1977 Tour de France
Route of the 1977 Tour de France
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| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 30 June – 24 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 22 + Prologue, including five split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 4,096 km (2,545 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 115h 38' 30" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner |
 Bernard Thévenet (FRA)
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(Peugeot–Esso–Michelin) |
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| Second |
 Hennie Kuiper (NED)
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(TI–Raleigh) | |
| Third |
 Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
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(Lejeune–BP) | |
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Points |
Jacques Esclassan (FRA)
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(Peugeot–Esso–Michelin) |
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Mountains |
Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
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(Lejeune–BP) |
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Youth |
 Dietrich Thurau (GER)
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(TI–Raleigh) |
| Sprints |
Pierre-Raymond Villemiane (FRA)
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(Gitane–Campagnolo) | |
| Team | TI–Raleigh | ||
| Team Points | Peugeot–Esso–Michelin | ||
The 1977 Tour de France was the 64th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 30 June and 24 July. The total race distance was 22 stages over 4,096 km (2,545 mi).
Lucien Van Impe, the winner of the previous year, wanted to repeat his victory. The main challenge came from Hennie Kuiper and Bernard Thévenet. Thévenet won with the smallest margin since the 1968 Tour de France.
To ride the Tour, teams had to pay money. The other Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, paid the teams money to start. For financial reasons, some teams chose to avoid the Tour, and only 100 cyclists started the race, divided in ten teams of ten cyclists each. One of the notable absentees was Michel Pollentier.
The teams entering the race were:
Bernard Thévenet, the winner of 1975, was considered the main favourite, because the course of the race was considered suited to his talents. In March 1977, Thévenet had been penalized for a positive doping test in Paris–Nice.
The winner of the 1976 edition, Lucien Van Impe, was specialized in climbing, so his chances in the 1977 edition with less mountains were slimmer. Two other contenders were team mates Raymond Delisle and Joop Zoetemelk, fourth and second in the 1976 edition. Hennie Kuiper, the reigning world champion, was also a favourite.
Five-time winner Eddy Merckx was also competing, and was still considered an outsider for the victory, but he was no longer as dominant as before.
The 1977 Tour de France started on 30 June, and had two rest days, in Bordeaux and Freiburg. The 1976 Tour had been focused around the mountains, with five hilltop finishes. In 1977, the climbing was de-emphasized, with only two hilltop finishes, and more emphasis on the time trials.
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