Vingegaard won Dauphiné and Tour in 2023, closing for the moment a very exclusive list
Although it is not an exact science, the theory says that the Dauphiné is usually a good track for the Tour de France, in fact it is said that the Dauphiné is a “mini Tour”.
The years of shared history between the two races, which are more than 60, dictate that there are rather few who have signed a double, which is also very prestigious. So much so that the cast with both races in the same season responds to a select group of champions, a dream track record: Lance Armstrong –if we are allowed to include-, Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Bernard Thévénet, Luis Ocaña, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil and Loison Bobet.
At the end of the list are the last three British winners of the Tour: Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome y Brad Wiggins.
And add Jonas Vingegaard last year.
Before, that’s why those eight high-profile cyclists were, with two or more Tours in their baggage, with the exception of Ocaña, with excellent performance in the mountains, but skilled, if not unbeatable, timers.
Eight cyclists and ten coincidences. Lance Armstrong made the Dauphiné his true test bed, and not exactly with soda. With just a month left before the Tour, the Texan understood that what happened in the possibly most sought-after stage return after the big three would clarify his fate in the Tour. He did so on two occasions, consecutively as well, in 2002 and 2003.
On some occasions, even forcing what was recommended, such as in 2003 when Iban Mayo proposed a duel that the American did not shy away from, to the point that in the Tour he was exempt from that spark that was so characteristic of him. Between Switzerland and Dauphiné, the American always preferred the French route, perhaps to enjoy a unique privilege: sharing places and ports with the Tour. Without going any further in this edition, both tests will share the Ventoux, a port built in the style of the “Grande Boucle”.
Another who has repeated his victory twice was Bernard Hinault. He did it a couple of times, in 1979 and 1981. In the first year, the Frenchman accumulated four stages and the overall victory in the Dauphiné and then added the overall victory and seven partial victories in the Tour. Two years later, Hinault repeated an almost identical play.
In 1995 Miguel Indurain managed to appropriate such a singular achievement. The year of his fifth Tour, the Navarrese sacrificed the Giro d’Italia, where a year before he had been defeated by Berzin and Pantani, to pave a more comfortable path towards the Tour, in which he also won the once prestigious Midi Libre. . Skipping decades, we must go back to Bernard Thévenet, winner of both events in 1975.
Previously, Luis Ocaña had achieved it in 1973, Eddy Merckx in 1971, Jacques Anquetil in 1963 and Loison Bobet in 1955.
Two editions are especially significant in that what happens in the Dauphiné should not be extrapolated to the Tour. TO
Both also have two Spanish protagonists. In 1996 Miguel Indurain achieved an extraordinary victory in the alpine event, one of the best that is remembered. He won the individual time trial with authority and was insulting in the mountains, even winning a stage, something unusual for him. A resounding state of form, accompanied by his halo of five-time Tour winner, made him the exclusive favorite for the big gala.
That edition started from the Netherlands, a week of rain and cold unprecedented in France and in July they took their toll on the best Spanish cyclist in history who already gave in in the Alps to decline any option in the Pyrenees. A more recent case was what happened with Iban Mayo.
In 2004, the cyclist born in Igorre marked an historic race, with a time trial climb to Mont Ventoux that is among the greatest tumbles that Lance Armstrong is fully reminded of. Then in the first week of the Tour he left it all to chance on a dusty cobblestone in the north of France.
Among the curiosities that we found digging through these more than 60 years of common history between two races closely linked by their proximity of dates and common scenarios, two runners stand out, both with a very similar fate: frequenting podiums to collect secondary prizes, rarely as winners.
A little over a decade ago we took note of the second place achieved by Cadel Evans in both the Dauphiné and the Tour. Years before, we have Raymond Poulidor, the rider with the most podiums in both races coinciding with the year.
The so-called “eternal runner-up” managed to win the Dauphiné twice, in 1966 and 1969. In those years he finished third in the Tour.
In 1962 he was third in both races and in 1965 and in 1974 second in both. A pair of cyclists whose similarities have survived the times and their differences seem more than evident.
Two cyclists who ultimately accentuate the harmony that exists between two great events.
Imagen: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters
2024-06-19 12:49:34
#Bradley #Wiggins #fall #grace #incredible
