1980 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1980 Tour de France was the 67th Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

. The total distance was 3945.5 km over 22 stages, the average speed of the riders was 35.317 km/h.
In the first half of the race, Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...

 started out strong by winning the prologue and two stages. However, knee problems forced Hinault to abandon the race before the Pyrenees, while still in the lead. Joop Zoetemelk
Joop Zoetemelk
Hendrik Gerardus Jozef "Joop" Zoetemelk is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France. He started the Tour de France 16 times and finished every time, a record. He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth, fifth, fourth and second...

 became the new leader, and defended that position successfully. It was his first Tour victory in his tenth attempt, after already having finished second in five editions.
The points classification
Points classification in the Tour de France
The points classification in the Tour de France is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is considered a sprinters' competition...

 was won by Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pévenage is a former Belgian cyclist, and later in his career team coach of cycling teams such as Histor, La William, Team Bianchi and T-Mobile Team....

, who also won the intermediate sprints classification
Intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France
The red jersey was awarded to the leader of the intermediate sprints classification in the Tour de France. The competition was first calculated in 1971, but the jersey was only awarded from 1984...

. The mountains classification was won by Raymond Martin
Raymond Martin (cyclist)
Raymond Martin is a French former road bicycle racer. In the 1980 Tour de France he finished third overall and won the Polka dot jersey.- Palmarès :19721974...

, and Johan van der Velde
Johan van der Velde
Johan van der Velde is a former Dutch cyclist. In the 1980 Tour de France he won the Maillot blanc, or white jersey, for being the best young rider under 25, also placing 12th overall that year. He had been a racing cyclist for only a year...

 won the young rider classification
Young rider classification in the Tour de France
-History:From 1968 to 1975, there was a white jersey awarded in the Tour de France to the lead rider in the combination classification . In 1975, this classification was removed, and replaced by the Best Young Rider Classification...

.

Changes from the 1979 Tour de France

A new competition was introduced in 1980, sponsored by the French television station TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...

, therefore named "Grand Prix TF1". It was calculated from the results in the other classifications, and therefore seen as a successor of the combination classification that was calculated from 1968 to 1974. There was no jersey associated with the Grand Prix TF1. The Belgian Ludo Peeters won this classification.

In the 1979 Tour de France, Gerhard Schönbacher
Gerhard Schönbacher
Gerhard Schönbacher is a former professional cyclist.Schönbacher was a professional cyclist for nine seasons, and rode the UCI World Championships seven times, but is mainly known for finishing last in the Tour de France in two consecutive years.-Biography:Schönbacher was born in Graz, Austria, on...

 and Philippe Tesnière had both been trying to finish last, which had received attention from the press. The Tour organisation wanted to the press to focus on the winners, so they added the rule that after the fourteenth to twentieth stage, the last-ranked cyclist in the general classification be removed.

Participants

The following thirteen teams each sent 10 cyclists, for a total of 130:
  • Renault-Gitane-Campagnolo
  • Ti Raleigh-Creda
  • Puch-Sem-Campagnolo
  • Peugeot-Esso-Michelin
  • Daf Trucks-Lejeune-PZ
  • Splendor-Admiral-TV Ekspres
  • Marc-IWC-VRD
  • Miko-Mercier-Vivagel
  • La Redoute-Motobecane
  • Ijsboerke-Warncke Eis-Koga Miyata
  • Boston-Mavic-Amis du Tour
  • Teka
  • Kelme


The three most important favourites for the victory were Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...

, Joop Zoetemelk
Joop Zoetemelk
Hendrik Gerardus Jozef "Joop" Zoetemelk is a retired professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands who has emigrated to France. He started the Tour de France 16 times and finished every time, a record. He won the race in 1980 and also came eighth, fifth, fourth and second...

 and Hennie Kuiper
Hennie Kuiper
Hennie Kuiper is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, as well as winning four of the five “Monument” classics...

. Hinault was the winner of the two last editions, and had earlier that year won the 1980 Giro d'Italia
1980 Giro d'Italia
The 1980 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 63rd edition of the race, was held from 15 May to 8 June 1980. It covered a total of 4,025 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 35.897 km/h...

. Zoetemelk, the runner-up of the last two editions, had switched teams to the Ti Raleigh team, which was considered one of the strongest teams. Kuiper had left the Ti Raleigh team and moved to the Peugeot team. The manager of that team, Maurice De Muer, had already managed Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx...

 to a Tour win, and this made Kuiper confident.

The teams with Italian and Spanish sponsors were focussed on the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...

 and the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...

, and thought their cyclist were not able to compete in two grand tours
Grand Tour (cycling)
In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races:* Tour de France – Tour of France , held in July* Giro d'Italia – Tour of Italy , held in May...

 in one year. This prevented Giovanni Battaglin
Giovanni Battaglin
Giovanni Battaglin is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1981 Giro d'Italia. He also won the 1981 Vuelta a España.-Early years:...

, the winner of the mountains classification of 1979, from defending his title. Francesco Moser
Francesco Moser
Francesco Moser , nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" , is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the dominant riders from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, and won the 1984 Giro d'Italia, the 1977 world road racing championship and six victories in three of the five Monuments...

, who had left the 1980 Giro d'Italia
1980 Giro d'Italia
The 1980 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 63rd edition of the race, was held from 15 May to 8 June 1980. It covered a total of 4,025 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 35.897 km/h...

 injured, was the only Italian cyclist on the initial starting list, but he was not able to start, so the 1980 Tour was without Italian cyclists.

Route criticism

Before the race, Hinault expressed dissatisfaction with the cobbled sections in stages five and six. In the 1979 Tour, Hinault had lost time in these sections, and he considered to organise a strike,
Even though no strike was held, the route was still changed: after the fifth stage, tour organiser Felix Levitan
Félix Lévitan
Félix Lévitan was the third organiser of the Tour de France, a role he shared for much of the time with Jacques Goddet...

 decided to change the first 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) of the stage, to avoid the worst cobbled sections.

Race details

The prologue was won by Hinault, who remained the leader until the first team time trial, won by the Ti Raleigh team, whose Gerrie Knetemann
Gerrie Knetemann
Gerrie Knetemann was a Dutch road bicycle racer who won the 1978 World Championship....

 became the new leader. In the next stage, Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pévenage is a former Belgian cyclist, and later in his career team coach of cycling teams such as Histor, La William, Team Bianchi and T-Mobile Team....

, Yvon Bertin
Yvon Bertin
Yvon Bertin is a former French professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1975 to 1982 where he won 11 victories. He wore the yellow jersey for one day in the 1980 Tour de France...

 and Pierre Bazzo escaped and won by ten minutes. Of those three, Bertin, a team mate of Hinault, was the best ranked, and became the new leader. When Bertin lost many minutes in the third stage, Pevenage became the new leader.

Hinault won the fourth stage, a time trial, but Pevenage remained leader. In the next stage, run in terrible weather, Hinault escaped together with Kuiper, won the stage and gained won 2 minutes on the rest. Many riders experienced tendinitis problems, including Hinault.

The Ti Raleigh team won the team time trial in stage seven, and Hinault's problems were showing, as he could not do his part of the workload. Hinault spent the next few stages at the back of the peloton, talking with his team manager of the tour doctor.

In the time trial in stage 11, won by Zoetemelk, Hinault finished fifth, which was enough to become the new race leader, but with Zoetemelk only 21 seconds behind. Normally, Hinault was the better time trialist, so Zoetemelk's stage victory made him confident that he had the chance to win the Tour.

On the evening before stage 13, which included mountains of the highest category, Hinault decided to withdraw. Zoetemelk, until that moment second in the general classification, became the new leader, but refused to wear the yellow jersey, in the tradition of Eddy Merckx
Eddy Merckx
Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all...

 who refused to don the yellow jersey in the 1971 Tour de France
1971 Tour de France
The 1971 Tour de France was the 58th Tour de France, taking place June 26 to July 18, 1971. It consisted of 22 stages over , ridden at an average speed of ....

 after Luis Ocaña
Luis Ocaña
Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970.- Early professional career :...

 left the race as leader.

In that thirteenth stage, Zoetemelk rode conservatively. He allowed Raymond Martin
Raymond Martin (cyclist)
Raymond Martin is a French former road bicycle racer. In the 1980 Tour de France he finished third overall and won the Polka dot jersey.- Palmarès :19721974...

 to escape, as he was no threath in the general classification, but kept close to Kuiper, who was his main rival for the overall victory. Zoetemelk remained leader after that stage, with Kuiper in second place, 1'10" behind him, while Martin climbed to third place.

Zoetemelk kept following this defensive tactic for the rest of the race. In the sixteenth stage, one of Zoetemelk's team mates Johan van der Velde
Johan van der Velde
Johan van der Velde is a former Dutch cyclist. In the 1980 Tour de France he won the Maillot blanc, or white jersey, for being the best young rider under 25, also placing 12th overall that year. He had been a racing cyclist for only a year...

 slipped and made Zoetemelk crash, injuring his thigh and arm. Zoetemelk quickly remounted and continued the race. Zoetemelk was able to get back to Kuiper, losing no time to him.

The fall in the sixteenth stage did affect Zoetemelk's performance in the seventeenth stage, as Zoetemelk had to let others go on the first climb. Helped by his team mates, he was able to stay close to his competitors, and the only riders that escaped were the ones that were no threath for the overall victory. In the eighteenth stage, Ludo Loos
Ludo Loos
Ludo Loos was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1980- External links :*...

 escaped and crossed all the cols first, finishing more than five minutes ahead of the rest. But Loos was already far behind in the general classification, and Zoetemelk finished in the second group, some minutes ahead of Kuiper, thus building his lead to more than five minutes.

Zoetemelk won the time trial in stage 20, and improved his margin to almost seven minutes, and thus won the 1980 Tour.

Stages

The 1980 Tour de France started on 26 June, and had two rest days, in Saint Malo and Morzine.
Stage results
Stage Date Route Terrain Length Winner
P 26 June Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
8 km (5 mi)
1A 27 June Frankfurt – Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...

Plain stage
133 km (82.6 mi)
1B Wiesbaden – Frankfurt
Team time trial
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...

 
46 km (28.6 mi) Raleigh
2 28 June Frankfurt – Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

Plain stage
276 km (171.5 mi)
3 29 June Metz – Luik
Plain stage
282 km (175.2 mi)
4 30 June Spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
35 km (21.7 mi)
5 1 July Luik – Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

Plain stage
249 km (154.7 mi)
6 2 July Lille – Compiegne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...

Plain stage
216 km (134.2 mi)
7A 3 July Compiegne – Beauvais
Beauvais
Beauvais is a city approximately by highway north of central Paris, in the northern French region of Picardie. It currently has a population of over 60,000 inhabitants.- History :...

Team time trial
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...

 
65 km (40.4 mi) Raleigh
7B Beauvais – Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

Plain stage
92 km (57.2 mi)
8 4 July Flers – St Malo
Plain stage
164 km (101.9 mi)
9 6 July St Malo – Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

Plain stage
205 km (127.4 mi)
10 7 July Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...

 – Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

Plain stage
163 km (101.3 mi)
11 8 July Damazan
Damazan
Damazan is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France....

 – Laplume
Laplume
Laplume is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France.-See also:*Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department*Dubernad...

Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
52 km (32.3 mi)
12 9 July Agen
Agen
Agen is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in Aquitaine in south-western France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. It is the capital of the department.-Economy:The town has a higher level of unemployment than the national average...

 – Pau
Plain stage
194 km (120.5 mi)
13 10 July Pau – Bagneres de Luchon
Stage with mountain(s)
200 km (124.3 mi)
14 11 July Lezignan Corbieres – Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....

Plain stage
189 km (117.4 mi)
15 12 July Montpellier – Martigues
Martigues
Martigues is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte....

Plain stage
160 km (99.4 mi)
16 13 July Trets
Trets
Trets is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.-Population:-Events:Trets hosts the SGI European Cultural Center; every year many members of the SGI from all over Europe go there to attend courses with the aim of deepening their understanding of the Buddhism of Nichiren...

 – Pra Loup
Pra Loup
Pra Loup, is a French ski resort in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the town of Uvernet-Fours. 7 km from the town of Barcelonnette.The ski station is divided into two separate parts, 2 km apart:* Pra Loup 1500 * Pra Loup 1600Features...

Stage with mountain(s)
209 km (129.9 mi)
17 14 July Serre Chevalier
Serre Chevalier
Serre Chevalier is one of the major French ski resorts. Located in the southern part of the Alps, close to the Parc National des Ecrins, in the Hautes-Alpes department of the French Alps, it enjoys a large skiing area and very sunny weather, boasting 300 days of sunshine a year...

 – Morzine
Morzine
Morzine is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France with panoramic mountain views, modern ski facilities and hotels and restaurants. The ski resort of Avoriaz is located on the territory of the commune...

Stage with mountain(s)
242 km (150.4 mi)
18 16 July Morzine – Prapoutel les Sept Aux
Stage with mountain(s)
199 km (123.7 mi)
19 17 July Voreppe
Voreppe
Voreppe is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....

 – St Etienne
Hilly stage
140 km (87 mi)
20 18 July St Etienne
Individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

 
34 km (21.1 mi)
21 19 July Auxerre
Auxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...

 – Fontenay sous Bois
Plain stage
208 km (129.2 mi)
22 20 July Fontenay sous Bois – Parijs
Plain stage
186 km (115.6 mi)

The 25 stages were won by riders from only four countries.
In this year's edition of the Tour, the last rider in the General Classification after the consecutives mountain stages (16-19) was eliminated.

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)
Rank Name Team Time
1 TI-Raleigh 109h 19' 14"
2 Peugeot-Esso-Michelin +6' 55"
3 Miko-Mercier +7' 56"
4 Splendor +12' 24"
5 Puch-Sem +15' 37"
6 Miko-Mercier +16' 16"
7 Miko-Mercier +16' 33"
8 IJsboerke-Warncke +20' 45"
9 La Redoute-Motobecane +21' 03"
10 TI-Raleigh +21' 10"

Aftermath

After it was said that Zoetemelk only won because Hinault abandoned, Zoetemelk replied "Surely winning the Tour is a question of health and robustness? If Hinault does not have that health and robustness and I have, that makes me a valid winner." Hinault agreed to that, saying that it was the absent rider (Hinault) who is at fault, not the one who replaces him.

Hinault's knee problems were solved before the 1980 UCI Road World Championships
1980 UCI Road World Championships
The 1980 UCI Road World Championships took place on 30 August 1980 in Sallanches, France. Only two races took place because of the Moscow Olympics.- Results :- Medal table :- External links :* *...

, which he won.
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