Tour de France 1995

|} The 82e Tour de France took place of July 1st to the July 23rd 1995 out of 20 stages for 3.653 km.

General information

the departure of the Turn takes place with Saint-Brieuc; the final arrival is judged with the Fields-Élysées.
They are 21 formations of 9 runners which are presented at the beginning.
It is the 5th Tour de France gained by the Spaniard Miguel Indurain, who joined thus Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. It is the first to gain them consecutively.
At the time of the 15th stage between Saint-Bosoms - Cauterets, Richard Virenque only arrives at the top of the Peak-of-Lily, it is unaware of whereas a drama occurred with the back. In the descent of the Collar of Portet-in Aspet, a fall carried several runners of which some until in the ravine. The most worrying case is that of a young person of the team Motorola, Fabio Casartelli. Italian, Olympic title champion, on road, with the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992, struck a parapet at the edge of the road whereas it did not carry a helmet. Transported urgently by helicopter at the hospital of Tarbes, he will die on his arrival.
the 16th stage is cancelled because of the accident of the day before. The runners nevertheless decided to take the departure. The Motorola team at the head passes the finishing line, a few meters in front of the group, in homage to the disappeared runner the day before. No classification is published at the time of this stage.
Lance Armstrong, the world champion 1993, gains the 18th stage, a finger raised towards the sky in memory of its fellow-member.
Seule the formation Banesto arrives complete at Paris.
Average of the winner: 39,191 km/h.

Course of the race

First runner of the history in string for a fifth consecutive victory in the Tour de France, Miguel Indurain is the big favorite of the test. Its adversary more awaited is Switzerland Tony Rominger, which leaves a victory crushing in the Tour of Italy. Among the other outsiders, the teams OUNCE and Gewiss appear very strong, with Laurent Jalabert, Johan Bruyneel and Alex Zülle for the first, and Bjarne Riis and Evgueni Berzin for the second. Marco Pantani and Richard Virenque is them waited for the stages of mountain.

The prolog of Saint-Brieuc, disputed in evening to satisfy the chains with TV, is very disappointing. A strong downpour falls down on the race and the leaders decide not to take of risk: all finish very far from the winner, Jacky Durand, left under the sun. Only Chris Boardman, which spent all its season on this prolog, takes all the risks. It falls seriously and fractures a wrist and ankle and gives up.

During the first week, the yellow jersey passes on the shoulders of Laurent Jalabert, which profits from the second place of its formation OUNCE] in the against-the-watch by teams. After the festival of the sprinters, the 9th stage offers a profile similar to that of traditional of the Ardennes: adopting a strategy more offensive than with accustomed, Miguel Indurain attacks in the last bump and distance all its rivals. Only Johan Bruyneel manages to follow it: the Belgian asserts himself and revêt the yellow jersey… for 12 midnight only. Because the following day, at the end of the first against-the-watch individual, Miguel Indurain took again her tunic, even if it were not as dominating as the previous years: Bjarne Riis, impressive, and Tony Rominger, limits the damage while finishing to less than one minute of Spanish. For them, all the hopes are still allowed.

However, Indurain will apply to quickly killing suspense at the time of the two stages of the Alps. The 10th stage sees a great offensive carried out by Switzerland Alex Zülle, escaped at the beginning of the stage, which is essential on Plagne and comes to settle durably in the second place of the general. Benefitting from abrasive gone up Plagne, Indurain attacked behind Switzerland, pushing back Pantani at two minutes, Rominger with three and Riis with four. The following day, it is Marco Pantani which is essential on the Alpe Hoot after having started with the foot of the rise and swallowed all the escaped ones. But there still, the big winner is Miguel Indurain, which finishes second in front of all its direct adversaries.

Whereas the stages which separate the two solid masses from mountain traditionally offer to the group the occasion to blow, the 13th stage between Saint-Etienne and Mende is the theater of a great master key of weapons. Attacked by all the team OUNCE, Indurain is constrained to let leave Laurent Jalabert, shirt green, which counts soon ten minutes in advance and finds general classification temporarily at the head! The team-members of Banesto roll to block to limit the variation, but Jalabert is essential on Mende and slips on the third walk of the podium. This time, Indurain was hot.

The first Pyrenean stage sees Spanish once again attacked. Tony Rominger, Laurent Jalabert and Bjarne Riis tries their chance, but it is Marco Pantani which escapes and is essential on Guzet-snow in the fog. The following day, at the time of the 16th stage between Saint-Bosoms and Cauterets, the victory of stage of the shirt with pea Richard Virenque is tarnished by the accident which costs the life Fabio Casartelli in the dangerous descent of the collar of the Portet d' Aspet. In homage to the Italian runner, Olympic champion in Barcelona in 1992, and in spite of the opposition of some like Bjarne Riis, the stage of the following day is neutralized.

The increase towards Paris is carried out without much upheaval, in a endeuillée atmosphere. The victory with Limoges of the American Lance Armstrong, team-member of Casartelli, at the end of the 19th stage is a new opportunity of celebrating the memory of the Italian runner. Indurain gains last the against-the-watch in front of Riis and Rominger, while Zülle preserves its second place, that Jalabert finishes fourth with in addition the green shirt and that Richard Virenque responsability its second shirt with pea.

With Paris, Miguel Indurain festival discreetly its fifth consecutive success, morose environment remaining. It does not know that it has just gained its last great victory.

Stages

Additional classifications

List runners

NP: non-starter; C: abandonment on fall; A: abandonment in the course of stage; HD: out-time.

External bonds

memory of cycling/Turn 1995
the dictionary of the Turn/the Tour de France 1995

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