1983_Tour_de_France

1983 Tour de France

1983 Tour de France

Cycling race

The 1983 Tour de France was the 70th edition of the Tour de France, run from 1 to 24 July, with 22 stages and a prologue covering a total distance of 3,809 km (2,367 mi) The race was won by French rider Laurent Fignon. Sean Kelly of Ireland won the points classification, and Lucien Van Impe of Belgium won the mountains classification.

Quick Facts Race details, Dates ...

Teams

For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 1983 Tour de France.

The Tour organisation wanted to globalize cycling by having cyclist from the Eastern Bloc in the Tour. Because they only rode as amateurs, the 1983 Tour was also opened for amateur teams. In the end, only the Colombian and Portuguese national amateur teams applied for a place,[1] and the Portuguese team later withdrew. The 1983 Tour started with 140 cyclists, divided into 14 teams of 10 cyclists.[2]

The teams entering the race were:[2]

The amateur teams were allowed to ride with a co-sponsor, and the Colombian team had Varta as co-sponsor. This angered the Bianchi–Piaggio team, and although they were invited to compete, they refused to come.[3]

Route and stages

The 1983 Tour de France started on 1 July, and had one rest day, after the finish on the Alpe d'Huez.[4] The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,115 m (6,939 ft) at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet mountain pass on stage 10.[5][6]

More information Stage, Date ...

Race overview

Main articles: 1983 Tour de France, Prologue to Stage 11 and 1983 Tour de France, Stage 12 to Stage 22
Laurent Fignon (pictured at the 1993 Tour), winner of the general classification

In 1983, Fignon was a part of the team that helped Bernard Hinault to win the 1983 Vuelta a España. Guimard did not want to send Fignon to the Tour de France, because two Grand Tours could be too much for a 22-year-old rider.[11] When Hinault, winner of four of five previous Tours, announced that he would not start due to injury, the Renault team was without a team captain. Fignon was added to the 1983 Tour de France selection for the Renault team, and the team decided to go for stage wins, with hopes of having Fignon or Marc Madiot compete for the young rider classification.[12] After stage nine, the first mountain stage, Fignon was in second place, behind Pascal Simon,[13] and he was allowed to be team leader.[14] In the eleventh stage, Simon crashed and broke his shoulder blade. Simon continued, and only lost little time the next stages. In the fifteenth stage, a mountain time trial, Fignon was able to win back so much time that he was within one minute of Simon.[15]

In the seventeenth stage, Simon had to give up, and Fignon became the new leader. In the next stages, Fignon was able to answer all attacks from his opponents, and he even won the time trial in the 21st stage. At 22 years old, Fignon was the youngest man to win the Tour since 1933.

Fignon later said that he was lucky to have won the 1983 Tour: if Hinault would have been present, Fignon would have helped Hinault, as Hinault was the team leader.[16]

Classification leadership and minor prizes

There were several classifications in the 1983 Tour de France, four of them awarding jerseys to their leaders.[17] The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[18]

Additionally, there was a points classification, where cyclists got points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[19]

There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as either hors catégorie, first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and wore a white jersey with red polka dots.[20]

Another classification was the young rider classification. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders that rode the Tour for the first time were eligible, and the leader wore a white jersey.[21]

The fifth individual classification was the intermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but only points were awarded on intermediate sprints. In 1983, this classification had no associated jersey.[22]

The team classification changed; in 1982 it was calculated with the times of the best four cyclists in every stage, and in 1983 this changed to the times of the best three cyclists.[1] The riders in the team that led this classification were identified by yellow caps.[22] There was also a team points classification. Cyclists received points according to their finishing position on each stage, with the first rider receiving one point. The first three finishers of each team had their points combined, and the team with the fewest points led the classification. The riders of the team leading this classification wore green caps.[22]

In addition, there was a combativity award given after each mass-start stage to the cyclist considered most combative. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification.[23] Serge Demierre won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award.[4] The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Tourmalet on stage 10. This prize was won by José Patrocinio Jiménez.[24][25]

More information Stage, Stage winner ...

Final standings

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General classification

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More information Final general classification (11–88), Rank ...

Points classification

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Mountains classification

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Young rider classification

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Combination classification

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Intermediate sprints classification

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Team classification

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Team points classification

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Combativity classification

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References

  1. [1]
    "Alleen Portugese en Colombiaanse amateurs in Ronde van Frankrijk". Amigoe (in Dutch). Koninklijke Bibliotheek. 13 January 1983. p. 6. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  2. [2]
    "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1983 – The starters". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. [3]
    Verheesen, Wiel (3 June 1983). "Tour de France werpt schaduwen al vooruit". Limburgsch dagblad (in Dutch).
  4. [4]
    Augendre 2016, p. 74.
  5. [5]
    Augendre 2016, p. 188.
  6. [6]
    "Ronde van Frankrijk" [Tour de France]. Het Vrije Volk (in Dutch). 29 June 1983. p. 17 – via Delpher.
  7. [7]
    "70ème Tour de France 1983" [70th Tour de France 1983]. Mémoire du cyclisme (in French). Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  8. [8]
    Zwegers, Arian. "Tour de France GC top ten". CVCCBike.com. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  9. [9]
    "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1983 – The stage winners". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. [10]
    Augendre 2016, p. 110.
  11. [11]
    McGann & McGann 2008, pp. 143–144.
  12. [12]
    McGann & McGann 2008, p. 139.
  13. [13]
    McGann & McGann 2008, p. 141.
  14. [14]
    "Rider biographies: Laurent Fignon". Cycling hall of fame. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  15. [15]
    McGann & McGann 2008, p. 142.
  16. [16]
    Pickering, Edward (31 August 2010). "Laurent Fignon: My way or the fairway". Cycling Weekly. IPC Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  17. [17]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 452–455.
  18. [18]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 452–453.
  19. [19]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 453–454.
  20. [20]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 454.
  21. [21]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, pp. 454–455.
  22. [22]
    Nauright & Parrish 2012, p. 455.
  23. [23]
    van den Akker 2018, pp. 211–216.
  24. [24]
    Millar, Robert (8 July 2016). "Robert Millar blog: Winning in the Circle of Death". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  25. [25]
    "Tourrenners gaan minder verdienen" [Tour riders are going to earn less]. Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). 1 July 1983. p. 7 – via De Krant van Toen.
  26. [26]
    "Dag na dag" [Day to day]. Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 25 July 1983. p. 21. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
  27. [27]
    Martin et al. 1983, p. 125.
  28. [28]
    van den Akker, Pieter. "Informatie over de Tour de France van 1983" [Information about the Tour de France from 1983]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  29. [29]
    "The history of the Tour de France – Year 1983 – Stage 22 Alfortville > Paris". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  30. [30]
    "Clasificaciones" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 July 1983. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2019.
  31. [31]
    "Eindklassement" [Final classification]. Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 25 July 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 18 July 2013 – via Regionaal Archief Leiden.
  32. [32]
    van den Akker, Pieter. "Stand in het jongerenklassement – Etappe 22" [Standings in the youth classification – Stage 22]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  33. [33]
    van den Akker, Pieter. "Combinatieklassement" [Combination classification]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  34. [34]
    van den Akker, Pieter. "Sprintdoorkomsten in de Tour de France 1983" [Sprint results in the Tour de France 1983]. TourDeFranceStatistieken.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  35. [35]
    Martin et al. 1983, p. 124.
  36. [36]
    Martin et al. 1983, p. 126.

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