The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the
Tour de France, one of cycling's
Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the
highest and iconic climbs in the
Alps and
Pyrenees. It is named in honour of the creator and first race director of the Tour, French sports journalist
Henri Desgrange,[1] who was passionate about taking the Tour de France as high up in the mountains as possible using the most difficult routes.[2]
History
Following the death of Desgrange in August 1940,[3] an award was given in his honour for the first time in the
1947 Tour, the first Tour since
1939, having been cancelled during World War II.[4] On
stage 11,
Raymond Impanis was the first of the field to pass a point by Desgrange's final residence, the "Villa Mia" in Beauvallon,
Grimaud, on the
French Riviera.[5][6] In the first stage of the
1948 Tour, the prize was earned by
Roger Lambrecht in the opening few kilometres at the summit of the
Côte de Picardie climb in
Versailles, Paris.[7][8][9] Beauvallon again hosted the award the following year,[10] before the
1950 and
1951 Tours saw the award marker point moved into the mountains atop the 2,058 m (6,752 ft)-high
Col du Lautaret,[11][12][13] the pass that directly precedes the Galibier climb from the south.[14] In 1949, a monument to Desgrange was built 150 m (492 ft) from the southern entrance of the summit tunnel atop the
Col du Galibier in the Alps, his favourite and one of the Tour's most iconic climbs.[15][16] A wreath is laid at the monument when the Tour passes.[17] Beginning in
1952,[18] the marking point for the prize took place by the monument for the subsequent times the Tour visited the Galibier.[18] Since the
1965 Tour, the Galibier has always been used when it was passed.[18]
The tunnel at the summit of the Galibier was closed for safety reasons in 1976 – eventually re-opening in 2002.[19][20] Bypassing the tunnel, the road was then extended a further kilometre up to the natural crest of the pass,[21] increasing the elevation of the summit by 86 meters to 2,642 m (8,668 ft).[22] This has been the award's marking point on the Galibier ever since it was first traversed in the
1979 Tour, when
Lucien Van Impe claimed the award.[16] The tunnel was passed through on
stage 19 of the
2011 Tour, but in that edition the Galibier was climbed twice in celebration the 100th anniversary of its appearance in the Tour.[23] The finish of the
previous stage was atop the full Galibier climb, where
Andy Schleck claimed memorable stage win as well as the award after his 60 km (37 mi) solo
breakaway.[24] This was first ever Galibier summit stage finish and the highest ever Tour stage finish in history to that point.[23] Further notable stages featuring the award on the Galibier were in the 1952 and
1998 Tours, when Italians
Fausto Coppi and
Marco Pantani, respectively, took the award and then went on to win the stage, which proved decisive to both their overall
general classification victories.[17][25]
Non-summit marking points have been sparsely used for the award.[18] Beauvallon was a host for a total of six times, with a final appearance in the
1964 Tour.[18] The village of
Cysoing in the far north hosted on the
1956 Tour, marking 200,000 kilometres travelled in Tour de France history.[26] Only twice have non-summit marking points happened since 1964.[18]Stage 11 of the
1978 race saw the award given to
Christian Seznec at the legendary village of
Sainte-Marie de Campan in the valley between the
Col du Tourmalet and
Col d'Aspin in the
Pyrenees,[27] made famous when in the
1913 Tour, per the rules,
Eugène Christophe was forced walk 14 km (9 mi) down the Tourmalet carrying his bicycle broken before repairing it at a
forge in Campan.[28] The last time a non-summit point took place during the
Grand Départ (opening
stages) of the
1981 Tour, hosted by
Nice, with the award at first planned to take place in the final kilometres of
stage 1a beside the
Carrefour supermarket on the
Promenade des Anglais. This break from tradition was seen by the media as disrespectful to the race and the legacy of Desgrange.[29][30] For unknown reasons the marking point banner was stolen the night before.[30] The replacement banner was strung up in the
Landes forest 42 km (26 mi) before the end of
stage 7 in
Bordeaux,[31][32] which was won unexpectedly by
Theo de Rooij as a result of him being at the front of the leading breakaway group.[33]
From the 1965 Tour onwards, if the Galibier was not passed then the award was instead given atop a climb of similarly equal height, most commonly the Tourmalet, and beginning with the
1997 Tour, the
highest climb of a Tour was mostly used when the Galibier was not included.[18][34] Since the
2013 Tour, the highest climb has always been used (as of 2019[update]). On two occasions the Galibier climb been cancelled because of bad weather and the award locations were moved;[35] snow in 1996 saw it replaced by the 1,709 m (5,607 ft)-high Pyreenan
Col d'Aubisque,[36][37][38] and
landslides in 2015 moved the award to 2,250 m (7,382 ft)-high Alpine
Col d'Allos.[39]
The amount of cash given as a prize for the award was higher in the early Tours.[18] Cash prizes have also been given to the second and third placed riders. Since
2003, the winner has received a €5000 prize.[18] Only in the
1963 Tour has the award not been given, although at the conclusion of that race there was a special "Desgrange prize" given to the general classification winner
Jacques Anquetil who was adjudged to have had the best "head and legs" throughout the Tour.[18][40] The
Souvenir Jacques Goddet, honouring the second Tour director
Jacques Goddet, is a similar award in the race given since the
2001 Tour mostly atop the Tourmalet.[41][42]
^The award marking point location's of climbs were taken at the summit.
^The award marking point at
Cysoing, 13 km (8 mi) from the finish in
Lille, marked 200,000 km (124,274 mi) travelled in Tour de France history.[26]
^At the conclusion of the
1963 Tour de France, there was a special Desgrange prize given to the cyclist who rode the best "head and legs".
Jacques Anquetil won this prize.[40]
^The
1981 Tour de France award on stage 1a was cancelled following the theft of the marking point banner in
Nice.[31] The location was moved to 185 km (115 mi) into the 227 km (141 mi)-long stage 7.[32]
^The summit of the
Col du Galibier was planned to be used as the marking point for the award on the
2015 Tour de France.[144] but landslides prior to the race forced its cancellation.[39] It would have also been the highest point of the race, and the second highest, the
Col d'Allos,[145] was used in replacement.[39]
^"Coppi le plus fort" [Coppi the strongest] (PDF). L'Impartial (in French). 7 July 1952. p. 3.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2019 – via
RERO.
^"82ème Tour de France 1995" [82nd Tour de France 1995]. Mémoire du cyclisme.
Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the
Tour de France, one of cycling's
Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the
highest and iconic climbs in the
Alps and
Pyrenees. It is named in honour of the creator and first race director of the Tour, French sports journalist
Henri Desgrange,[1] who was passionate about taking the Tour de France as high up in the mountains as possible using the most difficult routes.[2]
History
Following the death of Desgrange in August 1940,[3] an award was given in his honour for the first time in the
1947 Tour, the first Tour since
1939, having been cancelled during World War II.[4] On
stage 11,
Raymond Impanis was the first of the field to pass a point by Desgrange's final residence, the "Villa Mia" in Beauvallon,
Grimaud, on the
French Riviera.[5][6] In the first stage of the
1948 Tour, the prize was earned by
Roger Lambrecht in the opening few kilometres at the summit of the
Côte de Picardie climb in
Versailles, Paris.[7][8][9] Beauvallon again hosted the award the following year,[10] before the
1950 and
1951 Tours saw the award marker point moved into the mountains atop the 2,058 m (6,752 ft)-high
Col du Lautaret,[11][12][13] the pass that directly precedes the Galibier climb from the south.[14] In 1949, a monument to Desgrange was built 150 m (492 ft) from the southern entrance of the summit tunnel atop the
Col du Galibier in the Alps, his favourite and one of the Tour's most iconic climbs.[15][16] A wreath is laid at the monument when the Tour passes.[17] Beginning in
1952,[18] the marking point for the prize took place by the monument for the subsequent times the Tour visited the Galibier.[18] Since the
1965 Tour, the Galibier has always been used when it was passed.[18]
The tunnel at the summit of the Galibier was closed for safety reasons in 1976 – eventually re-opening in 2002.[19][20] Bypassing the tunnel, the road was then extended a further kilometre up to the natural crest of the pass,[21] increasing the elevation of the summit by 86 meters to 2,642 m (8,668 ft).[22] This has been the award's marking point on the Galibier ever since it was first traversed in the
1979 Tour, when
Lucien Van Impe claimed the award.[16] The tunnel was passed through on
stage 19 of the
2011 Tour, but in that edition the Galibier was climbed twice in celebration the 100th anniversary of its appearance in the Tour.[23] The finish of the
previous stage was atop the full Galibier climb, where
Andy Schleck claimed memorable stage win as well as the award after his 60 km (37 mi) solo
breakaway.[24] This was first ever Galibier summit stage finish and the highest ever Tour stage finish in history to that point.[23] Further notable stages featuring the award on the Galibier were in the 1952 and
1998 Tours, when Italians
Fausto Coppi and
Marco Pantani, respectively, took the award and then went on to win the stage, which proved decisive to both their overall
general classification victories.[17][25]
Non-summit marking points have been sparsely used for the award.[18] Beauvallon was a host for a total of six times, with a final appearance in the
1964 Tour.[18] The village of
Cysoing in the far north hosted on the
1956 Tour, marking 200,000 kilometres travelled in Tour de France history.[26] Only twice have non-summit marking points happened since 1964.[18]Stage 11 of the
1978 race saw the award given to
Christian Seznec at the legendary village of
Sainte-Marie de Campan in the valley between the
Col du Tourmalet and
Col d'Aspin in the
Pyrenees,[27] made famous when in the
1913 Tour, per the rules,
Eugène Christophe was forced walk 14 km (9 mi) down the Tourmalet carrying his bicycle broken before repairing it at a
forge in Campan.[28] The last time a non-summit point took place during the
Grand Départ (opening
stages) of the
1981 Tour, hosted by
Nice, with the award at first planned to take place in the final kilometres of
stage 1a beside the
Carrefour supermarket on the
Promenade des Anglais. This break from tradition was seen by the media as disrespectful to the race and the legacy of Desgrange.[29][30] For unknown reasons the marking point banner was stolen the night before.[30] The replacement banner was strung up in the
Landes forest 42 km (26 mi) before the end of
stage 7 in
Bordeaux,[31][32] which was won unexpectedly by
Theo de Rooij as a result of him being at the front of the leading breakaway group.[33]
From the 1965 Tour onwards, if the Galibier was not passed then the award was instead given atop a climb of similarly equal height, most commonly the Tourmalet, and beginning with the
1997 Tour, the
highest climb of a Tour was mostly used when the Galibier was not included.[18][34] Since the
2013 Tour, the highest climb has always been used (as of 2019[update]). On two occasions the Galibier climb been cancelled because of bad weather and the award locations were moved;[35] snow in 1996 saw it replaced by the 1,709 m (5,607 ft)-high Pyreenan
Col d'Aubisque,[36][37][38] and
landslides in 2015 moved the award to 2,250 m (7,382 ft)-high Alpine
Col d'Allos.[39]
The amount of cash given as a prize for the award was higher in the early Tours.[18] Cash prizes have also been given to the second and third placed riders. Since
2003, the winner has received a €5000 prize.[18] Only in the
1963 Tour has the award not been given, although at the conclusion of that race there was a special "Desgrange prize" given to the general classification winner
Jacques Anquetil who was adjudged to have had the best "head and legs" throughout the Tour.[18][40] The
Souvenir Jacques Goddet, honouring the second Tour director
Jacques Goddet, is a similar award in the race given since the
2001 Tour mostly atop the Tourmalet.[41][42]
^The award marking point location's of climbs were taken at the summit.
^The award marking point at
Cysoing, 13 km (8 mi) from the finish in
Lille, marked 200,000 km (124,274 mi) travelled in Tour de France history.[26]
^At the conclusion of the
1963 Tour de France, there was a special Desgrange prize given to the cyclist who rode the best "head and legs".
Jacques Anquetil won this prize.[40]
^The
1981 Tour de France award on stage 1a was cancelled following the theft of the marking point banner in
Nice.[31] The location was moved to 185 km (115 mi) into the 227 km (141 mi)-long stage 7.[32]
^The summit of the
Col du Galibier was planned to be used as the marking point for the award on the
2015 Tour de France.[144] but landslides prior to the race forced its cancellation.[39] It would have also been the highest point of the race, and the second highest, the
Col d'Allos,[145] was used in replacement.[39]
^"Coppi le plus fort" [Coppi the strongest] (PDF). L'Impartial (in French). 7 July 1952. p. 3.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2019 – via
RERO.
^"82ème Tour de France 1995" [82nd Tour de France 1995]. Mémoire du cyclisme.
Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.