55th Tour de France 1968

Janssen's Final Push Upsets the Favorite

The 1968 Tour de France was billed as the “Clean Tour.” After the death of British rider Tom Simpson during the 1967 race, cycling officials took the hard but necessary steps to clean up the rider-doping problem. They instituted new drug testing at stage finishes.

SPECIAL NOTE: Following a positive test at doping control during the Tour Jose Samyn (Fra) became the first rider to be disqualified from the Tour de France for doping.

The popular National team format continued in 1968, but it did create bad relations with the trade team sponsors. Several "large-sponsor" teams withheld star riders from National teams. Most notable was the Faema team's withholding of World Champion Eddy Merckx, who had just won the Giro d'Italia. Consequently, the eternal challenger, Raymond “Pou Pou” Poulidor was (AGAIN...) installed as the heavy pre-race favorite. Roger Pingeon, the defending champion, pledged his support to his popular French teammate.

The race action got heated on the first climbing stage in the Pyrenees Mountains. Raymond Poulidor drove a 10-rider breakaway into the stage 12 finish in St. Gaudens. The Poulidor group finished the stage 2'30” ahead of contenders Jan Janssen, Herman Van Springel and Lucien Aimar.

On France's Bastille Day, July 14th, defending champion Roger Pingeon launched an attack with 200 km to go on stage 15. Pingeon passed the banner marking 50 km to the finish in Albi with a lead in excess of 13 minutes. French team leader, Poulidor, jumped away from the remaining peloton and began chasing the solo Pingeon. The move did attract a small group of strong riders including Janssen, Van Springel, Aimar and overall leader Georges Vanderberghe. Disaster struck Poulidor when a press motorcycle lost control and skidded into his rear wheel, sending the Frenchman to the ground heavily. With blood pouring down his face, his rear wheel wobbling and a broken pedal, the brave “Pou Pou” remounted his bicycle and continued the race.

The chase group continued through the final kilometers minus Poulidor and managed to catch Pingeon with 7 km to go. Although his breakaway was gone Pingeon kept his hope for the stage win was alive. Into the finish in Albi Pingeon capped a strong effort winning the field sprint and the stage. Battered and sore Poulidor charged hard into Albi and managed to limit his time loss, but the spirit had gone from the fallen warrior. The following day, his injuries cost him over 9 minutes, his Tour hopes were gone. The very popular “Pou Pou” sadly abandoned the Tour on stage 17.

Newly proclaimed leader of the French team Roger Pingeon came out fighting on the second stage in the Alps. Trailing in the General Classification Pingeon launched another attack on the climb of the Col de Granier. He won the final three major climbs and rode solo into Grenoble for the stage win. Herman Van Springel and Jan Janssen got into the first chase group and gained enough time to vault into second and third respectively. Without Poulidor in the race for the GC the racing was heating-up.

The last climbing stage in the Alps featured a finish at the top of the Col de Condon. Barry Hoban (GBr) broke away on the Condon to win the stage. Herman Van Springel (Bel) finished third and gained enough time to don the Maillot Jaune for the first time. With only three days until the finish in Paris, Van Springel's dream of becoming the first Belgian to win the TdF since Sylvere Maes in 1939 seemed like a real possibility.

The only major test remaining for Van Springel was the final stage, a 54 km individual time trial from Melun to Paris. The GC standings were extremely tight with Gregorio San Miguel (Spa) trailing by 12", Janssen by 16” and Ferdinand Bracke (Bel) by 1'56”.

Inspired by the Maillot Jaune, Van Springel had a 5 second lead on Janssen at the intermediate time check. Janssen, riding the race of his life, increased his tempo and came back in the closing kilometers. He managed to take a 54 second stage win over a fading Van Springel.

Dutchman Jan Janssen had won the Tour de France on the final day. The final stage heroics gave Janssen a 38" victory and the distinction of winning without having worn the Maillot Jaune during the race.

SPECIAL NOTE: French National team director Michel Bidot bid farewell at the end of the Tour. He retired after a 42-year association with the Tour de France as a rider and a coach.

SPECIAL NOTE: The new finish line for the TdF in Paris was in the municipal Velodrome de Vincennes (officially Velodrome Jacques Anquetil - La Cipale) in the southeastern section of Paris. The Velodrome La Cipale replaced the venerable old Parc des Princes Velodrome, which had hosted all of the previous Tour finishes.

Stage and Distance

Stage Winner

Race Leader

Stage-Prologue VITTEL, 6.1 km ITT	Charly Grosskost (Fra)	Charly Grosskost (Fra)
Stage 1 VITTEL-ESCH SUR ALZETTE, 189 km	Charly Grosskost (Fra)	Charly Grosskost (Fra)
Stage 2 ARLON-FOREST, 213 km	Eric De Vlaeminck (Bel)	Charly Grosskost (Fra)
Stage 3a FOREST-Vorst, 22 km TTT	BELGIUM	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 3b FOREST-ROUBAIX, 112 km	Walter Godefroot (Bel)	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 4 ROUBAIX-ROUEN, 238 km	Georges Chappe (Fra)	Jean-Pierre Genet (Fra)
Stage 5a ROUEN-BAGNOLES DE L'ORNE, 165 km	Andre Desvages (Fra)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 5b BAGNOLES DE L'ORNE-DINARD, 154 km	Jean Dumont (Fra)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 6 DINARD-LORIENT, 188 km	Aurelio Gonzalez (Spa)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 7 LORIENT-NANTES, 190 km	Franco Bitossi (Ita)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 8 NANTES-ROYAN, 223 km	Daniel Van Rijckeghem (Bel)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 9 ROYAN-BORDEAUX, 138 km	Walter Godefroot (Bel)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 10 BORDEAUX-BAYONNE, 200 km	Gilbert Bellone (Fra)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 11 BAYONNE-PAU, 183 km	Daniel Van Rijckeghem (Bel)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 12 PAU-ST GAUDENS, 226 km	Georges Pintens (Bel)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 13 ST GAUDENS-SEO DE URGEL, 209 km	Herman Van Springel (Bel)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 14 SEO DE URGEL-PERPIGNAN/Canet-Plage, 231 km	Jan Janssen (Ned)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 15 FONT ROMEU-ALBI, 251 km	Roger Pingeon (Fra)	Georges Vandenberghe (Bel)
Stage 16 ALBI-AURILLAC, 199 km	Franco Bitossi (Ita)	Rolf Wolfshohl (Ger)
Stage 17 AURILLAC-ST ETIENNE, 236 km	Jean-Pierre Genet (Fra)	Rolf Wolfshohl (Ger)
Stage 18 ST ETIENNE-GRENOBLE, 235 km	Roger Pingeon (Fra)	Gregorio San Miguel (Spa)
Stage 19 GRENOBLE-SALLANCHES/Cordon, 200 km	Barry Hoban (GBr)	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 20 SALLANCHES-BESANCON, 242 km	Joseph Huysmans (Bel)	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 21 BESANCON-AUXERRE, 242 km	Eric Leman (Bel)	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 22a AUXERRE-MELUN, 136 km	Maurice Izier (Fra)	Herman Van Springel (Bel)
Stage 22b MELUN-PARIS/La Cipale, 54 km ITT	Jan Janssen (Ned)	Jan Janssen (Ned)
	BEST CLIMBER PRIZE	Aurelio Gonzales (Spa)
	POINTS CLASSIFICATION	Franco Bitossi (Ita)

TdF 1967

TdF 1969

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