Fausto Coppi, Beat Breu, and Others: Legendary Victories on Alpe d’Huez

1 – Alpe d'Huez made its debut on the Tour de France route in 1952. It was also the first time a stage ended with a mountain finish. On July 4, Italian Fausto Coppi won the stage, claimed the Maillot jaune, and held onto it all the way to Paris.

2 – In 1979, two stages finished at Alpe d'Huez—the 17th and the 18th. That’s also the case this year: on Friday via the traditional climb, and on Saturday from the other side. In 2013, the riders will climb the Alpe d'Huez twice during the 18th stage.

5 – Only five riders have won twice on this legendary mountain: the Italians Marco Pantani and Gianni Bugno, and the Dutch riders Peter Winnen, Joop Zoetemelk, and Hennie Kuiper.

Marco Pantani is cheered on by the fans.

Keystone

8 – Speaking of the Dutch: A Dutch rider has won on Alpe d'Huez eight times—no other nation has been more successful. That’s one reason why Turn 7 is transformed every year into what’s known as the “Dutch Corner.” Days before the Tour peloton arrives, tens of thousands of Oranje fans dressed in team colors gather and set up their tents and RVs. However, the last Dutch victory, by Gert-Jan Theunisse, was 37 years ago.

13 – The maximum gradient is 13 percent; the elevation gain from the valley town of Bourg d'Oisans (1,133 m) is 13 percent, and the average gradient is 8.1 percent.

14 – Much like the winners of the classic ski race in Kitzbühel, whose names adorn a gondola, the winners at Alpe d'Huez are immortalized on plaques in one of the curves. The name of a single Swiss professional cyclist is displayed there. Beat Breu triumphed first in a Pyrenees stage in 1982, then on July 20 on the legendary Alpe d’Huez. Since 2015, the “mountain mouse” from St. Gallen has shared Turn 14 with Thibaut Pinot.

Beat Breu has made Swiss sports history.

Image

21 – The famous climb stretches 13.8 km and features 21 hairpin turns on the way up to Alpe d'Huez. The turns are numbered in descending order from the bottom, from 21 to 1.

31 – So far, 31 Tour de France stages have finished at Alpe d'Huez.

36:50 – Marco Pantani holds the top three times for the 13.8 km climb to Alpe d'Huez. The “Pirate,” who died in 2004 at the age of just 34, clocked 36:50 minutes in his 1995 victory. That corresponds to an average speed of just over 23 km/h. In 1997, Pantani was five seconds slower; in 1994 (when he didn’t win), he took 37:15 minutes.

1,850 – Alpe d'Huez lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters above sea level. There are higher mountains in the Tour de France, as well as steeper and longer climbs, but no victory brings more prestige than the one in this ski resort.

1968 – At the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble, the bobsled competitions took place on a natural ice track on the Alpe d'Huez. Due to the sun's rays, the races had to start early in the morning before sunrise. The legendary Italian Eugenio Monti won gold in both the two-man and four-man events, while Jean Wicki from Valais and his crew took bronze in the four-man event.

1984 – In 1984, an amateur—Luis “Lucho” Herrera—caused a sensation by winning the race. Three years later, the “little gardener” from Colombia became the first South American to win a Grand Tour—the Vuelta—and claimed the red-and-polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey twice at the Tour de France.

1999 – Fan enthusiasm also has its downsides. In 1999, Giuseppe Guerini, riding solo in the lead during the final kilometer, was brought down by a spectator trying to take a photo. However, the Italian got back on his feet and held on to a 21-second lead to the finish. It wasn’t the only incident of its kind. For example, in 2018, Vincenzo Nibali—who was in fourth place overall at the time—crashed after getting caught on a camera strap, suffered a fractured vertebra, and was forced to withdraw.

Giuseppe Guerini is knocked down by a spectator.

Keystone

2018 – Only one rider manages to triumph on Alpe d'Huez while wearing the Maillot jaune. Welsh rider Geraint Thomas crossed the finish line two seconds ahead of Tom Dumoulin in 2018, thus preventing the first Dutch victory since 1989.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

1/5

Premiere: 2018 triumphiert der Waliser Geraint Thomas als erster Fahrer im Maillot jaune auf der Alpe d'Huez

Image: Keystone