1964 Tour de France
The 51st Tour de France was held from June 22 through July 14, 1964 and resulted in 22 stages over 4504 km. It was attended by 132 racers participated in the tour, which were classified by 81.
Race course
After his victory at the fourth leg Rudi Altig was the next day represented on the stage to Freiburg im Breisgau in a top group and took over for three days the yellow jersey.
On the first mountain stage, however, Altig lost the jersey to the Frenchman Georges Groussard. Groussard could claim the jersey in the Alps and the Pyrenees, but after the second time trial, he had to give it to Jacques Anquetil. However, unlike in the previous year was Raymond Poulidor, who won the stage to Luchon, still in range and was only a minute behind Anquetil.
On the rise to the Puy de Dôme on the 20th stage, the two Frenchmen delivered a thrilling duel, as they drove by side high side of the mountain. At the end of the stage to Poulidor was deposed, but 14 seconds, which he took out on Anquetil were not enough to threaten him. With his third time trial victory on the final stage Anquetil made his Tour victory perfect, even if in the end he only had a lead of 55 seconds Poulidor.
Anquetil managed by his fourth Tour win in a row as the first rider to win five times the Tour de France. At the same time he reached 1964 Double Tour - Giro d' Italia.
January Janssen from the Netherlands won the green jersey after two stage wins. In his last successful tour participation of Spaniards Federico Bahamontes won the mountain stage just ahead of his countryman Julio Jiménez. Bahamontes, the winner of two stage wins and finish the tour as the third, the mountain competition was won for the sixth time.
Accident
In the 19th stage on July 11 from Bordeaux to Brive supply a police vehicle had an accident on a bridge near Pont de Couze in the Dordogne. In this case, 20 people died.