64th Tour de France 1977

Merckx’s Final Attempt for Glory

The end of an era was near, Eddy “the Cannibal” Merckx returned for one final shot at Tour de France glory. Defending champion Lucien Van Impe and 1975 champion Bernard Thevenet were on the pre-race list of possible Champions.

SPECIAL NOTE: The Pyrenees Mountain climbing started early in 1977. The tough stage from Auch to Pau (Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col d’Aubisque) was scheduled for stage 2. 

Young German Dietrich Thurau surprised the experts by winning the prologue time trial and putting on the first Maillot Jaune (race leader’s Yellow Jersey) of 1977. Thurau continued to surprise with a great win on stage 2, the first stage in the Pyrenees Mountains.

Eddy Merckx, trailing by 8 seconds on the General Classification, confidently started the 30 km individual time trial (ITT) stage 5b in Bordeaux. Merckx rode in anticipation of the Maillot Jaune, but Thurau continued to surprise everyone with his good form. He beat the Cannibal by 50 seconds in the 30 km ITT.   

SPECIAL NOTE: The racing became apathetic during the flat stages traveling toward the Alps; none of the contenders for the GC attacked the race leader. Race director Jacques Goddet wrote a scathing report in his daily newspaper column for L’Equipe, scolding the rider for their complacency. 

Stage 15b was the 14 km, 6.5% ITT climbing up to Col d’Avoriaz. Thurau struggled on the climb and lost 1’53” to the stage winner Lucien Van Impe.  He also lost 1’33” to Bernard Thevenet, who took over the race lead by 11 seconds. 

SPECIAL NOTE: Scandal reared its ugly head when third place finisher on stage 15b Joop Zoetemelk was relegated for a positive test at doping control. A 10-minute penalty for the infraction put the Dutchman out of the overall victory competition.

A determined Thurau fought back and won the next stage in the Alps. His winning effort gained the stage win but was not enough to shake race leader Thevenet. The stage 16 effort caused Eddy Merckx to crack. The struggling Belgian fell from his third place on the GC. 

When Van Impe and Thurau struggle on Alpe d’Huez, the race for the Tour championship turned to a Thevenet-Kuiper battle. The two were separated by only 8 second. The next test was the 50 km ITT in Dijon. The long grind up the slopes of Sombernon (category 3 climb) provided the race leader with the opportunity to excel. Strategically, Thevenet started slowly and increased his tempo as the course got harder. For his effort Thevenet earned the stage win and gained a valuable 28 seconds on Kuiper. 

Trailing by 36 seconds in GC, Hennie Kuiper was not able to use the 6 km ITT on the Champs Elysees to close on the Frenchman. Bernard Thevenet rode across the finish line in Paris for his second Tour de France victory. 

SPECIAL NOTE: The specter of doping became a hot issue in Paris. Several riders were displaced after a positive test at doping control in the Alps. The most notable rider was Joop Zoetemelk, who was displaced from a third place ITT finish on the climb of the Avoriaz. Rumors started swirling about the top two in the General Classification, Thevenet and Kuiper. Quickly after the end of the Tour, race official scrambled to meet and ultimately issued the final statement confirming Thevenet as the winner of the 1977 Tour de France. During a hospitalized that winter, Thevenet did admit to having taken cortisone. After the reports came out, his popularity plunged in France. Although he raced in the Tour until 1981, he never again contended for the overall championship. 

SPECIAL NOTE: Eddy “the Cannibal” Merckx rode a very strong race but was clearly off his previous TdF exploits. The legendary Belgian finished 6th overall, 12’38” behind Thevenet. This would be Merckx’s last Tour de France effort. In 1978, Merckx retired from cycling only weeks before the start of the Tour. Cycling lost its greatest champion but the legend of Eddy Merckx WILL live for years to come.

TdF 1976

TdF 1978

Return to the Timeline ToC

Return to the Race Snippets ToC