussard Luis Otaño
1b Roger Rivière Gastone Nencini 3 cyclists[Pn 1]
2 René Privat 4 cyclists[Pn 2] France Tom Simpson Spain
3 Nino Defilippis Joseph Groussard 5 cyclists[Pn 3] Joseph Groussard Jos Hoevenaers
4 Jean Graczyk Henry Anglade Jean Graczyk Henry Anglade Göran Karlsson
5 André Darrigade Camille Le Menn Rudi Altig
6 Roger Rivière Jan Adriaensens Gastone Nencini no award
7 Graziano Battistini Pierre Beuffeuil Pierino Baffi
8 Nino Defilippis Jean Milesi Stéphane Lach
9 Martin van Geneugden Jean Graczyk André Foucher
10 Roger Rivière Gastone Nencini Graziano Battistini Graziano Battistini Tom Simpson
11 Kurt Gimmi Gastone Nencini Kurt Gimmi Imerio Massignan
12 Jean Graczyk Jef Planckaert Harry Reynolds
13 Louis Proost Louis Proost Manuel Busto
14 Martin van Geneugden Jean Graczyk Roger Rivière
15 Michel Van Aerde Tom Simpson Louis Proost
16 Graziano Battistini Marcel Rohrbach Imerio Massignan Brian Robinson
17 Jean Graczyk René Marigil René Marigil
18 Fernando Manzaneque Imerio Massignan Fernando Manzaneque Martin Van Geneugden
19 Rolf Graf Camille Le Menn Victor Sutton
20 Pierre Beuffeuil Pierre Beuffeuil Jan Adriaensens
21 Jean Graczyk Jean Graczyk André Darrigade
Final Gastone Nencini Jean Graczyk Imerio Massignan France Jean Graczyk Roger Rivière
  1. ^ Gastone Nencini, Roger Rivière and Julien Schepens had equal points.
  2. ^ René Privat, Gastone Nencini, Roger Rivière and Julien Schepens had equal points.
  3. ^ Nino Defilippis, René Privat, Gastone Nencini, Roger Rivière and Julien Schepens had equal points.

Final standings

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)[25]
Rank Rider Team Time
1  Gastone Nencini (ITA) Italy 112h 08' 42"
2  Graziano Battistini (ITA) Italy + 5' 02"
3  Jan Adriaensens (BEL) Belgium + 10' 24"
4  Hans Junkermann (FRG) Germany + 11' 21"
5  Jozef Planckaert (BEL) Belgium + 13' 02"
6  Raymond Mastrotto (FRA) France + 16' 12"
7  Arnaldo Pambianco (ITA) Italy + 17' 58"
8  Henry Anglade (FRA) France + 19' 17"
9  Marcel Rohrbach (FRA) Centre-Midi + 20' 02"
10  Imerio Massignan (ITA) Italy + 23' 28"

Points classification[edit]

Final points classification (1–10)[26][27]
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Jean Graczyk (FRA) France 74
2  Graziano Battistini (ITA) Italy 40
3  Gastone Nencini (ITA) Italy 35
4  Nino Defilippis (ITA) Italy 25
5  André Darrigade (FRA) France 22
6  Dino Bruni (ITA) Italy 19
 Michel Van Aerde (BEL) Belgium
8  Fernando Manzaneque (ESP) Spain 16
9  Pierre Beuffeuil (FRA) Centre-Midi 15
 Bernard Viot (BEL) Paris/North

Mountains classification[edit]

Final mountains classification (1–10)[28]
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Imerio Massignan (ITA) Italy 56
2  Marcel Rohrbach (FRA) Centre-Midi 52
3  Graziano Battistini (ITA) Italy 44
4  Kurt Gimmi (SUI) Switzerland 36
4  Gastone Nencini (ITA) Italy 36
6  Fernando Manzaneque (ESP) Spain 28
7  Martin van der Borgh (NED) Netherlands 22
8  René Marigil (ESP) Spain 21
9  Jef Planckaert (BEL) Belgium 20
10  Arnaldo Pambianco (ITA) Italy 18

Team classification[edit]

Final team classification[26][27]
Rank Team Big/small Time
1 France Big 335h 43' 43"
2 Italy Big + 13' 36"
3 Belgium Big + 1h 03' 01"
4 Spain Big + 1h 51' 55"
5 Netherlands Small + 2h 01' 56"
6 Paris/North Small + 2h 57' 41"
7 Centre-Midi Small + 3h 01' 01"
8 West Germany Small + 3h 52' 52"
9 West Small + 4h 08' 36"
10 Switzerland/Luxembourg Small + 4h 31' 03"
11 East/South-East Small + 6h 17' 02"

Super-combativity award[edit]

Super-combativity award (1–4)[26][29]
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Jean Graczyk (FRA) France 363
2  Graziano Battistini (ITA) Italy 161
3  Jean Milesi (FRA) East/South-East 156
4  Pierre Beuffeuil (FRA) Centre-Midi 50

Aftermath

Rivière survived the crash, but his career as a professional cyclist was over. The drug palfium was found in his pockets, and it was thought that it had so numbed Riviere's fingers so that he couldn't feel the brake levers.[30] Nencini had his bouquet of flowers given to Rivière.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ No jersey was awarded to the leader of the mountains classification until a white jersey with red polka dots was introduced in 1975.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1960 – The starters". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. ^ Dauncey & Hare 2003, p. 270.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Amels, Wim (1984). De geschiedenis van de Tour de France 1903–1984 (in Dutch). Sport-Express. pp. 86–87. ISBN 90-70763-05-2.
  4. ^ a b c Augendre 2016, p. 51.
  5. ^ a b c "47ème Tour de France 1960" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  6. ^ Augendre 2016, p. 178.
  7. ^ "Goddet roept bergen te hulp voor de Tour de France" [Goddet calls on mountains to help for the Tour de France]. De Tijd-De Maasbode (in Dutch). 22 June 1960. p. 8 – via Delpher.
  8. ^ Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC top ten". CVCC. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  9. ^ "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1960 – The stage winners". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. ^ Augendre 2016, p. 109.
  11. ^ a b c d e f McGann & McGann 2006, pp. 245–249.
  12. ^ Boyce, Barry (2004). "French Favorite Finds Disaster, Nencini Cruises". Cycling revealed. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  13. ^ "1960TDF". Bike Race Info. 2020.
  14. ^ https://www.humanite.fr/2001-07-16_Sports_1960-Pierre-Beuffeuil-remercia-le-general[dead link]
  15. ^ http://archives.tdg.ch/TG/TG/-/article-2003-07-898/100-ans-du-touron-sait-que-la-naissance-du-tour-est-une-consequence-directe-de-l-une-des-plus[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 452–455.
  17. ^ Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 452–453.
  18. ^ a b Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 454.
  19. ^ Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 455.
  20. ^ van den Akker 2018, pp. 211–216.
  21. ^ "Hoe kan het: sprinter Jean Graczyk wint Alpenetappe" [How can it be: sprinter Jean Graczyk wins Alpine stage]. Het Vrije Volk (in Dutch). 14 July 1960. p. 14 – via Delpher.
  22. ^ "Hogere prijzen in de Ronde van Frankrijk" [Higher prizes in the Tour de France]. Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 23 June 1960. p. 15 – via Delpher.
  23. ^ "Van Rijsel tot Parijs" [From Lille to Paris]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 18 July 1960. p. 10. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019.
  24. ^ van den Akker, Pieter. "Informatie over de Tour de France van 1960" [Information about the Tour de France from 1960]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  25. ^ a b "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1960 – Stage 21 Troyes > Paris". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  26. ^ a b c "Le cifre di un trionfo" [The figures of a triumph]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 18 July 1960. p. 9. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Le Tour de France cycliste" [The cycling Tour de France] (PDF). Le Nouvelliste (in French). 18 July 1960. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Clasificacions" [Classifications] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 15 July 1960. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2019.
  29. ^ "Graczyck tweemaal de strijdlustigste" [Graczyck twice the most combative]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 18 July 1960. p. 15. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019.
  30. ^ Minovi, Ramin (2007). "Drugs and the Tour de France". Association of British Cycling Coaches. Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2010.

Bibliography

External links

Media related to Tour de France 1960 at Wikimedia Commons

1960 Tour de France « 1959 1961 »
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