1961 Tour de France
Route of the 1961 Tour de France
Followed clockwise, starting in Rouen and finishing in Paris |
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 25 June – 16 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21, including one split stage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,397 km (2,732 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 122h 01' 33" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 |
Winner |
 Jacques Anquetil (FRA)
|
(France) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second |
 Guido Carlesi (ITA)
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(Italy) | |
| Third |
 Charly Gaul (LUX)
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(Switzerland/Luxembourg) | |
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 |
Points |
André Darrigade (FRA)
|
(France) |
| Mountains |
Imerio Massignan (ITA)
|
(Italy) | |
| Team | France | ||
The 1961 Tour de France was the 48th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 25 June and 16 July, with 21 stages covering a distance of 4,397 km (2,732 mi). Out of the 132 riders who started the tour, 72 managed to complete the tour's tough course. Throughout the 1961 Tour de France, two of the French national team's riders, André Darrigade and Jacques Anquetil held the yellow jersey for the entirety 21 stages. There was a great deal of excitement between the second and third places, concluding with Guido Carlesi stealing Charly Gaul's second place position on the last day by two seconds.
The teams entering the race were:
Since Jacques Anquetil had won the 1957 Tour de France, he was unable to repeat it, due to illness, tiredness and struggle within the French team. For 1961, he asked the team captain Marcel Bidot to make a team that would only ride for him, and Bidot agreed. Anquetil announced before the race that he would take the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification on the first day, and wear it until the end of the race in Paris.
Gastone Nencini, who won the previous edition, did not enter in 1961, but Graziano Battistini, his team mate and runner-up of 1960, started the race as leader of the Italian team. If the French team would again have internal struggles, the Italian team could emerge as the winner.
The Spanish team had two outsiders, José Pérez Francés and Fernando Manzaneque. The last outsider was Charly Gaul,winner of the 1958 Tour de France, who rode in the mixed Luxembourg-Swiss team. He considered his team mates so weak that he did not seek their help, and rode the race on his own.Raymond Poulidor was convinced by his team manager Antonin Magne that it would be better to skip the Tour, because the national team format would undermine his commercial value.
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