1965 Tour de France

1965 Tour de France
Route of the 1965 Tour de France
Route of the 1965 Tour de France
Race details
Dates22 June – 14 July 1965
Stages22, including two split stages
Distance4,188 km (2,602 mi)
Winning time116h 42' 06"
Results
Winner  Felice Gimondi (ITA) (Salvarani)
  Second  Raymond Poulidor (FRA) (Mercier–BP–Hutchinson)
  Third  Gianni Motta (ITA) (MolteniIgnis)

Points  Jan Janssen (NED) (Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune)
  Mountains  Julio Jiménez (ESP) (Kas–Kaskol)
  Combativity  Felice Gimondi (ITA) (Salvarani)
  Team Kas–Kaskol
← 1964
1966 →

The 1965 Tour de France was the 52nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 22 June and 14 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of 4,188 km (2,602 mi). In his first year as a professional, Felice Gimondi, a substitute replacement on the Salvarani team, captured the overall title ahead of Raymond Poulidor, the previous year's second-place finisher.

Gimondi became one of only seven riders, the others being Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and five-time Tour winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault to have won all three of the major Tours. Besides Gimondi's first tour and win, it was a first for other reasons: the 1965 Tour started in Cologne, Germany (the first time the Tour started in Germany, and only the third time it started outside France), and it was the first time the start ramp was used in time trials.

Jan Janssen, who won the points classification the previous year successfully defended his title; he won another points title in 1967 and the overall title at the 1968 Tour de France.

Julio Jiménez won two stages and his first of three consecutive mountains classification. Jiminez also won the mountains classification at the 1965 Vuelta a España – becoming one of (now) four riders to complete the Tour/Vuelta double by winning both races' mountains competitions in the same year.

Teams

The 1965 Tour started with 130 cyclists, divided into 13 teams of 10 cyclists. Each team had to include at least six cyclists with the same nationality. The Molteni–Ignis team was a combined team, with 5 cyclists from Molteni and 5 from Ignis.

The teams entering the race were:

Pre-race favourites

Jacques Anquetil, who won the previous four Tours de France (1961–1964), did not participate in this tour. Cyclists in that time earned most of their income in criteriums, and Anquetil believed that even if he would win a sixth time, he would not get more money in those races.

This made Raymond Poulidor, who finished second in the previous Tour, the main favourite.

Other favourites were Italians Vittorio Adorni and Gianni Motta. Adorni had won the Giro d'Italia earlier that year, helped by his team-mate Felice Gimondi who finished third in his first year as a professional. Originally, Gimondi was not planning to start the 1965 Tour, but was asked to do so after several team-mates were ill.

Route and stages

The 1965 Tour de France started on 22 June, and had one rest day in Barcelona. The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,360 m (7,740 ft) at the summit of the Col d'Izoard mountain pass on stage 16.

Stage characteristics and winners
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1a 22 June Cologne (West Germany) to Liège (Belgium) 149 km (93 mi) Plain stage  Rik Van Looy (BEL)
1b Liège (Belgium) 22.5 km (14.0 mi) Team time trial Ford France–Gitane
2 23 June Liège (Belgium) to Roubaix 200.5 km (124.6 mi) Plain stage  Bernard Van De Kerkhove (BEL)
3 24 June Roubaix to Rouen 240 km (150 mi) Plain stage  Felice Gimondi (ITA)
4 25 June Caen to Saint-Brieuc 227 km (141 mi) Plain stage  Edgard Sorgeloos (BEL)
5a 26 June Saint-Brieuc to Châteaulin 147 km (91 mi) Plain stage  Cees van Espen (NED)
5b Châteaulin 26.7 km (16.6 mi) Individual time trial  Raymond Poulidor (FRA)
6 27 June Quimper to La Baule 210.5 km (130.8 mi) Plain stage  Guido Reybrouck (BEL)
7 28 June La Baule to La Rochelle 219 km (136 mi) Plain stage  Edward Sels (BEL)
8 29 June La Rochelle to Bordeaux 197.5 km (122.7 mi) Plain stage  Johan de Roo (NED)
9 30 June Dax to Bagnères-de-Bigorre 226.5 km (140.7 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Julio Jiménez (ESP)
10 1 July Bagnères-de-Bigorre to Ax-les-Thermes 222.5 km (138.3 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Guido Reybrouck (BEL)
11 2 July Ax-les-Thermes to Barcelona (Spain) 240.5 km (149.4 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  José Pérez Francés (ESP)
3 July Barcelona Rest day
12 4 July Barcelona (Spain) to Perpignan 219 km (136 mi) Plain stage  Jan Janssen (NED)
13 5 July Perpignan to Montpellier 164 km (102 mi) Plain stage  Adriano Durante (ITA)
14 6 July Montpellier to Mont Ventoux 173 km (107 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Raymond Poulidor (FRA)
15 7 July Carpentras to Gap 167.5 km (104.1 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Giuseppe Fezzardi (ITA)
16 8 July Gap to Briançon 177 km (110 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Joaquim Galera (ESP)
17 9 July Briançon to Aix-les-Bains 193.5 km (120.2 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Julio Jiménez (ESP)
18 10 July Aix-les-Bains to Le Revard 26.9 km (16.7 mi) Mountain time trial  Felice Gimondi (ITA)
19 11 July Aix-les-Bains to Lyon 165 km (103 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Rik Van Looy (BEL)
20 12 July Lyon to Auxerre 198.5 km (123.3 mi) Plain stage  Michael Wright (GBR)
21 13 July Auxerre to Versailles 225.5 km (140.1 mi) Plain stage  Gerben Karstens (NED)
22 14 July Versailles to Paris 37.8 km (23.5 mi) Individual time trial  Felice Gimondi (ITA)
Total 4,188 km (2,602 mi)

Race overview

Riders climbing the Côte des Forges during stage one between Rennes and Lisieux

The race started in Germany, and the first stage, ending in Belgium, was won by Belgian Rik Van Looy. On the second stage, run over cobbles, three riders escaped: Bernard Vandekerkhove, Felice Gimondi and Victor Van Schil. Vandekerkhove won the stage, and became the new leader.

On the third stage, there was again a group away, including Gimondi and André Darrigade. Darrigade was one of the best sprinters of that time, so Gimondi knew he would not win if it would end in a sprint. Gimondi therefore escaped with one kilometer to go. Gimondi was able to stay away, and won the stage; it was the first victory in his professional career. Gimondi also took the lead in the general classification, represented by the yellow jersey; this made Gimondi a protected rider in his team because his sponsor wanted to keep the publicity associated with the yellow jersey as long as possible.

The second part of the fifth stage was run as an individual time trial. It was won by Raymond Poulidor, but Gimondi was second, and kept his lead. He had a margin in the general classification of over two minutes on Vandekerkhove, while his team leader Adorni was in third place.

In the seventh stage, Adorni fell. His team-mates, including Gimondi, waited for him and lost some time; because of this, Vandekerkhove took back the lead.

The ninth stage was the first Pyrenean stage, and during that stage eleven riders abandoned because of sickness. This included the leader of the general classification Vandekerkhove, and also Adorni. Rumours about doping that went wrong circulated, but nothing was ever proven. Gimondi became the leader of the general classification again, and because his team leader Adorni had left the race, he also became the undisputed leader of this team.

Felice Gimondi, winner of the general classification, pictured after he won the 1964 Tour de l'Avenir – the then semi-professional equivalent of the Tour de France

There were two more days in the Pyrenees, but these gave no big changes in the general classification. After stage eleven, Gimondi was still leading, with Poulidor in second place, more than three minutes behind. Poulidor expected that the inexperienced Gimondi would fail somewhere, and expected fourth-placed Motta to be his biggest rival. Poulidor announced he would attack on Mont Ventoux in stage fourteen.

During that stage, Poulidor showed his strength, and won. He had a big margin over Motta, but Gimondi had stayed surprisingly close, and kept the lead in the general classification with 34 seconds.

In the following Alp stages, Poulidor did not attack; he planned to take the lead in the mountain time trial of stage eighteen. But this was won by Gimondi, who thus increased his lead.

The only realistic chance left for Poulidor to win back time was in the individual time trial that ended the race. Poulidor was a good time trialist, and on a good day he should have been able to win back enough time to win the race. But Gimondi was the fastest man that day, and won the stage, and thereby the Tour de France.

Classification leadership and minor prizes

There were several classifications in the 1965 Tour de France, two of them awarding jerseys to their leaders. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.

Additionally, there was a points classification. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.

There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as either first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, but was not identified with a jersey.

For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification wore yellow caps.

In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the cyclist considered most combative. The split stages each had a combined winner. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave "stars". The cyclist with the most "stars" in all stages lead the "star classification". Felice Gimondi won this classification. The jury gave Cees Haast the prize more most unlucky cyclist, because he lost his sixth place in the general classification after a fall, and the prize for most sympathetic cyclist to Gianni Motta, because he was always in a good mood and did not look for apologies after losing to Gimondi. The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Lautaret on stage 17. This prize was won by Francisco Gabica.

Classification leadership by stage
Stage Winner General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification Team classification Combativity Bad luck award
Award Classification
1a Rik Van Looy Rik Van Looy Rik Van Looy Frans Brands Solo–Superia Frans Brands Frans Brands Peter Post
1b Ford France–Gitane
2 Bernard Van De Kerkhove Bernard Van de Kerckhove Bernard Van de Kerckhove Felice Gimondi Felice Gimondi Edward Sels
3 Felice Gimondi Felice Gimondi Anatole Novak Georges Groussard
4 Edgard Sorgeloos Jozef Timmerman Jozef Timmerman
5a Cees van Espen Televizier Frans Brands Michel Nédélec
5b Raymond Poulidor Solo–Superia
6 Guido Reybrouck Guido Reybrouck Jo de Roo Frans Brands no award
7 Edward Sels Bernard Van de Kerckhove Edward Sels Désiré Letort
8 Johan de Roo Jo de Roo Roger Pingeon Jo de Roo Guido Reybrouck
9 Julio Jiménez Felice Gimondi Felice Gimondi Julio Jiménez Peugeot–BP–Michelin Julio Jiménez André Foucher
10 Guido Reybrouck Jo de Roo Rik Van Looy Ferdinand Bracke
11 José Pérez Francés José Pérez Francés Felice Gimondi Georges Van Coningsloo
12 Jan Janssen Angelino Soler Ambrogio Colombo
13 Adriano Durante Hubert Ferrer Frans Brands Hubert Ferrer
14 Raymond Poulidor Jan Janssen Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune Raymond Poulidor Felice Gimondi André Foucher
15 Giuseppe Fezzardi José Antonio Momeñe Rik Van Looy
16 Joaquim Galera Kas–Kaskol Joaquim Galera Cees Haast
17 Julio Jiménez Frans Brands Cees Haast
18 Felice Gimondi Felice Gimondi no award
19 Rik Van Looy Henry Anglade Johny Schleck
20 Michael Wright André Darrigade Tom Simpson
21 Gerben Karstens Gerben Karstens Armand Desmet
22 Felice Gimondi no award Henri Duez
Final Felice Gimondi Jan Janssen Julio Jiménez Kas–Kaskol Felice Gimondi Cees Haast

Final standings

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Time
1  Felice Gimondi (ITA) Salvarani 116h 42' 06"
2  Raymond Poulidor (FRA) Mercier–BP–Hutchinson + 2' 40"
3  Gianni Motta (ITA) MolteniIgnis + 9' 18"
4  Henry Anglade (FRA) Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune + 12' 43"
5  Jean-Claude Lebaube (FRA) Ford France–Gitane + 12' 56"
6  José Pérez Francés (ESP) Ferrys + 13' 15"
7  Guido De Rosso (ITA) MolteniIgnis + 14' 48"
8  Frans Brands (BEL) Flandria–Romeo + 17' 36"
9  Jan Janssen (NED) Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune + 17' 52"
10  Francisco Gabica (ESP) Kas–Kaskol + 19' 11"

Points classification

Final points classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Jan Janssen (NED) Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune 144
2  Guido Reybrouck (BEL) Flandria–Romeo 130
3  Felice Gimondi (ITA) Salvarani 124
4  Rik Van Looy (BEL) Solo–Superia 109
5  Michael Wright (GBR) Wiel's–Groene Leeuw 98
6  Georges Vandenberghe (BEL) Flandria–Romeo 94
7  Benoni Beheyt (BEL) Wiel's–Groene Leeuw 85
8  Frans Brands (BEL) Flandria–Romeo 84
8  Julio Jiménez (ESP) Kas–Kaskol 84
8  Gianni Motta (ITA) MolteniIgnis 84

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10)
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Julio Jiménez (ESP) Kas–Kaskol 133
2  Frans Brands (BEL) Flandria–Romeo 74
3  Joaquin Galera (ESP) Kas–Kaskol 68
4  Felice Gimondi (ITA) Salvarani 55
5  Raymond Poulidor (FRA) Mercier–BP–Hutchinson 48
6  Henri Anglade (FRA) Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune 47
7  Gianni Motta (ITA) MolteniIgnis 45
8  José Pérez Francés (ESP) Ferrys 43
9  Rik Van Looy (BEL) Solo–Superia 30
10  Francisco Gabica (ESP) Kas–Kaskol 25

Team classification

Final team classification
Rank Team Time
1 Kas–Kaskol 349h 29' 19"
2 Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune + 16' 08"
3 MolteniIgnis + 16' 35"
4 Peugeot–BP–Michelin + 21' 36"
5 Wiel's–Groene Leeuw + 36' 03"
6 Salvarani + 38' 17"
7 Ferrys + 46' 51"
8 Mercier–BP–Hutchinson + 50' 21"
9 Televizier + 54' 51"
10 Ford France–Gitane + 1h 03' 52"
11 Flandria–Romeo + 1h 10' 43"
12 Solo–Superia + 1h 17' 08"
13 Margnat–Paloma–Inuri–Dunlop + 1h 31' 09"

Combativity classification

Final combativity classification (1–3)
Rank Rider Team Points
1  Felice Gimondi (ITA) Salvarani 80
2  Henri Anglade (FRA) Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune 58
3  Frans Brands (BEL) Flandria–Romeo 56

This page was last updated at 2023-10-29 06:29 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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