Proto Raider

Description

Chauvigny to Sarran

Stage 12 - Thursday, 10 September - 218 km (135 mi)

The Stage

The longest stage this year. The previous two years the longest stage was won by Dylan Groenewegen but this year will have a different winner. The stage also really suits a breakaway so a bunch sprint is unlikely. I wonder if Thierry Gouvenou when designing these stages calls them Thomas de Gendt stages.

Winner: Marc Hirschi

Tour Touristique

Rancon Viaduct
In the first half of the 20th century, a tram line linked Saint Sulpice les Feuilles to Limoges. Its construction required the creation of many bridges such as the viaduct found in the town of Rancon. It is 138 meters long and has 11 arches with a maximum height of 23 meters. Nowadays, it still spans the Gartempe but its rails and guardrails have disappeared and, unfortunately, for security reasons its is not possible to walk on the viaduct.

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat
Halfway between Limoges and lake Vasssivière, the adopted city (born in Masbaraud-Mérignat in Creuse) of the late Raymond Pouldior (1936-2019) has an exceptional heritage.
Formerly walled, the medieval city preserves the imprints of its past. Corbelled half-timbered houses, arcades, turrets, modillions, bas-reliefs, mansions and other alleys make up the richness of its architectural heritage and earn it the status of remarkable heritage site, a unique case in the old Limousin.
At Pont-de-Noblat, an old picturesque suburb, the houses are tightening up on the edge of the Vienne and a railway viaduct dominates the valley with its 22 arches. Its history is to be discovered at the HistoRail® Museum. All these assets make the city one of the 100 Most Beautiful Detours of France
The prosperity of the city has long rested on its artisanal and industrial know-how: leather, paper and porcelain. The places of production open their doors to visitors: the porcelain factories, the Moulin du Got, five centuries old, where handmade paper and cardboard are made and where techniques from the 15th to the 20th century are still in use.

Raymond Poulidor
Raymond Poulidor was already celebrated during his lifetime by a statue in the heart of St Leonard de Noblat, but the passage of the Tour in his city, only a few months after his death, will be the occasion of a vibrant tribute to the most popular French rider of his time.

Time has never had a hold on Raymond Poulidor. More than 40 years after his last Tour de France, and almost 60 after his 1st, "Poupou", recycled as an ambassador for Crédit Lyonnais on the caravan, was still as popular with those who had seen him ride and those who had only heard of it. From 1962 to 1976, he embodied a certain image of France, valiant and rural, enduring and enterprising if not victorious. While his rival Jacques Anquetil (1934-1987) donned victories and jerseys, Raymond Poulidor collected the podiums - 8 in all - to become the symbol of the eternal runner-up, an image in tune with a country which, at the time at least, did not cherish winners. Third in his first Tour in 1962, he finished in the same place in the last, 14 years later, fighting and shining year in and year out without ever wearing the yellow jersey.

However, Poupou was anything but a loser. He had 189 victories to his name, including the Vuelta (1964), Milan-San Remo (1961), Flèche wallonne (1963), two Paris-Nice (1972 and 1973), two Criterum du Dauphiné(1966) -1969).

But it is above all his hard luck, just as much as his rivalry with Anquetil (1934-1987) that impressed and built bonds of affection that French cycling fans had only previously tied with two other beautiful losers: Eugène Christophe (1885 -1970) in the 1910s and 1920s then René Vietto (1914-1988) in the 40s and 50s. And it does not really matter that the loser still won seven stages!

His career suffered mainly from crossing those of two of the greatest phenomena in the history of cycling, Anquetil (1934-1987) in the 1960s, Eddy Merckx (1945) in the 1970s, and for not being able to take advantage of the decline of both.

In 1964, an error of appreciation cost him the victory: alone in the lead on the Monaco velodrome, at the end of the 9th stage, he stopped after crossing the line, forgetting that he had one lap left to go. Anquetil (1934-1987) overtook him, won the stage and took a minute of bonus. Raymond Poulidor lost the Tour for 55 seconds! In this edition, it was especially the suffocating duel between the two in the ascent of Puy de Dôme which remained engraved in television memories. While he beat Anquetil that day, it was not enough to stretch the gap on his rival.

In 1965, when Anquetil did not start, Poulidor was surprised by the ardor of an unexpected young Italian, Felice Gimondi (1942-2019). In 1968, Anquetil having retired while Merckx (1945) was still too young, the Tour de France was almost won when Poulidor was knocked down by a motorbike in Aurillac. In 1974, if he fought bravely in St Lary and finished second, like in 1964 and in 1965, Merckx remained too strong. In 1977, Poupou bowed out on a frustrating note. But he remained the number 1 in the hearts of the French public.

Here's hoping his grandson will ride the Tour next year!

View attached image.