The route of the 2023 Tour de France includes several brushes with the fate of champions who defined the history of the race. Racing the Tour on home turf was often an intense sporting experience for these riders, who were born or settled down in some of the towns and cities that dot the map of this edition. In the run-up to the start of the event on 1 July, letour.fr is pulling out the photo album to revisit the ties of six extraordinary riders to the Grande Boucle.
Raymond Poulidor was connected to the Limousin by birth —his home department of Creuse used to be part of this former administrative region— and by residence, as he put down roots in the village of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat when he married his fiancée Gisèle the day after turning 25. The incredible Tour de France adventure of the Mercier champion left a mark on the collective consciousness of the race, as the top spot of the podium always eluded him and he never even got to wear the yellow jersey for a single day. He is best remembered as the protagonist of duels with Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx that went down in history. His feats and bitter defeats earned "Poupou" a place in the legend of the Tour.
ALL THE EPISODES
