{"id":3077,"date":"2021-07-06T13:48:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T13:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/?p=3077"},"modified":"2021-07-06T13:48:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T13:48:57","slug":"a-legendary-battle-of-the-1964-tour-de-france-the-underdog-vs-the-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/ie\/2021\/07\/06\/a-legendary-battle-of-the-1964-tour-de-france-the-underdog-vs-the-veteran\/","title":{"rendered":"A Legendary Battle of the 1964 Tour de France: The Underdog vs The Veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"

There can\u2019t be a legendary battle without two equally impressive rivals. The 1964 Tour had Raymond Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil. They both had the skills to win the Tour but they couldn\u2019t be more different. Let\u2019s revisit one of their most memorable battles.<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nJacques Anquetil is a cycling legend. He was the first person to win the Tour five times. In 1961, he gained the yellow jersey in stage 1 and held onto it all the way to the last stage. He was a dominant force. He was the man to beat in 1964. His rival, Raymond Poulidor, was raised on a farm and had a huge natural talent. In 1959, he was signed by Mercier, the same team where Anquetil started. After two successful starts at the Tour and a triumph at Vuelta, he was ready to challenge Anquetil for the title in 1964.<\/p>\n

\"Jacques<\/a>
Anquetil during a stage in the mountains. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Poulidor also had the French fans on his side. He was Anquetil\u2019s polar opposite. Anquetil was called the cycling aristocrat with his high cheekbones, styled blond hair, smooth pale skin, sharp northern French accent, and elegant cycling style. Poulidor was a man of the people, he talked slowly in a middle French accent, had wrinkly sun-tanned skin, and he looked like a pedalling bulldog on the bike.<\/p>\n

Their most dramatic confrontation was to happen during stage 20. Anquetil had the yellow jersey but Poulidor was only trailing by 56 seconds. Poulidor\u2019s plan was to attack during the climb to Puy de D\u00f4me and take the overall lead.<\/p>\n

The scene was set. They were climbing for 10 kilometres on a steep road up to the famous Puy de D\u00f4me<\/a> crater. Side by side, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow they were locked together in pain and pushing hard. They could hear each other gasping for air despite half a million fans cheering around them. It was a sight to behold, an intense fight. Poulidor was the favourite because he was the better climber but Anquetil was using his best weapon, strategy. He was taking the inner lane, closer to the mountain. Three times he bluffed pretending he couldn\u2019t match the tempo. Three times Poulidor tried to shake him off without success, exhausting himself. When Poulidor tried attacking again, Anquetil grasped at his jersey knowing he was unable to answer with another attack with his legs. Anquetil lost the moral battle but managed to keep himself in the fight.<\/p>\n

\"Raymond<\/a>
Poulidor and Federico Bahamont\u00e8s. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI slowed down, he slowed down. I attacked, he answered. It was unbelievable. I never felt that awful on a bicycle,\u201d admitted Poulidor when recounting the events.<\/p>\n

Poulidor succeeded in leaving his rival behind about 500 meters before the top of the climb. Anquetil was losing ground fast but hoped he did enough. Poulidor couldn\u2019t steal the full 56 seconds at that point, could he?<\/p>\n

Poulidor won the stage. Anquetil finished after him and nearly collapsed at his team car. He couldn\u2019t catch his breath. His skin turned purple and then white but he still kept counting.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou kept 14 seconds,\u201d he heard in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s more than I needed,\u201d he gasped in relief.<\/p>\n

The final stage was a time trial where Anquetil was a favourite because that was his discipline. Poulidor rode really fast and held on to the fastest time of the day before it was Anquetil\u2019s turn to race. Poulidor was faster in the first half split by 5 seconds. That gave him hope that he might have done enough. Anquetil was a lot faster in the second half and won the time trial and the whole Tour by 55 seconds. At that time, it was the smallest margin in history.<\/p>\n

\"1964<\/a>
Anquetil and Poulidor ride on a victory lap at the Parc des princes in Paris. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fans in Paris were not happy that their favourite Poulidor lost and didn\u2019t cheer for the champion. That\u2019s what Anquetil had to deal with. Poulidor was forever the fan favourite but Jacques Anquetil clinched the very important 5th title. But we all got a battle to remember.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There can\u2019t be a legendary battle without two equally impressive rivals. The 1964 Tour had Raymond Poulidor and Jacques Anquetil. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":3082,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-3077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nJacques Anquetil vs Poulidor: A Legendary Battle of the 1964 Tour<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There can\u2019t be a legendary battle without two equally impressive rivals. 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