There are professional cyclists, especially the very light ones, who like it extra hard in the mountains. Voila - the Puy de Dome has plenty of pain points to offer. There are 13.3 kilometres with 1020 metres of ascent in the catalogue. This is often the case in the mountains, but the ride up the extinct volcano gets steeper and steeper towards the end, the road gets narrower and narrower and the pain increases. For the last four kilometres, the gradient never drops below 11.5 per cent. The fact that you end up on a plateau from which you have a magnificent view of the volcanic landscape of the Massif Central is probably of little concern to the Tour pros this year. The mountain finish is a first for them. The last time the Puy de Dome was on the Tour of France route map in 1988, the vast majority of them were not even born yet.
Puy de Dome: a mystical place even in ancient times
At the time, it was thought to be a farewell forever. But the Puy de Dome is not just a mountain; even in ancient times it was considered a mystical place with magical powers. In the Middle Ages, a pilgrimage church was enthroned on the plateau and the ascent was said to have healing powers; however, pilgrims had to be in good health to enjoy them. No truly sick person could manage 1000 metres in altitude on foot. Nevertheless, the volcano, which until the 17th century was thought by local residents to be a gigantic Roman fortress, attracted people like a magnet. However, it took quite a while for the organisers of the Tour de France, founded in 1903, to succumb to the charms of the Massif Central.
Paris was already aware of the wild beauty of the region, the deep gorges and extinct volcanoes. But the organisers, in keeping with their understanding of a Tour de France, preferred to stage the race as close as possible to the borders around France. In 1952, with the Tour de France now increasingly focussing on inland regions, Clermont-Ferrand was finally successful in its bid to become part of the spectacle. The city is home to the headquarters of tyre manufacturer Michelin. The fact that the brand is also involved in cycling certainly helped. And so the tour came to Clermont-Ferrand's local mountain. It is just under 15 kilometres from the city centre to the summit plateau, with the categorised climb starting near the eastern city limits. Fausto Coppi won the mountain finish at the premiere in 1952, three days before the finale in Paris, and thus his second Tour de France. The champion was the first to master the challenge.
Off to new highlights
In the same year, the Tour de France had already stormed up the ramps to Alpe d'Huez for the first time shortly before. Coppi also won there. The stage made history because the first live images of it were shown on television, recorded by motorbike cameras. There are no such images of the premiere on the Puy de Dome, but this climb was also to become a much-sung-about hotspot of the Tour de France and produce great stories.
1964: The legendary duel between Anquetil and Poulidor on the Puy de Dome
One of the biggest is on its third visit in 1964: everyone realises that the Tour de France is in its decisive phase. On this 12 July, the route to Paris takes in the mountains for the last time. The stage from Brive-la-Gaillarde ends after 237.5 kilometres on the Puy de Dome. Jacques Anquetil is only 56 seconds ahead of his compatriot and biggest rival Raymond Poulidor.
"Poupou" still harbours hopes of the coveted overall victory. The cool analyst Anquetil is no longer really feeling well after the Pyrenees, and the exertions of the Giro d'Italia, which he had previously contested and won, are getting more and more into his legs, but he is still wearing the yellow jersey. Poulidor had already looked fresher the days before. It's clear - the Puy de Dome could decide the race. Around half a million people line the route up the volcano in the Massif Central, many sympathise with Poulidor, and he hires his last helper Barry Hoban at the start of the climb.
Altig helps Anquetil
Together with the Brit, he gets away a little, but Anquetil's team-mate Rudi Altig brings the big Jacques back, and as the final six steep kilometres begin, the two are together again - and all the helpers are gone. The battle for overall victory begins.
The two have great difficulty making their way through the roaring crowd. Anquetil would later say that he was on the verge of collapsing, but he kept his poker face and rode alongside Poulidor rather than on his rear wheel. Occasionally they even touched, one of these pictures has been published millions of times to this day. Anquetil's "Look, I'm next to you" succeeds in taking a little morale away from Poupou. One kilometre before the finish, however, he is no longer able to do so and has to let go. Poulidor pulls away, looks around in disbelief and gives it his all once more. But the remaining distance is too short to build up a significant lead.
Winner without fortune
Poulidor crosses the finish line 42 seconds ahead of the man in yellow. Anquetil finished fifth in the stage, just 14 seconds ahead of his popular compatriot and rival. "If I had lost the yellow jersey on the Puy de Dome, I wouldn't have continued," he says afterwards. Anquetil looks like the passion of Christ, the climb almost killed him.
But he recovers, wins the final time trial to Paris three days later and his fifth Tour de France by 55 seconds - ahead of Poulidor, who finishes second in the Grande Boucle for the first time, but does not yet know that he will hardly get any closer to the yellow jersey than in this Tour. Twelve years later, after his 14th Tour as the favourite of the French, he would leave the race as the eternal runner-up. He stood on the podium in Paris eight times, three times as runner-up, five times as third, never wearing the yellow jersey.
Cycling stars win at the Puy de Dome
The duel between the two unequal cycling heroes is still talked about in France today. The TV channel Arte dedicated a documentary with breathtaking images to the ramp show. After the spectacle in 1964, it was impossible to imagine the race without the Puy de Dome. And so it went on for a long time in the Massif Central. World stars such as Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocana (twice), Lucien Van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk (twice), among others, added their names to the list of winners after the slog of the Hors Categorie climb, but the criticism of the cramped conditions and the damage caused to nature by the fans grew louder and louder.
Rolf Gölz 1988 in focus
In 1988, the Puy de Dome was therefore included in the Tour de France programme for the last time to date. The German professional cyclist Rolf Gölz was of course unaware of this, but even so, the Swabian was the protagonist of the race together with the Dane Johnny Weltz. The two had broken away early on and rode into the 13th mountain finish on the Puy de Dome with a large lead over the field. "I was in great shape, had already won a stage at the Tour and thought I could take Weltz on the mountain," recalls Gölz. "But when I attacked, I couldn't get away and suddenly he attacked and I couldn't keep up." Bad luck.
The mistake was probably that Gölz led too often on the run. "Our sporting director Jan Raas kept warning me not to go into the wind so much, but unfortunately I didn't take that seriously," Gölz recalls today. At the time, the Swabian was wearing the jersey of the Dutch team Superconfex.
However, when the Tour de France returns to the volcano on 9 July after 35 years, the now 60-year-old will park his motorhome somewhere nearby and come to the route with his wife on his racing bike. "The tour still fascinates me," he says, "and the Puy de Dome in particular, even if I'm not allowed to ride up this time." Yes, he says may, not must. Some people just like it hard.
Hikes on the Puy de Dome
There's no doubt that the Puy de Dome is an impressive mountain and a wonderful hiking area. But cycling on the almost 1500 metre high volcanic cone in the Massif Central near Clermont-Ferrand? The Tour de France stopped there for the first time in 1952. But over the years, the stage finish on the volcano was criticised more and more. The race grew more and more, but the road was actually too narrow for the spectacle and, above all, for the masses of spectators who wanted to be there live.
Spectator gives Eddy Merckx a punch
The pros were also grumbling, as it became increasingly difficult to find a safe route through the raging fans. In 1975, there was an incident that signalled the beginning of the end of the stage finish. Eddy Merckx was riding towards the finish line in the yellow jersey, just behind Bernard Thevenet and Lucien van Impe, when a spectator punched him hard in the liver area. Although Merckx retained the overall lead, he lost 15 seconds to Thevenet - and probably also lost a little morale for the final week of the Tour as a result of the blow; allegedly weakened by painkillers due to the blow, he ultimately lost out to the Frenchman.
The Tour de France did return to the Puy de Dome five more times, but often as a time trial, and in 1988 it was over after the 13th edition. "It's just too narrow to race," said Jean-Francois Pescheux, the course director at the time. However, there were also speculations that the owners of the volcano could no longer come to a financial agreement with the Tour de France.
Puy de Dome: cog railway to the summit
After 1988, the environmental protection requirements became even stricter. Private transport has long been banned, and even cyclists are not allowed to travel the last five kilometres to the summit. In 2012, a modern cog railway was also opened, which travels from Orcines to the summit in 15 minutes. The tracks of the "Panoramique des Domes" narrow the narrow road even more.
However, Tour director Christian Prudhomme and route director Thierry Gouvenou couldn't get the spectacular mountain out of their heads. Originally, the race was supposed to return in 2024, on the 60th anniversary of the duel between Poulidor and Anquetil, but now it's already happening this year. "It was not only our wish, but also the political will of the regional politicians to welcome the Tour back," explains Prudhomme.
The challenge is great, but it can be mastered. "We are able to keep the technology at the finish to a minimum," says the Tour de France boss and announces that "for environmental reasons, no spectators will be allowed along the route for the last four kilometres". This means that there will also be no self-experience in the saddle. Nevertheless, the race is likely to be tight for the pros. Damn close, but probably also spectacular.
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