When Anquetil and Poulidor rode shoulder to shoulder

Two riders and an entire nation

Anquetil was the cool specialist who had won the Tour four times. Poulidor was the challenger, already gaining a reputation for always coming close. The press often exaggerated that contrast, but on the Puy de Dôme it produced an image that needed no explanation.

Stage 20 ran from Brive-la-Gaillarde to Clermont-Ferrand and finished on the volcano. Spain’s Julio Jiménez attacked and won the stage. Behind him, the contest for the yellow jersey became far more famous than the winner.

Elbows meet

Anquetil and Poulidor stayed together on the final climb. Shoulder to shoulder, neither could read the other’s face without revealing weakness himself. The photographs make the moment look like a motionless duel. In reality, both men were at their limit.

With about one kilometre remaining, Anquetil could no longer hold the wheel. Poulidor pulled away and gained 42 seconds. It looked like the attack that might overturn the entire race, but Anquetil had started with a larger advantage. When the times were calculated, he retained the yellow jersey by just 14 seconds.

Poulidor won the duel on the mountain. Anquetil retained control of the race.

The Tour was decided against the clock

After the Puy de Dôme, the gap was small enough for every second to matter. But the final time trial suited Anquetil better. In Paris he stood as winner of his fifth Tour de France, 55 seconds ahead of Poulidor.

The scene therefore contains both riders’ reputations in miniature. Poulidor could attack, excite the crowds and draw closer without taking the yellow jersey. Anquetil could appear under pressure yet manage the race until his strongest discipline arrived. It is a simple story, but not the whole truth about two long careers.

The third name

It is worth remembering that Jiménez won the stage. History often recalls the two Frenchmen because their duel concerned the entire Tour. The result says something else: a climbing specialist crossed the line first while the two favourites decided who would carry yellow onwards.