1978 Tour de France
Pollentier's test-cheating exit and Hinault's first Tour.
The 1978 Tour de France was the 65th edition, held from 29 June to 23 July over 22 stages and 3,908 km. After winning the sixteenth stage to Alpe d'Huez and taking the yellow jersey, Michel Pollentier was caught trying to cheat the doping test and left the race, leaving the overall to be fought out between Joop Zoetemelk and the debutant Bernard Hinault. Hinault, winner of that year's Vuelta a España and the better time triallist, won the first of his five Tours; Zoetemelk, already three times a runner-up, had been rated the stronger climber. Freddy Maertens won the points classification and Mariano Martínez the mountains. With Merckx, Gimondi, Poulidor and Ocaña retired and Van Impe recovering from a broken collarbone, eleven teams of ten started.
Quick Facts
- Date
- 29 June – 23 July 1978
- Stages
- 22 + Prologue, including two split stages
- Distance
- 3908
- First
- Bernard Hinault
- First team
- REN (1978)
- First color
- yellow
- Second
- Joop Zoetemelk
- Second team
- Mercier (1978)
Facts from the source article.
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