Merckx to Indurain
The Tour de France
Course 1 · Chapter 5 · Merckx, Hinault, LeMond and Indurain
From the end of the 1960s to the middle of the 1990s the Tour was dominated by four great champions, each of whom won it five times or came close to it. This was the era of colour television, of the first non-European winners, of the race's last French victory, and of one of the closest finishes in its history. This chapter follows the four champions and their rivals, and takes a Scottish detour with Robert Millar's remarkable Tour of 1984. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged "check".
Eddy Merckx, the Cannibal
Dominance
The Belgian Eddy Merckx won the Tour five times (1969 to 1972 and 1974), a total shared with Anquetil, and later with Hinault and Indurain (check). In 1969, his first Tour, he won the yellow, green and polka-dot jerseys together, an achievement not matched since (check). The press called him "the Cannibal" because he left nothing for others.
Beyond the Tour
Merckx also won the Giro d'Italia five times, the world road title three times and a long list of one-day classics, and set a new world hour record in 1972 (check). Many consider him the most complete rider in history; the measure depends on what you count.
The end of his reign
In 1975 a spectator punched Merckx in the stomach on the climb of the Puy de Dôme, and he lost his chance of a sixth title; the French rider Bernard Thévenet won (check). Merckx never won the Tour again.
Bernard Hinault, the Badger
- Five wins. The Breton Bernard Hinault won in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985 (check). Called le Blaireau ("the Badger") for his combative character, he was a strong time-trialler and a fierce climber.
- The last Frenchman. His win in 1985 is the most recent victory by a French rider in the Tour to this day (check). Since then France has produced strong challengers, but not a winner, a long drought that features in French sports debate.
- The 1980 knee. In 1980 he withdrew with tendinitis in his knee while leading (check); in 1985 he won despite a bad crash.
- The 1982 strike. riders including Hinault took part in a strike over race conditions (check the details).
Greg LeMond and the Americans
| Event (check each) | Note |
|---|---|
| 1986 | LeMond, Hinault's team-mate, won the Tour, the first American to do so, after a tense contest with Hinault, who had promised to support him but kept attacking. They crossed the line together on Alpe d'Huez with arms raised (check). The story is still argued over by fans. |
| The accident | In April 1987 LeMond was shot in a hunting accident and missed two seasons (check). |
| 1989 | LeMond won the closest finish in Tour history: starting the final time trial in Paris 50 seconds behind Laurent Fignon, he overtook him and won by 8 seconds (check). He used aerodynamic handlebars that Fignon lacked, and the result is still discussed as a milestone in technology. |
| 1990 | LeMond won a third Tour (check). |
| Why it mattered | An American winning with an American-sponsored team opened the race to the English-speaking world and television markets beyond Europe (check). |
Miguel Indurain
Other Winners
- Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands won in 1980 after many years as a runner-up (check).
- Laurent Fignon, French, won in 1983 and 1984 and lost to LeMond in 1989 (check). He was noted for his ponytail and glasses.
- Stephen Roche of Ireland won in 1987, in the same year that he won the Giro and the world championship (check).
- Pedro Delgado of Spain won in 1988 (check).
Robert Millar, 1984
A Scot in the mountains
Robert Millar, born in Glasgow in 1958 and raised in Scotland, won the King of the Mountains title in the 1984 Tour and finished fourth overall, which was the best British result for a quarter of a century (check). He won several mountain stages in the 1980s, and a second place in the 1987 Vuelta a España (check).
The man and the name
Millar was known as a reserved and private person, and in 2017 publicly came out as a transgender woman, now known as Philippa York (check). York has written about cycling since, for newspapers and magazines.
Why it matters here
Millar showed that a British rider from a small cycling country could win in the Pyrenees and the Alps against the best of Europe, years before the British success of the 2010s (Chapter 8).
Exercises
How would you measure whether Merckx was the greatest cyclist of all time? List three measures and the difficulty of each.
In 1986 a team leader promised to help a team-mate and then attacked. Explain how team loyalty works in the Tour and why it produces such stories.
Why has France not had a Tour winner since 1985? Suggest three possible reasons and the evidence you would need to test each.
Quick Reference
- Merckx: five wins (1969 to 1972, 1974); three jerseys in 1969
- Hinault: five wins; 1985 the last French victory
- LeMond: 1986 (first American), 1989 by eight seconds, 1990
- Indurain: five in a row, 1991 to 1995
- Millar: King of the Mountains and fourth overall, 1984