1997 Tour de France
Route of the 1997 Tour de France
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 5–27 July | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 + Prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,950 km (2,454 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 100h 30' 35" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
Winner |
 Jan Ullrich (GER)
|
(Team Telekom) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second |
 Richard Virenque (FRA)
|
(Festina–Lotus) | |
| Third |
 Marco Pantani (ITA)
|
(Mercatone Uno) | |
|
|
|||
 |
Points |
Erik Zabel (GER)
|
(Team Telekom) |
 |
Mountains |
Richard Virenque (FRA)
|
(Festina–Lotus) |
| Youth |
Jan Ullrich (GER)
|
(Team Telekom) | |
| Team | Team Telekom | ||
The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th edition of the Tour de France and took place from 5 to 27 July. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32". Ullrich's simultaneous victories in both the general classification and the young riders' classification marked the first time the same rider had won both categories in the same Tour since Laurent Fignon in 1983. The points classification was won by Ullrich's team mate Erik Zabel, for the second time, and their team Team Telekom also won the team classification. The mountains classification was won by Richard Virenque for the fourth time.
198 riders in 22 teams commenced the 1997 Tour de France. 139 riders finished. The 16 teams with the highest UCI ranking at the start of 1997 were automatically qualified. Six wildcard intivations were also given.
The teams entering the race were:
Qualified teams
Invited teams
Chris Boardman won the prologue, and was the first leader of the race. Then, sprinter Mario Cipollini took over the lead thanks to time bonuses.Cédric Vasseur took the lead in the fifth stage after a successful attack, and kept leading the race until the Pyrenées.
Ullrich took the lead in the tenth stage, which he won by more than a minute, beating his team leader, Bjarne Riis by over three minutes and assuming team leadership as well as the overall lead. He became the first German cyclist since 1978 to wear the yellow jersey. he extended his lead by winning stage 12, an individual time trial in Saint-Étienne. In the fourteenth stage, Richard Virenque made an attack to win back time on Ullrich, helped by his entire team. The margin was never more than two minutes, and Ullrich was able to get back to Virenque before the final climb. Virenque won the stage, but Ullrich finished in the same time.
...
Wikipedia