There is no historical evidence of Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi’s telephone call to the Tuscan cyclist; what is certain is that, at the 1948 Tour de France, Ginettaccio restored a sense of national pride to Italians that had been shattered by the wounds of the Second World War

The thirteenth stage of the Grande Boucle held little interest for the riders competing for the top places, a lack of interest that granted the Englishman from Pinarello unexpected freedom and a lead of seven and a half minutes. For him, a Grande Boucle begins that, until yesterday, had seemed unthinkable

On 11 July 1935, whilst descending from Lautaret, near Rioupéroux, the Spaniard Francisco Cepeda fell and hit his head. He died three days later, on 14 July, a public holiday in France; he was the first cyclist to die during a race. A forgotten story

The Belgian sprinter from Soudal–Quick-Step won the third stage of this Tour de France in Chalon-sur-Saône. Just a stone’s throw from the Canal du Centre and the unfulfilled dream of engineer Émiland Gauthey, Pedersen, Simmons, Asgren and Skujiņš tried to give the Grande Boucle a different kind of finish. They, too, failed to do so

The Norwegian sprinter outpaced all the other sprinters and was the first to cross the finish line on the eleventh stage of the Grande Boucle

The Slovenian champion won at Le Lioran after riding alone for sixteen kilometres. Richard Carapaz’s tenacity was not enough, having launched his attack thirty-eight kilometres from the finish. That same tenacity helped Remco Evenepoel to stay in contention and, indeed, gain seconds on his rivals