| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 27 June–22 July 1979 | ||
| Stages | 24+Prologue | ||
| Distance | 3,720.4 km (2,312 mi) | ||
| Winning time | 103h 06' 50" (36.513 km/h or 22.688 mph) | ||
| Palmarès | |||
| Winner | (Renault) | ||
| Second | (Miko–Mercier) | ||
| Third | (Flandria) | ||
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| Points | (Renault) | ||
| Mountains | (Inoxpran) | ||
| Youth | (Renault) | ||
| Sprints | (KAS) | ||
| Team | Renault | ||
| Team Points | Renault | ||
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← 1978
1980 →
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The 1979 Tour de France was the 66th Tour de France, taking place June 27 to July 22, 1979. The total race distance was 24 stages over 3765 km, with riders averaging 36.513 km/h.[1] It was the only tour to finish at Alpe d'Huez twice. It was won by Bernard Hinault, who also won the points classification, and whose team won both team classifications. The mountains classification was won by Giovanni Battaglin, and the young rider classification was won by Jean-René Bernaudeau.
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Contents
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In previous years, the team time trials only counted for the team classification, and not for the general classification, except for the bonifications. From 1979 on, the team trial also counted for the general classification.[2]
In 1978, the riders had organised a strike against the split stages; the organisation had given in and there were no split stages in 1979.[2]
For the first time, the Tour was broadcast in the USA.[3]
The following 15 teams each sent 10 cyclists, for a total of 150:[4][5]
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The big favourite was Hinault; not only was he the defending champion, but the large number of time trials made the race especially suited for him.[2] The only cyclist though to be able to seriously challenge Hinault was Zoetemelk, the runner-up of the previous edition.[2]
The prologue was won by Knetemann; Zoetemelk and Hinault both followed at four seconds.[2] The first stage took the riders immediately into the mountains. Bittinger won the stage, and the favourites stayed together.[2] The second stage was run as an individual climb time trial. Hinault won it, and became the new leader, with Zoetemelk and Agostinho almost one minute behind. Hinault also won the third stage, without gaining time on his rivals.[2]
In the fifth stage, the team time trial, Hinault lost time, but stayed the leader by 12 seconds on Zoetemelk. The Peugeot team had selected the wrong tires, according to their team leader Hennie Kuiper; he punctured five times in that stage, and if he had been 31 seconds faster he would have been the race leader.[2]
In the ninth stage, over the cobbles also used in Paris–Roubaix,[6] Zoetemelk had joined an escape, and Hinault had to chase him. Hinault had to stop to replace a flat tire, was stopped by strikers, and finished more than three minutes behind Zoetemelk, losing the lead to him.[2] Hinault was not happy that the other cyclists escaped while he had a flat tire, and warned that "there are some riders who will suffer plenty after what happened today".[7] Five-time winner Jacques Anquetil was pleased with Hinault's performance, and predicted that Hinault won the Tour in that stage, because he had kept his losses limited.[7]
Hinault won back 36 seconds in the time trial of stage 11, and more than two minutes in the mountain time trial of stage 15, thus becoming the new leader.[2] Hinault won some more time in the next stages in bonification sprints. In the eighteenth stage, Zoetemelk beat Hinault, and won back 47 seconds. That eighteenth stage was scheduled to cross the Izoard, but the course was changed in the last minute.[2]
Before the last stage, Hinault had an advantage of more than three minutes on Zoetemelk, and almost 25 minutes on the next cyclists. Traditionally, the last stage is run at a slow pace, because the winners are already known. But Zoetemelk attacked, and Hinault chased him. Together they stayed away from the rest, and Hinault beat Zoetemelk in the sprint, winning his seventh stage of the race.[2]
Besides the struggle for the first place, there was also a struggle for the last place, the lanterne rouge. After the 20th stage, Philippe Tesnière was last in the general classification, with Gerhard Schönbacher before him.[8] Tesnière had already finished last in the 1978 Tour de France, so he was aware of the publicity associated with being the lanterne rouge. In the 21st stage, Tesnière therefore rode extra slow. Hinault took 1 hour, 8 minutes and 53 seconds to win the time trial, Schönbacher used 1 hour, 21 minutes and 52 seconds,[9] while Tesniere rode it in 1 hour, 23 minutes and 32 seconds; both were slower than all other cyclists.[10] Tesnière's time was more than 20% slower than Hinault's, which meant that he had missed the time cut, and was taken out of the race.[10] When Schönbacher was near the finish of the last stage, he stopped and kissed the road, before he crossed the finishline.[11]
The 1979 Tour de France started on 27 June, and had one rest day, in Les Menuires.[12]
| Stage | Date | Route | Terrain | Length | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 27 June | Fleurance | 5 km (3.1 mi) | ||
| 1 | 28 June | Fleurance – Luchon | 225 km (140 mi) | ||
| 2 | 29 June | Luchon – Superbagnères | 24 km (15 mi) | ||
| 3 | 30 June | Luchon – Pau | 180 km (110 mi) | ||
| 4 | 1 July | Captieux – Bordeaux | 87 km (54 mi) | Raleigh | |
| 5 | 2 July | Neuville-de-Poitou – Angers | 145 km (90 mi) | ||
| 6 | 3 July | Angers – Saint-Brieuc | 239 km (149 mi) | ||
| 7 | 4 July | Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët – Deauville | 158 km (98 mi) | ||
| 8 | 5 July | Deauville – Le Havre | 90 km (56 mi) | Raleigh | |
| 9 | 6 July | Amiens – Roubaix | 201 km (125 mi) | ||
| 10 | 7 July | Roubaix – Brussels | 124 km (77 mi) | ||
| 11 | 8 July | Brussels | 33 km (21 mi) | ||
| 12 | 9 July | Rochefort – Metz | 193 km (120 mi) | ||
| 13 | 10 July | Metz – Ballon d'Alsace | 202 km (126 mi) | ||
| 14 | 11 July | Belfort – Evian | 248 km (154 mi) | ||
| 15 | 12 July | Evian – Morzine Avoriaz | 54 km (34 mi) | ||
| 16 | 13 July | Morzine Avoriaz – Les Menuires | 201 km (125 mi) | ||
| 17 | 15 July | Les Menuires – Alpe d'Huez | 167 km (104 mi) | ||
| 18 | 16 July | Alpe d'Huez | 119 km (74 mi) | ||
| 19 | 17 July | Alpe d'Huez – Saint-Priest | 162 km (101 mi) | ||
| 20 | 18 July | Saint-Priest – Dijon | 240 km (150 mi) | ||
| 21 | 19 July | Dijon | 49 km (30 mi) | ||
| 22 | 20 July | Dijon – Auxerre | 189 km (117 mi) | ||
| 23 | 21 July | Auxerre – Nogent-sur-Marne | 205 km (127 mi) | ||
| 24 | 22 July | Le Perreux-sur-Marne – Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 180 km (110 mi) |
There were several classifications in the 1979 Tour de France, four of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the general 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.[14]
Additionally, there was a points classification, where 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.[14]
There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorized some climbs as either hors 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-categorized climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a polkadot jersey.[14]
Another classification was the young rider classification. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only neo-professionals were eligible, and the leader wore a white jersey.[15]
The fifth individual classification was the intermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but only points were awarded on intermediate sprints. In 1979, this classification had no associated jersey.[16]
For the team 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 lead this classification wore yellow caps.[17] There was also a team points classification. After each stage, the stage rankings of the best three cyclists per team were added, and the team with the least total lead this classification, and were identified by green caps.[18]
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 103h 06' 50" | |
| 2 | Miko | +13' 07" | |
| 3 | Flandria | +26' 53" | |
| 4 | Peugeot | +28' 02" | |
| 5 | Renault | +32' 43" | |
| 6 | Inoxpran | +38' 12" | |
| 7 | DAF | +38' 38" | |
| 8 | Raleigh | +39' 06" | |
| 9 | KAS | +40' 38" | |
| 10 | IJsboerke | +44' 35" |
| Final general classification (11–89) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 11 | KAS | +47' 26" | |
| 12 | Miko | +48' 16" | |
| 13 | Renault | +59' 09" | |
| 14 | Raleigh | +59' 13" | |
| 15 | DAF | +59' 51" | |
| 16 | La Redoute | +1h 01' 36" | |
| 17 | Peugeot | +1h 03' 05" | |
| 18 | Raleigh | +1h 03' 09" | |
| 19 | Fiat | +1h 06' 49" | |
| 20 | La Redoute | +1h 08' 25" | |
| 21 | Flandria | +1h 09' 32" | |
| 22 | Miko | +1h 09' 52" | |
| 23 | IJsboerke | +1h 11' 24" | |
| 24 | Miko | +1h 14' 30" | |
| 25 | Flandria | +1h 14' 46" | |
| 26 | Flandria | +1h 19' 57" | |
| 27 | Bianchi | +1h 24' 38" | |
| 28 | KAS | +1h 26' 49" | |
| 29 | Renault | +1h 27' 28" | |
| 30 | Raleigh | +1h 39' 13" | |
| 31 | Flandria | +1h 40' 00" | |
| 32 | Bianchi | +1h 42' 36" | |
| 33 | La Redoute | +1h 43' 07" | |
| 34 | Fiat | +1h 45' 39" | |
| 35 | Renault | +1h 46' 46" | |
| 36 | IJsboerke | +1h 52' 30" | |
| 37 | Peugeot | +1h 53' 25" | |
| 38 | Splendor | +1h 54' 36" | |
| 39 | IJsboerke | +1h 55' 58" | |
| 40 | Flandria | +1h 57' 13" | |
| 41 | La Redoute | +1h 59' 22" | |
| 42 | Renault | +1h 59' 26" | |
| 43 | KAS | +2h 00' 07" | |
| 44 | Raleigh | +2h 01' 06" | |
| 45 | IJsboerke | +2h 03' 17" | |
| 46 | Peugeot | +2h 10' 07" | |
| 47 | Renault | +2h 10' 49" | |
| 48 | IJsboerke | +2h 11' 29" | |
| 49 | Miko | +2h 13' 38" | |
| 50 | Miko | +2h 15' 23" | |
| 51 | Miko | +2h 15' 30" | |
| 52 | Fiat | +2h 16' 05" | |
| 53 | Miko | +2h 16' 37" | |
| 54 | Bianchi | +2h 17' 21" | |
| 55 | Fiat | +2h 22' 32" | |
| 56 | KAS | +2h 23' 20" | |
| 57 | Flandria | +2h 23' 49" | |
| 58 | DAF | +2h 24' 29" | |
| 59 | Renault | +2h 27' 31" | |
| 60 | Peugeot | +2h 28' 58" | |
| 61 | KAS | +2h 29' 45" | |
| 62 | Flandria | +2h 30' 35" | |
| 63 | Peugeot | +2h 32' 06" | |
| 64 | Inoxpran | +2h 33' 50" | |
| 65 | Fiat | +2h 34' 23" | |
| 66 | Bianchi | +2h 37' 45" | |
| 67 | Miko | +2h 42' 06" | |
| 68 | La Redoute | +2h 42' 41" | |
| 69 | Flandria | +2h 43' 39" | |
| 70 | Miko | +2h 46' 32" | |
| 71 | Flandria | +2h 46' 53" | |
| 72 | La Redoute | +2h 48' 02" | |
| 73 | La Redoute | +2h 48' 12" | |
| 74 | Renault | +2h 49' 43" | |
| 75 | Raleigh | +2h 52' 29" | |
| 76 | Splendor | +2h 55' 00" | |
| 77 | Inoxpran | +2h 56' 59" | |
| 78 | KAS | +3h 00' 12" | |
| 79 | Peugeot | +3h 02' 04" | |
| 80 | Fiat | +3h 02' 22" | |
| 81 | Fiat | +3h 03' 46" | |
| 82 | DAF | +3h 09' 25" | |
| 83 | Teka | +3h 11' 14" | |
| 84 | Teka | +3h 13' 58" | |
| 85 | Peugeot | +3h 20' 28" | |
| 86 | Teka | +3h 27' 14" | |
| 87 | Fiat | +3h 38' 54" | |
| 88 | Bianchi | +3h 49' 57" | |
| 89 | DAF | +4h 19' 21" | |
| Rank | Name | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 253 | |
| 2 | IJsboerke | 157 | |
| 3 | Miko | 109 | |
| 4 | Flandria | 104 | |
| 5 | Peugeot | 79 | |
| 6 | KAS | 67 | |
| 7 | Splendor | 66 | |
| 8 | DAF | 65 | |
| 9 | Inoxpran | 64 | |
| 10 | IJsboerke | 61 |
| Rank | Name | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inoxpran | 239 | |
| 2 | Renault | 196 | |
| 3 | La Redoute | 158 | |
| 4 | Miko | 141 | |
| 5 | KAS | 118 | |
| 6 | Peugeot | 108 | |
| 7 | Flandria | 96 | |
| 8 | Renault | 67 | |
| 9 | Miko | 67 | |
| 10 | Flandria | 49 |
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 414h 45' 46" |
| 2 | Flandria | +10' 29" |
| 3 | Raleigh | +15' 22" |
| 4 | Mercier | +23' 12" |
| 5 | Ijsboerke | +40' 50" |
| 6 | Kas | +1h 18' 51" |
| 7 | Peugeot | +2h 20' 07" |
| 8 | La Redoute | +2h 29' 24" |
| 9 | Fiat | +3h 31' 12" |
| 10 | Daf | +3h 39' 46" |
| 11 | Bianchi | +4h 22' 37" |
Inoxpran, Teka, Magniflex and Splendor did not finish the race with four or more cyclists, so they were not eligible for the team classification.
| Rank | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 1008 |
| 2 | Ijsboerke | 1057 |
| 3 | Raleigh | 1165 |
| 4 | Mercier | 1353 |
| 5 | Flandria | 1407 |
| 6 | La Redoute | 1558 |
| 7 | Peugeot | 1602 |
| 8 | Kas | 1767 |
| 9 | Daf | 2050 |
| 10 | Fiat | 2064 |
| 11 | Bianchi | 3025 |
| 12 | Inoxpran | 3172 |
| 13 | Teka | 4711 |
Magniflex and Splendor did not finish the race with three or more cyclists, so they were not eligible for the team points classification.
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault | 103h 39' 33" | |
| 2 | KAS | +7' 55" | |
| 3 | Raleigh | +26' 30" | |
| 4 | DAF | +59' 08" |
| Rank | Name | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KAS | 93 | |
| 2 | Renault | 82 | |
| 3 | Renault | 53 | |
| 4 | IJsboerke | 31 | |
| 5 | Peugeot | 30 |
The combativity award was initially given to Joop Zoetemelk;[21] he was later disqualified after his doping offence (see below) and Hennie Kuiper received the award.[4] In addition to the classifications above, there were several minor classifications; in total the 1979 Tour de France contained sixteen competitions, each with its own sponsor.[22]
For the first time in the Tour de France, doping tests were able to find anabolicals. The doping tests were performed by Manfred Donike in his lab in Köln.[23]
After the 17th stage, it was announced that Giovanni Battaglin, leader of the mountains classification, had tested positive after the 13th stage. He received a penalty of 10 minutes in the general classification, and lost all mountain points that he collected during that 13th stage, and an extra penalty of 10 points.[24] Frans Van Looy and Gilbert Chaumaz also tested positive for doping.[25]
After the race finished, Joop Zoetemelk was found to have used doping, which he confessed later. Zoetemelk was fined with 10 minutes in the general classification, but kept his second place.[26]
The Tour organisation did not like the attention that the last-placed riders received, and for the next year made a new rule that after several stages the last-placed cyclist in the general classification would be removed from the race.
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