1976 Tour de France
Route of the 1976 Tour de France
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 24 June – 18 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 22 + Prologue, including three split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,017 km (2,496 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 116h 22' 23" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
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(Gitane–Campagnolo) |
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| Second |
 Joop Zoetemelk (NED)
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(Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson) | |
| Third |
 Raymond Poulidor (FRA)
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(Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson) | |
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Points |
Freddy Maertens (BEL)
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(Flandria–Velda–West Vlaams Vleesbedrijf) |
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Mountains |
 Giancarlo Bellini (ITA)
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(Brooklyn) |
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Youth |
 Enrique Martínez Heredia (ESP)
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(Kas–Campagnolo) |
| Sprints |
Robert Mintkiewicz (FRA)
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(Gitane–Campagnolo) | |
| Team | Kas–Campagnolo | ||
| Team Points | Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson | ||
The 1976 Tour de France was the 63rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took between 24 June and 18 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,017 km (2,496 mi).
It was won by mountain specialist Lucien Van Impe. The revelation of the Tour however was Freddy Maertens, who in his first Tour won eight stages and the points classification, and led the general classification for ten days.
Five-time winner Eddy Merckx did not join in the 1976 Tour de France because he was injured. 1975 winner Bernard Thévenet left the race in the 19th stage, but at that point it was already clear that Van Impe would win the race.
The mountains classification was won by Giancarlo Bellini with 170 points, only one point ahead of Lucien Van Impe. The young rider classification was won by Enrique Martínez Heredia. Heredia had already won the Tour de l'Avenir in 1974, but never broke through after this win.
The 1976 Tour started with 13 teams, each sent 10 cyclists, a total of 130.
The teams entering the race were:
Eddy Merckx, who already had won the Tour de France five times, had troubles to find his form in 1976, and suffered from saddle sores. He decided not to enter the 1976 Tour de France. The main favourite for the victory was now Joop Zoetemelk, who had never finished worse than fifth place in the Tour de France. The winner of the previous Tour, Bernard Thévenet, had a good spring season, winning the Dauphiné Libéré. The other former winner that was still racing, Luis Ocaña, had become second in the 1976 Vuelta a España, and was hoping to win again Also reigning world champion Hennie Kuiper was considered a pre-race favourite.
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