1962 Tour de France
The 49th Tour de France took place from 24 June to 15 July in 1962 and resulted in 22 stages over 4274 km. For the first time since 1929, no such national and regional teams, but teams that are supported by companies at the start. It was attended by 149 racers participated in the tour, which were classified by 94.
Race course
The tour started with a German stage victory, Rudi Altig won the first section and could, according to another stage victory on the third leg drive a few days in the yellow jersey. Altig scored a total of three stage wins and won the green jersey.
Raymond Poulidor, who won the French championship and Milan-San Remo before the start of the tour, was hampered at the start by a broken hand and lost on the first stage already eight minutes. He could, however, be increased in the course of the tour and won the difficult mountain stage to Aix -les- Bains. In the end, he finished in third place in the overall standings.
Last year's winner Jacques Anquetil of France won as early as 1961, two time trials, but only with the second success he could take the lead three days before the end of the tour. Previously, Anquetil was defensive against the better climber as Federico Bahamontes, who won the mountain classification for the fourth time, down.
Anquetil's fiercest competitor for the overall victory, however, was the Belgian Joseph Planckaert, who took over the yellow jersey in the Pyrenees. Only after his victory in the final time trial, in which he took Poulidor and Planckaert out over five minutes Anquetil made his third Tour victory perfectly. The Frenchman turned in his victory also set a new speed record: He was an average of 37.306 km / h fast.