Home / Series / History Channel Documentaries / Aired Order / Season 2007 / Episode 283

Le Tour de France: The Official History 1903-2006

The early years of the Tour are full of heroics and all the protagonists are featured, from Lucien Petit Breton and Philippe Thijs, to Rene Vietto and Antonin Magne. After WW2 came the Italian revolution with the emergence of Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, one of the greatest of them all. However, the Golden Age of the 50's saw the return of the French champions in Bobet, Walkowiak and Gaul as well as the inaugural win of Jacques Anquetil in 1957 who went on to complete the first ever five-timer. His battles with Raymond Poulidor are still talked about to this day. Then came Eddy Merckx, who trounced the opposition in his five victories. Merckx was followed by Luis Ocana, Bernard Thevenet and Lucien Van Impe before the next five-time winner emerged in Bernard Hinault, followed by Spanish legend Miguel Indurain who dominated the early 1990's with his five consecutive victories from 1991. Other individual highlights include Stephen Roche's 1987 victory and the amazing 1989 success of Greg LeMond over two-time winner Laurent Fignon by a mere eight seconds. The programme finishes with an extended profile of the now disgraced Lance Armstrong. Introduced by Sean Kelly and narrated by David Duffield.

English
  • Runtime 45 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-PG
  • Network History
  • Created August 1, 2015 by
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  • Modified August 1, 2015 by
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