The 1962 Tour de France was the 49th edition of cycling’s Grand Tour. The 4,274-kilometre race consisted of 22 stages, including two split stages, starting in Nancy on 24 June and finishing at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 15 July. Jacques Anquetil of the Saint-Raphaël–Helyett–Hutchinson team won the overall general classification.
About 1962 Tour de France in brief
The 1962 Tour de France was the 49th edition of cycling’s Grand Tour. The 4,274-kilometre race consisted of 22 stages, including two split stages, starting in Nancy on 24 June and finishing at the Parc des Princes in Paris on 15 July. After more than 30 years, the Tour was again contested by trade teams instead of national teams. Jacques Anquetil of the Saint-Raphaël–Helyett–Hutchinson team won the overall general classification, defending his title. Jef Planckaert placed second, 4 min 59 s in arrears, and Raymond Poulidor was third, over ten minutes behind Anquetill. The average age of riders in the race was 27. 5 years, ranging from 21-year-old Tiziano Galvanin to 40- year-old Pino Cerami. The Legnano–Pirelli cyclists had the youngest average age while Margnat–Paloma–D’Alessandro had the oldest. The presentation of the teams took place in front of local dignitaries in Nancy before the start of the race. The teams were:Majority of French cyclists were considered contenders for the general classification. The other contenders were Rudi Altig, Gastone Charlesily, Federico Bahamontes, Nencini Anglade, Henry Guencini and Rik Van Looy. The race was won by AnquetIL, who was the defending champion before the Tour. His closest rivals were thought to be Flandria rider Willy Schroeders, Rik van Looy and Rik Van Looy, who abandoned the race with an injury.
The overall awards for most combative and unluckiest were given to Eddy Pauwels and VanLooy respectively. Altig and Emile Daems won the most stages, with three each. Of the start list of 150, 66 were riding the Tour of France for the first time. The largest numbers of riders from a nation came from Italy, with the next largest coming from France and Belgium. Riders represented a further six nations, all European. In 1962 commercially sponsored international trade teams returned. Each of the 15 teams consisted of 10 cyclists, an increase from the 1961 Tour, which had 11 teams of 12 cyclists. Each team was required to have a dominant nationality; at least six cyclists should have the same nationality, or only two nationalities should be present. The Tour was contested by 15 teams, with the final list of 15 announced at the end of the month. The first stage was the first stage of the opening day in Nancy, with riders entering the city in the Place de la Carrière in the early hours of the morning. The second stage was a time trial stage in the town of Carlesily in the afternoon. The third stage was an individual time trial in the city of Nantes in the evening.
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