1.
Laurent Fignon
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Laurent Patrick Fignon was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro dItalia in 1989. He nearly captured the Tour de France for a time in 1989 before being edged by Greg LeMond by 8 seconds. Fignon won many races, including taking Milan–San Remo back-to-back in 1988 and 1989. He died from cancer in 2010, Fignon was born in Montmartre, Paris. His family moved to Tournan-en-Brie in 1963, where he lived until he left for Paris at age 23 and his first sport was football and he got as far as playing for his département or area. Friends encouraged him into cycling and he rode his first official race in 1976, Fignons parents did not want him to race, and he raced without them knowing. He won four races in his first year, but only one in his second year. In this third year, he won 18 out of 36 races, Fignons parents allowed him to race, but still thought that he should study. Fignon entered the University of Villetaneuse, studying Structural and Materials Science, Fignon was not interested in his studies, and was an indifferent student. His chief desire was to pursue cycling and he told his parents that he was leaving the university and would join the army at the end of the year to do his military service. He was posted at the Bataillon de Joinville, known for its sporting reputation, after this, Fignon was sure he wanted to pursue a professional career. In 1981, Fignon rode the Tour of Corsica which allowed amateur cyclists to ride along with professional riders, Fignon rode an early stage attempting to hold the wheel of Bernard Hinault, the top professional cyclist, and succeeded for much of the race. Cyrille Guimard observed the young cyclist a few days later at the national 100 km team time trial, in May 1981 he offered him a place on his Renault-Elf-Gitane professional team from the following year. Fignon joined the team in 1982, along with longtime friend, Fignon was 21 years of age. In 1982, Fignon rode the 1982 Giro dItalia, after Fignon broke away in the second stage, he became the leader of the race, and got to wear the pink jersey. He lost the lead in the stage, but became Hinaults most trusted team mate in the mountains. In Paris–Tours, Fignon had escaped and made a break of 40 seconds, during this first year as a professional, Fignon won the Critérium National. In 1983, Fignon was a part of the team that helped Bernard Hinault to win the 1983 Vuelta a España, Guimard did not want to send Fignon to the Tour de France, because two grand tours could be too much for a 22-year-old rider
2.
Movistar Team (men's team)
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Movistar Team is a professional road bicycle racing team which participates in the UCI ProTour and has achieved thirteen general classification victories in Grand Tours. The title sponsor is the Spanish mobile telephone company Telefónica, with the team riding under the name of the companys brand Movistar, the team offices are in Egüés, a municipality of Navarre, Spain, in the metropolitan area of Pamplona. A later sponsor was Caisse dEpargne, a French semi-cooperative banking group, having previously used Pinarello bikes, the team rode Canyon frames in 2014, with Campagnolo parts. Since 2008 Eusebio Unzué has been the manager of the team after the long running manager, José Miguel Echavarri, directeurs sportifs of the team include Neil Stephens, Alfonso Galilea and José Luis Jaimerena. The team began in 1980 as the Reynolds team which José Miguel Echavarri as the directeur sportif, in 1982 signed a young Pedro Delgado who acted as a domestique for team leader Ángel Arroyo during the 1982 Vuelta a España. Arroyo won the Vuelta after his team controlled the race after he took the lead, but 48 hours after his Vuelta win, the results of a positive test were made known for Methylphenidate. Arroyo and the Reynolds team denied that Arroyo doped and asked for a B-analysis which confirmed the positive A-sample, Arroyo became the first winner of the Vuelta a España to be disqualified. Delgado changed teams in 1985 but returned to Reynolds in 1988 where he won the 1988 Tour de France, in 1984, Miguel Indurain made his professional debut with the team. In 1990 Spanish bank Banesto took over as the sponsor of the team from Reynolds. Delgado was the leader for the Tour de France while Miguel Indurain. When Gorospe took the lead in that years Vuelta, the team went behind him in a bid to win the race. Over the following years, Indurain rose to become a dominator of stage races winning five editions of the Tour de France, Delgado was the team leader for the Vuelta. The team also achieved success with Jean-François Bernard who won the 1992 edition of Paris–Nice with the team, the team won the Vuelta again in 1998 with Abraham Olano. During this time Alex Zülle joined the team and finished the 1999 Tour de France second overall while legendary climber José María Jiménez performed in the Vuelta a España, the team became known as iBanesto. com in the final years of the sponsorship of the Banesto bank. In 2004 Illes Balears, the Balearic Islands Tourism Board, became the principal sponsor. Caisse dEpargne took over from Banesto as the sponsor in the 2005 season. Caisse dEpargne then became the sponsor in 2006 reversing the title sponsor ordering with the name. The team fielded a number of contenders in the 2005 Tour de France including Francisco Mancebo, Alejandro Valverde, Vladimir Karpets
3.
Peter Winnen
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Peter Johannes Gertrudis Winnen is a Dutch former road racing cyclist. He competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in road racing and finished in 26th place, after the Games he turned professional in 1981. Among his 14 victories were two stages at Alpe dHuez in the Tour de France and a national championship and he came third in the Tour de France in 1983. On the Dutch TV-show Reporter, Steven Rooks, Maarten Ducrot, Winnen talked about his Tour in 1986. I was very bad and had the choice, go back to home or to me with testosterone. During his career with Raleigh, Panasonic and Buckler, Winnen used testosterone, amphetamines, List of Dutch Olympic cyclists List of doping cases in cycling Peter Winnen profile at Cycling Archives Official Tour de France results for Peter Winnen
4.
Lucien Van Impe
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Lucien Van Impe is a Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France and he was the winner of the 1976 Tour de France, and six times winner of the mountains classification in the Tour de France. Van Impe credits the start of his career to Spaniard Federico Bahamontes, a climber nicknamed the eagle of Toledo, in 1968 van Impe was King of the Mountains in the Tour de lAvenir. Bahamontes used his influence to get van Impe a contract as a professional, in 1969, Van Impe started his professional career with a 12th place in the 1969 Tour de France. In 1971, Van Impe won his first Mountains classification in the Tour de France and he would repeat that five more times, a record then shared with Bahamontes. Van Impes Sonolor team fused with Gitane to become Gitane-Campagnolo in 1975, former French champion Cyrille Guimard, who retired in early 1976, became directeur sportif in 1976. In that year van Impe duelled several times with Zoetemelk in the mountains of the 1976 Tour de France. Guimard claims it was his order to attack Zoetemelk that won van Impe the Tour, after 1976, van Impe changed teams. In the 1977 Tour de France he started favorite but failed to take a lead in the mountains and he waited until the last mountain stage, to Alpe dHuez, but forgot to eat, causing him to lose his lead. In that tour, he was caught by one of the cars and fell. After three lesser years, Van Impe made a comeback in 1981 with second place and first in the mountain classification and he won the mountain classification in the Giro dItalia twice. Single-day races were not his specialty and it was a surprise that he won the championship in 1983. Van Impe started 15 Tours de France and reached the finish in Paris every time and he is now head of a cycling team of professional riders, called Wanty–Groupe Gobert. Lucien Van Impe lives in Impe with his wife Rita, he has two grown up children, a son and a daughter and his house is called Alpe DHuez, after the French mountain where he took the yellow jersey in 1976. When he came home that year, the bar where his supporters gathered every day to watch him win the Tour, was painted yellow entirely, during or after his professional career, Van Impe has never tested positive, refused a doping test or confessed having used doping
5.
Tour de France
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The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper LAuto, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams. Traditionally, the race is primarily in the month of July. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period, the race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France. The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each, all of the stages are timed to the finish, the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team. The Tour de France was created in 1903, the roots of the Tour de France trace back to the emergence of two rival sports newspapers in the country. On the one hand was Le Vélo, the first and the largest daily newspaper in France which sold 80,000 copies a day. On the other was LAuto, which had been set-up by journalists and business-people including Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément, the new newspaper appointed Henri Desgrange as the editor. He was a prominent cyclist and owner with Victor Goddet of the velodrome at the Parc des Princes, De Dion knew him through his cycling reputation, through the books and cycling articles that he had written, and through press articles he had written for the Clément tyre company. LAuto was not the success its backers wanted, stagnating sales lower than the rival it was intended to surpass led to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 on the middle floor of LAutos office at 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris. The last to speak was the most junior there, the chief cycling journalist, Desgrange had poached him from Giffards paper. Lefèvre suggested a six-day race of the sort popular on the track, long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers, but nothing of the length that Lefèvre suggested had been attempted. If it succeeded, it would help LAuto match its rival and it could, as Desgrange said, nail Giffards beak shut. Desgrange and Lefèvre discussed it after lunch, Desgrange was doubtful but the papers financial director, Victor Goddet, was enthusiastic. He handed Desgrange the keys to the safe and said
6.
Points classification in the Tour de France
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The points classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and it is considered a sprinters competition. The leader is indicated by a jersey which has become a symbol for the points classification in the sense that when a cyclist wins the points classification. After scandals in the 1904 Tour de France, the rules of the 1905 Tour de France were changed, the winner was no longer determined by the time system, but with the points system. The cyclists received points, equal to their ranking in the stage, after the 1912 Tour de France, the system was changed back to the time system that is still in use. In the 1953 Tour de France, to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Tour de France, the system was reintroduced. Because the leader in the general classification wears a jersey, the leader in the points classification also received a special jersey. The color green was chosen because the sponsor was a lawn mower producer, in the first years, the cyclist only received penalty points for not finishing with a high place, so the cyclist with the least points was awarded the green jersey. From 1959 on, the system was changed so the cyclists were awarded points for high place finishes, in 1968 the jersey was red, to please the sponsor. On four occasions, the winner of the classification was also the winner of the general classification. In 1969, Eddy Merckx won the classification, the points classification and the mountains classification. Currently, the classification is calculated by adding up the points collected in the stage. Points are rewarded for the first cyclists to cross the finish-line or the sprint line. In the 2011 Tour de France, the scheme was used, Riders can lose points for various infractions to the rules. Before the start of the Tour de France, the organization declares which stages are considered flat, when the order in which cyclists crossed the line cannot be determined or when cyclists score exactly the same time in the prologue/individual time trial, the cyclists divide the points. A cyclist that does not finish a stage is removed from the points classification, after every stage, the leader in the points classification is given a green jersey. In the event of a tie in the ranking, the cyclist with the most stage victories is the leader, if that is also a tie, the number of intermediate sprint victories indicates the leader. If that is also a tie, the classification determines the leader
7.
Mountains classification in the Tour de France
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The mountains classification is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, that started in 1933. It is given to rider that gains the most points for reaching mountain summits first, the leader of the classification is named the King of the Mountains, and since 1975 wears the polka dot jersey, a white jersey with red polka dots. The first Tour de France crossed no mountain passes, but several lesser cols, the first was the col des Echarmeaux, on the opening stage from Paris to Lyon, on what is now the old road from Autun to Lyon. The stage from Lyon to Marseille included the col de la République, also known as the col du Grand Bois, the first major climb—the Ballon dAlsace in the Vosges — was featured in the 1905 race. True mountains were not included until the Pyrenees in 1910, in that year the race rode, or more walked, first the col dAubisque and then the nearby Tourmalet. The assistant organiser, Victor Breyer, stood at the summit of the Aubisque with the colleague who had proposed including the Pyrenees, the tour organiser, Henri Desgrange was confident enough after the Pyrenees to include the Alps in 1911. The highest climb in the race was the Cime de la Bonette-Restefond in the 1962 Tour de France, the highest mountain finish in the Tour was at the Col du Galibier in the 2011 edition. Since 1905, the organising newspaper lAuto named one cyclist of the Tour de France the meilleur grimpeur, in 1933, Vicente Trueba was the winner of this classification. However, Trueba was a poor descender, so he never gained anything from reaching the tops first. The Tour de France director, Henri Desgrange, decided that cyclists should receive a bonus for reaching the tops first. From 1934 on, the gap between the first and the second cyclist to reach the top was given as a bonus to the one reaching the top first. These time bonuses were removed, but the King of the Mountain recognition remained. Although the best climber was first recognised in 1933, the jersey was not introduced until 1975. The colours were decided by the sponsor, Chocolat Poulain. The Tours jersey colours have also adopted by other cycling stage races, for example. At the top of many climbs in the Tour, there are points for the riders who are first over the top. The climbs are divided into categories from 1 to 4 based on their difficulty, measured as a function of their steepness, length, location within the stage, and location in the overall race. In 2004, the system was changed such that the first rider over a fourth category climb was awarded 3 points while the first to complete a hors catégorie climb would win 20 points
8.
Eastern Bloc
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The Eastern Bloc was the group of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The terms Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc were also used to denote groupings of states aligned with the Soviet Union, although these terms might include states outside Central and Eastern Europe. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who viewed the Soviet Union as a socialist island, Eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Bessarabia in northern Romania were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence. Lithuania was added in a secret protocol in September 1939. During the Occupation of East Poland by the Soviet Union, the Soviets liquidated the Polish state, Soviet authorities immediately started a campaign of sovietization of the newly Soviet-annexed areas. Soviet authorities collectivized agriculture, and nationalized and redistributed private and state-owned Polish property, the international community condemned this initial annexation of the Baltic states and deemed it illegal. In June 1941, Germany broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by invading the Soviet Union, from the time of this invasion to 1944, the areas annexed by the Soviet Union were part of Germanys Ostland. Thereafter, the Soviet Union began to push German forces westward through a series of battles on the Eastern Front, from 1943 to 1945, several conferences regarding Post-War Europe occurred that, in part, addressed the potential Soviet annexation and control of countries in Central Europe. I think that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask for nothing from him in return, noblesse oblige, he wont try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace. While meeting with Stalin and Roosevelt in Tehran in 1943, Churchill stated that Britain was vitally interested in restoring Poland as an independent country, Britain did not press the matter for fear that it would become a source of inter-allied friction. In February 1945, at the conference at Yalta, Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of influence in Central Europe. Stalin eventually was convinced by Churchill and Roosevelt not to dismember Germany, after resistance by Churchill and Roosevelt, Stalin promised a re-organization of the current pro-Soviet government on a broader democratic basis in Poland. He stated that the new primary task would be to prepare elections. In addition to reparations, Stalin pushed for war booty, which would permit the Soviet Union to directly seize property from conquered nations without quantitative or qualitative limitation, a clause was added permitting this to occur with some limitations. At first, the Soviets concealed their role in other Eastern Bloc politics, as a young communist was told in East Germany, its got to look democratic, but we must have everything in our control. Moscow-trained cadres were put into crucial power positions to fulfill orders regarding sociopolitical transformation, elimination of the bourgeoisies social and financial power by expropriation of landed and industrial property was accorded absolute priority. These measures were publicly billed as reforms rather than socioeconomic transformations, the bloc system permitted the Soviet Union to exercise domestic control indirectly. Crucial departments such as responsible for personnel, general police, secret police
9.
Peugeot (cycling team)
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Peugeot team was a French professional cycling team that promoted and rode Peugeot racing bikes. It is listed as the most successful cycling team of all time, on cyclingranking. com, with a margin on the second placed team. Peugeot cycles started producing bicycles in 1882, and from then on it was involved in sponsoring cyclists, at the beginning of the century a Peugeot cycling team existed. But the Peugeot team obtained success for the following 4 years in the Tour de France with Louis Trousselier, René Pottier, the Peugeot team finished second overall in the 1912 Giro dItalia. The team would obtain two further victories in the Tour de France with Belgian Philippe Thys before the outbreak of the First World War. Directly after the war, Peugeot cycles was one of the companies made a consortium that pooled their resources into a collective cycling team called La Sportive. The objective of forming such a consortium was to keep the sport alive in the poor economic situation. After 3 years of the La Sportive consortium, Peugeot re-established its separate cycling team, during this time the team was known as the Peugeot team, or sometimes the name of a co-sponsor was added, which occasionally was Wolber, Alcyon, Dunlop, Tedeschi, Bianchi-Pirelli. From 1936 until 1955 the team was the Peugeot-Dunlop team, yves Petit-Breton would be a directeur sportif of the team in 1956. From 1948 to 1959 there was a Belgian cycling team which was sponsored by Peugeot. In 1958, Gaston Plaud became the directeur sportif of Peugeot-BP and he would direct big names to success, such as Charly Gaul, Pino Cerami, Ferdinand Bracke, Walter Godefroot, Tom Simpson, Jean-Pierre Danguillaume, and the early career of Eddy Merckx. In 1963 Team Peugeot adopted the black and white checkerboard design, in 1967, the Tour de France was disputed by national teams, and one of Peugeots riders, Roger Pingeon won the race. He would win the 1969 Vuelta a España for the team, the team won the Vuelta a España again, with Ferdinand Bracke in 1971. The name of the changed in 1965 to Peugeot-BP Michelin, which it stayed until 1976. Maurice De Muer became directeur sportif with the team in 1975 and he directed the team until 1982. The last time the team would win the Tour de France would be with Bernard Thévenet, in 1982 Shell became the second sponsor, and until its finish the team was Peugeot-Shell-Michelin. In the late seventies and early eighties, the team signed many Anglophone riders, many of these came from a Parisian Amateur club Athletic Club de Boulogne Billencourt that acted as a feeder club for top amateurs to turn professional. Phil Anderson, Robert Millar, Stephen Roche, Sean Yates, the last time that the team had the yellow jersey of the Tour was the 1983 Tour de France when Pascal Simon wore the jersey, but had to abandon the Tour, due to a broken collarbone
10.
Fontenay-sous-Bois
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Fontenay-sous-Bois is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.3 km from the center of Paris, the name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as Fontanetum, meaning the springs, from Medieval Latin fontana. The wood referred to in the name of the commune is the Bois de Vincennes, in 1929, the commune of Fontenay-sous-Bois lost more than a third of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, a large part of which belonged to Fontenay-sous-Bois. The Rosettes fountain was lost during World War II, years later, it was found by chance in a market in the South of France, the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois recovered it, and re-installed it in the place where it can be seen today. Fontenay-sous-Bois is served by Fontenay-sous-Bois station on Paris RER line A and it is also served by Val de Fontenay station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line A and RER line E. The commune has eleven preschools, eleven schools, one junior high school. Collège Victor Duruy and Lycée Pablo Picasso are the secondary schools. The mayor is now part of the few PCF mayors who practice the expulsion of squatters, in 2015 a street in Brovary, Ukraine was named after its sister city Fontenay-sous-Bois. Communes of the Val-de-Marne department Official website
11.
Individual time trial
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An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, or up a mountain road such as Alpe dHuez. There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, the opening stage of stage race will often be a short individual time trial called a prologue. Starting times are at intervals, usually one or two minutes apart. The starting sequence is based on the finishing times in preceding races with the highest ranked cyclist starting last. Starting later gives the racer the advantage of knowing what time they need to beat, competitors are not permitted to draft behind each other. Any help between riders is forbidden, the rider with the fastest time is declared the winner. Bicycle construction is limited by regulations covering dimensions and other such as weight. Race regulations typically dictate a minimum distance behind the cyclist which the car must maintain, the Vuelta a España often features a final individual time trial in Madrid in which the winner is often decided, providing much drama and excitement at the end of the stage race. In recent years, Óscar Sevilla and Roberto Heras have seen their lead evaporate in the trial in Madrid. The Grand Prix des Nations was an event, professionals may also compete in the annual World time trial championship. The individual time trial is also an Olympic event in which professionals are allowed to participate, most recent winners of the Tour de France have been good time-trialists, exceptions include Marco Pantani, Carlos Sastre, and Andy Schleck, who were climbing specialists. As a result, the trial is often considered the most difficult part of any major competition for young cyclists. Special aerodynamic time trial bicycles, clothing, helmets, aerobars, generally, components are designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, as most of the riders effort goes into overcoming aerodynamic drag. TT bikes often have lower handlebars than normal road racing bikes to facilitate this, also, the saddle is sometimes moved forwards relative to the handlebars and bottom bracket to allow the hips a more natural angle of motion, improving performance. Up until the late 1980s, low-profile bullhorn handlebars were used, then in the late 1980s triathletes developed so-called tri-bars that allowed for a much better aerodynamic position. Fignon was using conventional handlebars, Lemond the new triathlon style, the concept has changed little since then, with only Scotsman Graeme Obree attempting to improve the idea. His arms-under-the-torso tuck was revolutionary, helping him and others to break world records, the UCI banned it in 1994, but he came back with the Superman position, an evolution of the traditional tri position, but with the arms fully stretched out in front. Equipment used is very specialized, and component manufacturers can spend vast sums of time, deep section or solid disc wheels are often used to reduce turbulence around the spokes, but these can affect handling in windy conditions
12.
Eric Vanderaerden
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Eric Vanderaerden is a retired road cyclist from the town of Lummen, Belgium. He was a talent, winning the prologue time trial of both the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France in his professional debut year 1983. In subsequent years, he won two monument races, in 1985, at 23, he won the storm ridden edition of the Tour of Flanders, and in 1987 he won Paris–Roubaix. In the Tour de France, his participation in the 1985 edition was a strong one, the following year, he won the green jersey. After 1988, his career went in decline and, despite his talent and he certainly had considerable talent as a time trial racer, but as a climber in the mountains his talent was limited. Perhaps, he was partly a victim of the expectations the Belgian public had to get a successor for Eddy Merckx. After his active career, Vanderaerden has led a few semi-professional racing teams and was also assistant-manager of a professional Belgo-Italian team and he became a directeur sportif with the DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed team in August 2006. His son Michael Vanderaerden signed a contract with the team in September 2007
13.
Nogent-sur-Marne
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Nogent-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.6 km from the centre of Paris, Nogent-sur-Marne is a sous-préfecture of the Val-de-Marne département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Nogent-sur-Marne. Several origins of the name are proposed, Novigentum, new people, nov. indicates fatty or soaked grounds. Novientum which is the Gallic equivalent of medieval French Villeneuve or English Newtown, in the Middle Ages, several castles were built. Le Château de Plaisance, built in the 13th century, which hosted Charles V, the only vestige which remains is a house of the current private hospital,30 rue de Plaisance, as well as the bottom of the enclosing wall of the gardens. Le Château de Beauté sur Marne, 14th century, is a royal stay, cardinal de Richelieu destroyed it in 1626. In the 17th century, whereas the population was made up of a majority of vine growers, the middle-class discovered the charms of the country. Jean-Antoine Watteau lived in Mr. Lefevres house his last moments, the construction of the two railway lines, Paris–Mulhouse and Bastille–La Varenne in the 1850s still accelerated the process. The viaduct, built by Auvergnats and Belgians was destroyed once on 15 September 1870, italians rebuilt it, an Italian community was established there. Coming, for the majority, from the province of Piacenza, isolated since 1854 by the construction of a viaduct for the Paris–Mulhouse line, the commune of Le Perreux sur Marne is born after a fight of more than 10 years in 1887. On 28 February 1887, more than half of the territory of Nogent-sur-Marne was detached, in 1929, the commune of Nogent-sur-Marne lost a small part of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, the eastern fringe of which belonged to Nogent-sur-Marne. Autoroutes, A4 A86 both at 03 - A4–A86 Junction, Nogent-sur-Marne N34 by boat, by Marne, from Paris, collège Pierre Brossolette is in nearby Le Perreux. The commune has two public academic high schools/sixth-form colleges, Lycée Branly and Lycée Louis Armand, as well as two high schools, La Source and Val de Beauté. Private schools, Lycée Albert-de-Mun Institut Montalembert Bibliothèque Cavanna serves as the municipal library
14.
Soissons
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Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 kilometres northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones, Soissons is also the see of an ancient Roman Catholic diocese, whose establishment dates from about 300. Soissons enters written history under its Celtic name, Noviodunum, meaning new hillfort, at Roman contact, it was a town of the Suessiones, mentioned by Julius Caesar. Caesar, after leaving the Axona, entered the territory of the Suessiones, and making one days march, reached Noviodunum, which was surrounded by a high wall. From 457 to 486, under Aegidius and his son Syagrius, Noviodunum was the capital of the Kingdom of Soissons, until it fell to the Frankish king Clovis I in the Battle of Soissons. Part of the Frankish territory of Neustria, the Soissons region, after the death of Clovis I in 511, Soissons was made the capital of one of the four kingdoms into which his states were divided. Eventually, the kingdom of Soissons disappeared in 613 when the Frankish lands were amalgamated under Clotaire II. During the Hundred Years War, French forces committed a massacre of English archers stationed at the towns garrison. The Congress was largely successful and led to the signing of a treaty between them. During the First World War The city came under heavy bombardment, there was mutiny after the disastrous Chemin des Dames offensive. A statue erected with images of French soldiers killed in action in 1917 is behind the St Peters Church, the town was on the main path of totality for the Solar eclipse of August 11,1999. Today, Soissons is a commercial and manufacturing centre with the 12th century Soissons Cathedral, the nearby Espace Pierres Folles contains a museum, geological trail, and botanical garden. The Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons is constructed in the style of Gothic architecture, the building of the south transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the choir in 1182. The choir with its original elevation and extremely tall clerestory was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based, work then continued into the nave until the late 13th century. The former abbey of Notre Dame, former royal abbey, founded in the Merovingian era, famous for its treasure of relics. The abbey was prestigious abbesses like Gisèle, sister of Charlemagne, or Catherine de Bourbon, the Saint-Médard Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of Soissons whose foundation went back to the sixth century. The city hall built by architect Jean-François Advyné, between 1772 and 1775, at the request of the Intendant Pelletier Mortefontaine on the site of the old counts of Soissons
15.
Team time trial
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A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock. Teams start at intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart. Starting sequences will usually be based on times in previous events. Later starters have the advantage of knowing what times they need to beat, after their turn, the lead rider will swing over, allowing the next rider to take the lead, while the leader goes to the back of the team. Should one team overtake another, the team would be expected to drop back. The main principle behind a TTT is that a few riders can ride at the front of the formation slightly above their aerobic threshold while others draft behind these riders, the riders then rotate, allowing some riders to recover while drafting behind fresher teammates. A rider who is riding at the front is said to be taking a pull, accelerations require harder efforts, and therefore it is desirable to have a smooth, steady pace. Different riders have different power outputs, lactate thresholds and aerodynamics, a rider finishing a pull usually rotates to the very back of the formation, and the rider who was formerly behind this rider takes over. A rider who needs time to recover may take a longer time at the back of the formation while the other teammates rotate in front of this rider. With increased desired speed, the riders take harder but shorter pulls at the front so as not to burn themselves up, the choice of formation is crucial to the performance of the team because it dictates how fast the riders can rotate. The two most popular formations are the single paceline and double paceline, in a single paceline, riders take longer pulls. Often, a double paceline is desirable since each rider takes shorter pulls and this is why double pacelines are more often seen at the end of a TTT event when the teams are nearing the finish line. The recorded finishing time in a time trial is often based on the N-th rider of that team. For example, in races such as the Tour de France or Giro dItalia the finishing time is based on the 5th rider of the team. They then drop back and leave the remainder of the team to finish the time trial, at the professional level, cycling teams are frequently accompanied by motorcycle outriders, team cars and official scrutineers. In a large race, the TTT will involve all remaining members of the team, with the time taken when, say. In a Stage race, teams usually consist of several members, each member of the team is credited with the time of the N-th team member to cross the finish line, this is usually after the median member of a nine-person team. However, if a rider is dropped from the main group on the course, finishing separately in -th position or later, then the dropped rider will get his actual time
16.
Valenciennes
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Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies on the Scheldt river, although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. The 1999 census recorded that the population of the commune of Valenciennes was 41,278, Valenciennes is first mentioned in 693 in a legal document written by Clovis II. In the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it was made a city between Neustria and the Austrasia. Later in the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans, in 923 it passed to the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia dependent on the Holy Roman Empire. Once the Empire of the Franks was established, the city began to develop, under the Ottonian emperors, Valenciennes became the centre of marches on the border of the Empire. In 1008, a famine brought the Plague. According to the tradition, the Virgin Mary held a cordon around the city which. Since then, every year at that time, the Valenciennois used to walk around the 14 kilometres road round the town, many Counts succeeded, first as Margraves of Valenciennes and from 1070 as counts of Hainaut. In 1285, the currency of Hainaut was replaced by the currency of France, Valenciennes was full of activity, with numerous corporations, and outside its walls a large number of convents developed, like that of the Dominicans. In the 14th century, the Tower of Dodenne was built by Albert of Bavaria, where even today, in the 15th century, the County of Hainault, of which Valenciennes is part, was re-attached to Burgundy, losing its autonomy. On the Journée des Mals Brûlés in 1562, a mob freed some Protestants condemned to die at the stake, in the wave of iconoclastic attacks called the Beeldenstorm that swept the Low Countries in the summer of 1566, the city was the furthest south to see an attack. In 1576, when for a time the Southern Netherlands joined the revolt, however, in 1580, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma took Valenciennes and Protestantism was eradicated there. Hereafter, Valenciennes remained under Spanish protection, no longer involved in later fighting of the Eighty Years War. With its manufacturers of wool and fine linens, the city was able to economically independent. In 1591, the Jesuits built a school and then the foundations of a church of Sainte-Croix, in 1611, the façade of the town hall was completely rebuilt in magnificent Renaissance style. In the seventeenth century the Scheldt was channelled between Cambrai and Valenciennes, benefitting Valenciennes wool, fabric and fine arts, to use up flax yarn, women began to make the famous Valenciennes lace. The French army laid siege to the city in 1656, defending the city, Albert de Merode, marquis de Trélon was injured during a sortie on horseback, died as a result of his injuries and was buried in the Church of St. Paul
17.
Roubaix
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Roubaix is a city in Northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area. As regards towns boundaries, Roubaix is encompassed by seven cities which constitute its immediate neighbouring environment, Roubaix, alongside those municipalities and twenty-one other communes, belongs to the land of Ferrain, a little district of the former Castellany of Lille between the Lys and Escaut rivers. As the crow flies, the distance between Roubaix and the cities is some odd,16 kilometres to Tournai,18 kilometres to Kortrijk,84 kilometres to Brussels and 213 kilometres to Paris. This area consists predominantly of Holocene deposits of alluvial origin and it is flat and low, with an elevation drop of only 35 m over its 13.23 square kilometres. The lowest altitude of this stands at 17 m, while its highest altitude is 52 m meters above the sea level. Opened in 1877, the Canal de Roubaix crosses the town from its northern neighbourhoods to its eastern neighbourhoods, the Canal de Roubaix closed in 1985, after more than a century in use. Thank to the European funded project Blue Links, the waterway has been reopened to navigation since 2011, despite some American statements that weather conditions in Roubaix were bad during the 19th century, the area of the city is not known for undergoing unusual weather events. The current citys name is most likely derived from two Frankish words, raus meaning reed and baki meaning brook, thence the sense of Roubaix can probably find its origin on the banks of the three following historical brooks, Espierre, Trichon and Favreuil. The place was mentioned for the first time in a Latinised form in the 9th century, thereafter, the following names were in use,1047 and 1106 Rubais,1122 Rosbays,1166 Rusbais,1156 and 1202 Robais,1223 Roubais. Over the span of centuries, the name evolved to Roubaix as shown on Mercators map of Flanders published at Leuven in 1540, parallel to the official and usual name Roubaix, some translations are worth a mention. Firstly, though the city has never belonged to the Flemish-speaking area, furthermore, the Dutch Language Union established Robaais as the citys proper Dutch name. Inhabitants of Roubaix are known in English as Roubaisians and in French as Roubaisiens or in the feminine form Roubaisiennes, also natively called Roubaignos or in the feminine form Roubaignoses. From the 21st century, communes with more than 10,000 population have sample surveys held every year, by the late 18th century, the city began to emerge as regional textile manufacturing centre and its population increased, reaching a level of 8,091 in 1800. As a result of the process of the 19th century. Belgian settlement was a feature of the Roubaisian life at that time, nonetheless, the rate of natural increase shew to be a more important component of the population growth in that period. At the 20th century threshold, the Roubaisian population reached a peak of 124,661, the population of the city was 95,866 at the January 2013 census. This enables Roubaix to remain the third largest municipality in the region Hauts-de-France, after Lille and this spoken vernacular is locally known as Roubaignot. Until the early 20th century this patois prevailed, in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, many Jews left their homes and emigrated
18.
Le Havre
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Le Havre is an urban French commune and city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northwestern France. It is situated on the bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux. Modern Le Havre remains deeply influenced by its employment and maritime traditions and its port is the second largest in France, after that of Marseille, for total traffic, and the largest French container port. The name Le Havre means the harbour or the port and its inhabitants are known as Havrais or Havraises. Administratively the commune is located in the Normandy region and, with Dieppe, is one of the two sub-prefectures of the Seine-Maritime department, Le Havre is the capital of the canton and since 1974 has been the see of the diocese of Le Havre. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of Rouen. It is also the second largest subprefecture in France, the city and port were founded by the King Francis I of France in 1517. Economic development in the Early modern period was hampered by wars, conflicts with the English, epidemics. It was from the end of the 18th century that Le Havre started growing, after the 1944 bombings the firm of Auguste Perret began to rebuild the city in concrete. Changes in years 1990–2000 were numerous, the right won the municipal elections and committed the city to the path of reconversion, seeking to develop the service sector and new industries. The Port 2000 project increased the capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the city. In 2005 UNESCO inscribed the city of Le Havre as a World Heritage Site. The André Malraux Modern Art Museum is the second of France for the number of impressionist paintings, the city has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Le Havre is a major French city located some 50 kilometres west of Rouen on the shore of the English Channel, numerous roads link to Le Havre with the main access roads being the A29 autoroute from Amiens and the A13 autoroute from Paris linking to the A131 autoroute. Administratively, Le Havre is a commune in the Haute-Normandie region in the west of the department of Seine-Maritime, the urban area of Le Havre corresponds roughly to the territory of the Agglomeration community of Le Havre which includes 17 communes and 250,000 people. It occupies the tip of the natural region of Pays de Caux where it is the largest city. Le Havre is sandwiched between the coast of the Channel from south-west to north-west and the estuary of the Seine to the south, Le Havre belongs to the MLG community Paris Basin which was formed in the Mesozoic period. The Paris Basin consists of sedimentary rocks, the commune of Le Havre consists of two areas separated by a natural cliff edge, one part in the lower part of the town to the south including the harbour, the city centre and the suburbs
19.
Le Mans
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Le Mans is a city in France, on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department, Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region. Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles, since 1923, the city has hosted the internationally famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race. First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum, or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis, a 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the century when workers were mobilized to build the citys defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive, as the use of the French language replaced late Vulgar Latin in the area, Cenomanus, with dissimilation, became known as Celmans. Cel- was taken to be a form of the French word for this and that, and was replaced by le, gregory of Tours mentions a Frankish sub-king Rigomer, who was killed by King Clovis I in his campaign to unite the Frankish territories. As the principal city of Maine, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of Normandy. When the Normans had control of Maine, William the Conqueror successfully invaded England, in 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed count of Maine. Geoffrey V of Anjou married Matilda of England in the cathedral and their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born here. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as A-35 and it was used by several American fighter and transport units until late November of that year in additional offensives across France, the airfield was closed. Le Mans has an old town and the Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans. Remnants of a Roman wall are visible in the old town and these walls are highlighted every summer evening in a light show that tells the history of the town. Arboretum de la Grand Prée Part of the former Cistercian abbey de lEpau, founded by Queen Berengaria, jardin des Plantes du Mans Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history located in a gothic manor house. Musée de Tessé, the arts museum of the city, displaying painting. Le Mans has an oceanic climate influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland, summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round, at the 1999 French census, there were 293,159 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Le Mans, with 146,105 of these living in the city proper
20.
Nantes
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Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River,50 km from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with almost 300,000 inhabitants within its limits. Together with Saint-Nazaire, a located on the Loire estuary. Nantes is the seat of the Loire-Atlantique département and of the Pays de la Loire région. Historically and culturally, Nantes belongs to Brittany, a former duchy, the fact that it is not part of the modern administrative Brittany région is subject to debate. Nantes appeared during the Antiquity as a port on the Loire and it became the seat of a bishopric at the end of the Roman era, before being conquered by the Breton people in 851. Nantes was the residence of the dukes of Brittany in the 15th century. The French Revolution was a period of turmoil resulted in an economic decline. Nantes managed to develop a strong industry after 1850, chiefly in ship building, however, deindustrialisation in the second half of the 20th century pushed the city to reorient its economy towards services. In 2012, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Nantes as a Gamma- world city and it is the fourth highest ranking city in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseilles. The Gamma- category gathers other large cities such as Algiers, Orlando, Porto, Turin, Nantes has often been praised for its quality of life and it was awarded the European Green Capital Award in 2013. The settlement is mentioned in Ptolemys Geography as Κονδηούινϰον and Κονδιούινϰον, during the Gallo-Roman period, this name was latinised and adapted as Condevincum, Condevicnum, Condivicnum, Condivincum, etc. Condevincum seems to be related to the Gaulish word condate meaning confluence, at the end of the Roman period, Condevincum became known as Portus Namnetum and civitas Namnetum. This phenomenon can be observed on most of the ancient cities of France throughout the 4th century, for instance, Lutecia became Paris, city of the Parisii, Darioritum became Vannes, city of the Veneti. Portus Namnetum evolved in Nanetiæ and Namnetis in the 5th century, the name of the Namnetes people could either come from the Gaulish root *nant-, from the pre-Celtic root *nanto or from the other tribe name Amnites, which could mean men of the river. The name Nantes is pronounced and the city inhabitants are called Nantais, in Gallo, the romance dialect traditionally spoken in the region around Nantes, the city is called Naunnt or Nantt, according to the various spelling systems. The Gallo pronunciation is the same as the French one, although northern speakers pronounce it with a long, in Breton language, Nantes is known as Naoned or An Naoned. The latter, meaning the Nantes, is common and reflects the fact that articles are more frequent in Breton toponyms than in French ones
21.
Bert Oosterbosch
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Bert Oosterbosch was a Dutch racing cyclist. Oosterbosch was a track and road racer. In 1978 he won the World amateur team time trial championship, a year later, he turned professional for the TI–Raleighteam of Peter Post. That year he won the World Professional individual pursuit title beating Francesco Moser in the final and he was also three times Dutch pursuit champion. As a professional Oosterbosch was especially successful in trials, he won 14 stage race prologues. He won three stages of the Tour, his victory in Bordeaux in 1983 was the one hundredth Dutch stage win in the Tour. Oosterbosch also won stages in the Vuelta a España and the Tour de Suisse, in 1982 he won the Ronde van Nederland. Oosterbosch suffered poor health on occasions, twice contracting meningitis, in 1988 he was hit by severe knee trouble and had to end his professional career. He returned as an amateur and on August 13,1989 he won a race, five days later he died, aged thirty-two years old, after an acute cardiac arrest. He was buried at the Roman Catholic Cemetery Our Lady of Lourdes in Eindhoven, bert Oosterbosch was married to Marian Bik. The couple had two daughters, Nathalie and Joyce and it has been suggested that Oosterboschs early death was caused by EPO use, but this is disputed. Willy Voet, the disgraced former soigneur, talks about Oosterbosch riding the 1982 Grand Prix des Nations, Oosterbosch came in 18th at more than two and a half minutes behind the winner Bernard Hinault, even though he was expected to do well. Voet said Oosterbosch was flat from the due to the Synacthen he had taken. The drugs initially blocked his ability to work hard, an hour after the injection it started working as planned and his tempo increased. In fact, Oosterbosch came third in the 1982 event, Voet may be referring to the 1979 or 1984 runnings which Hinault also won. List of doping cases in cycling Oosterbosch at veloarchive. com Oosterbosch at cyclingwebsite. net
22.
La Rochelle
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La Rochelle is a city in southwestern France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department, the city is connected to the Île de Ré by a 2. 9-kilometre bridge completed on 19 May 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis dAntioche, the area of La Rochelle was occupied in antiquity by the Gallic tribe of the Santones, who gave their name to the nearby region of Saintonge and the city of Saintes. The Romans subsequently occupied the area, where they developed salt production along the coast as well as wine production, roman villas have been found at Saint-Éloi and at Les Minimes, as well as salt evaporation ponds dating from the same period. La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century and became an important harbour in the 12th century, in 1137, Guillaume X to all intents and purposes made La Rochelle a free port and gave it the right to establish itself as a commune. Fifty years later Eleanor of Aquitaine upheld the communal charter promulgated by her father, and for the first time in France, Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. During the Plantagenet control of the city in 1185, Henry II had the Vauclair castle built, the main activities of the city were in the areas of maritime commerce and trade, especially with England, the Netherlands and Spain. In 1196, a wealthy bourgeois named Alexandre Auffredi sent a fleet of seven ships to Africa to tap the riches of the continent. He went bankrupt and went into poverty as he waited for the return of his ships, the Knights Templar had a strong presence in La Rochelle since before the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who exempted them from duties and gave them mills in her 1139 Charter. La Rochelle was for the Templars their largest base on the Atlantic Ocean, from La Rochelle, they were able to act as intermediaries in trade between England and the Mediterranean. The fleet allegedly left laden with knights and treasures just before the issue of the warrant for the arrest of the Order in October 1307, during the Hundred Years War in 1360, following the Treaty of Bretigny La Rochelle again came under the rule of the English monarch. La Rochelle however expelled the English in June 1372, following the naval Battle of La Rochelle, the French and Spanish decisively defeated the English, securing French control of the Channel for the first time since the Battle of Sluys in 1340. The naval battle of La Rochelle was one of the first cases of the use of handguns on warships, having recovered freedom, La Rochelle refused entry to Du Guesclin, until Charles V recognized the privileges of the city in November 1372. In 1402, the French adventurer Jean de Béthencourt left La Rochelle, until the 15th century, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine, salt and cheese. During the Renaissance, La Rochelle adopted Protestant ideas, calvinism started to be propagated in the region of La Rochelle, resulting in its suppression through the establishment of Cours présidiaux tribunals by Henry II. An early result of this was the burning at the stake of two heretics in La Rochelle in 1552. On the initiative of Gaspard de Coligny, the Calvinists attempted to colonize the New World to find a new home for their religion, with the likes of Pierre Richier and Jean de Léry. After the short-lived attempt of France Antarctique, they failed to establish a colony in Brazil and he has been described, by Lancelot Voisin de La Popelinière, as le père de léglise de La Rochelle
23.
Bordeaux
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Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The municipality of Bordeaux proper has a population of 243,626, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Bordeaux is the centre of the Bordeaux Métropole. With 749,595 inhabitants and 1,178,335 in the area, it is the fifth largest in France, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Lille. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department and its inhabitants are called Bordelais or Bordelaises. The term Bordelais may also refer to the city and its surrounding region, Bordeaux is the worlds major wine industry capital. It is home to the main wine fair, Vinexpo. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century, the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble of the 18th century. After Paris, Bordeaux has the highest number of preserved buildings of any city in France. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, the name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, the Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in the action. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin, later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty. In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals, further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, the city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. Around 585, a certain Gallactorius is cited as count of Bordeaux, the city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732 after storming the fortified city and overwhelming the Aquitanian garrison. After Duke Eudess defeat, the Aquitanian duke could still save part of its troops, the following year, the Frankish commander descended again over Aquitaine, but clashed in battle with the Aquitanians and left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745, Aquitaine faced yet another expedition by Charles sons Pepin and Carloman against Hunald, Hunald was defeated, and his son Waifer replaced him, who in turn confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city. During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine, it was one of Waifers last important strongholds to fall to King Pepin the Shorts troops. Next to Bordeaux, Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac on a hill across the border with the Basques, in 778, Seguin was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year
Eric Vanderaerden (BEL)
Frits Pirard (NED)
Serge Demierre (SUI)
Dominique Gaigne (FRA)
Riccardo Magrini (ITA)
Robert Millar (GBR)
Kim Andersen (DEN)
Ángel Arroyo (ESP)
Sean Kelly (IRE) 
Phil Anderson (AUS)
José Patrocinio Jiménez (COL)
