
Excerpt from 1986 Velo-News about Greg LeMond’s win at the 1986 Tour de France
After Bernard Hinault was weighed so he could be given his weight in coffee by cycling trade sponsor Cafe de Colombia, it was on to stage 22, a 194km ceremonial march from Clermont- Ferrand to Nevers.
Battered by wind and torrid heat, much of this stage from Carcassonne to Nimes was spent riding in echelons.
After two dramatic days in the Pyrenees that saw a big shake up in the overall standings, today’s stage traveled 154 km across the south of France into the foothills of the Alps.
Was it his failure to mount disk wheels, the accumulated fatigue from riding 1,000km at the front of the bunch, or simply “un jour sans,” as a French report has suggested?
After a 100km breakaway in the company of Frenchman Joel Pelier, Dutchman Johan Van der Velde won the sprint at this seaside resort and as a plus took the yellow jersey.
“La Tournée des Accidents” or “The Tour of Crashes” headlined one regional newspaper after this long but flat transitional stage.