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Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever?

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seldon71

Jul 23, 2009
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Kruijswijk is looking to be in absolutely dominant position for taking the Maglia Rosa home. It also looks increasingly possible (likely?) that he will not win a single stage to go with that overall title.

His only professional wins coming to the race were overall in Arctic Race of Norway & one stage in Tour de Suisse (years ago). Overall title in Giro would then be just the 3rd victory altogether!

If that happens - would Kruijswijk be the 1st-ever major tour winner without a single preceding major tour stage win? Neither a stage won while taking the overall nor ever before... I think he may indeed write history here.
 
jsem94

jsem94

Oct 5, 2010
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Gösta Pettersson won the 1971 Giro without previously having won a stage.

The legend that is Roger Walkowiak had never won a stage when he won the 1956 Tour against all odds.

Arnaldo Pambianco won the Giro in 1961 without winning a GT stage in his entire career.

Lucien Aimar won the 1966 Tour without previously having won a stage.

That's just a few examples I dug out.
 
yetanothergreenworld

yetanothergreenworld

Apr 12, 2009
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

This is an interesting question. One might rephrase it as: who are the least decorated Grand Tour winners ever?

Casero, mentioned above, probably takes the cake in the last three or four decades. Another would be Eric Caritoux, who won the Vuelta (plus a stage) in 1984. Other victories of his included a Paris-Nice stage, a Tour Med stage, and a couple of French championships. But he would remain an anonymous figure for most of his career, often being mistaken for a Swiss by the French press!

Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
 
Ricco'

Ricco'

Aug 14, 2012
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

yetanothergreenworld said:
Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...

And Zubeldia will win it ninja like.

After being 11th in the beginning of the final stage, a crash takes down all of the top-10 in the beginning of the last lap. Haimar finishes safely in the bunch and he doesn't know that he won. The podium is cancelled because of a french labor union strike who jeopardizes the security of the event.

No kid will ever see a pic of Zubeldia on the maillot jaune.
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

yetanothergreenworld said:
This is an interesting question. One might rephrase it as: who are the least decorated Grand Tour winners ever?

Casero, mentioned above, probably takes the cake in the last three or four decades. Another would be Eric Caritoux, who won the Vuelta (plus a stage) in 1984. Other victories of his included a Paris-Nice stage, a Tour Med stage, and a couple of French championships. But he would remain an anonymous figure for most of his career, often being mistaken for a Swiss by the French press!

Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...
See my post above. It became an expression: Un Tour a la Walkowiak.

Roger Walkowiak winning the '56 TdF, no stage win. I don't think you can beat that.
 
jsem94

jsem94

Oct 5, 2010
4,260
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15,880
Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

yetanothergreenworld said:
This is an interesting question. One might rephrase it as: who are the least decorated Grand Tour winners ever?

Casero, mentioned above, probably takes the cake in the last three or four decades. Another would be Eric Caritoux, who won the Vuelta (plus a stage) in 1984. Other victories of his included a Paris-Nice stage, a Tour Med stage, and a couple of French championships. But he would remain an anonymous figure for most of his career, often being mistaken for a Swiss by the French press!

Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...
Arnaldo Pambianco as mentioned above is another candidate I guess. Never won a GT stage. Milano-Torino, Giro di Sardegna and Brabantse Pijl were his only other major wins.
 
yetanothergreenworld

yetanothergreenworld

Apr 12, 2009
408
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

Tonton said:
yetanothergreenworld said:
This is an interesting question. One might rephrase it as: who are the least decorated Grand Tour winners ever?

Casero, mentioned above, probably takes the cake in the last three or four decades. Another would be Eric Caritoux, who won the Vuelta (plus a stage) in 1984. Other victories of his included a Paris-Nice stage, a Tour Med stage, and a couple of French championships. But he would remain an anonymous figure for most of his career, often being mistaken for a Swiss by the French press!

Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...
See my post above. It became an expression: Un Tour a la Walkowiak.

Roger Walkowiak winning the '56 TdF, no stage win. I don't think you can beat that.
Click to expand...

Walko is totally the paradigm. I was speaking entirely of GT winners in my own lifetime (i.e. post-Merckx).
 
yetanothergreenworld

yetanothergreenworld

Apr 12, 2009
408
12
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

Ricco' said:
yetanothergreenworld said:
Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...

And Zubeldia will win it ninja like.

After being 11th in the beginning of the final stage, a crash takes down all of the top-10 in the beginning of the last lap. Haimar finishes safely in the bunch and he doesn't know that he won. The podium is cancelled because of a french labor union strike who jeopardizes the security of the event.

No kid will ever see a pic of Zubeldia on the maillot jaune.
Click to expand...

I like the way you think. :D
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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Re:

TMP402 said:
Walkowiak doesn't count. He won a stage of the Vuelta in 1956 before his Tour win.
Click to expand...
Yes, read the edited OP: he counts! Gotta be kiddin' :D . This is about the F1 Champion not winning a GP. You can't find (although LS may come up with a bunny out of his hat) a worse GT winner. It even became an expression. Who can claim that, being the poster-boy for a lame winner? Walkowiak.

No serious poster would disagree. You're funny. I have two kids, they're like that: they know better than old Papa :rolleyes: . Not that I know much, but I know that much :p .
 
Tonton

Tonton

May 17, 2013
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

yetanothergreenworld said:
Tonton said:
yetanothergreenworld said:
This is an interesting question. One might rephrase it as: who are the least decorated Grand Tour winners ever?

Casero, mentioned above, probably takes the cake in the last three or four decades. Another would be Eric Caritoux, who won the Vuelta (plus a stage) in 1984. Other victories of his included a Paris-Nice stage, a Tour Med stage, and a couple of French championships. But he would remain an anonymous figure for most of his career, often being mistaken for a Swiss by the French press!

Of course, when Haimar Zubeldia finally wins the Tour de France in 2019 he will be the greatest of them all.
Click to expand...
See my post above. It became an expression: Un Tour a la Walkowiak.

Roger Walkowiak winning the '56 TdF, no stage win. I don't think you can beat that.
Click to expand...

Walko is totally the paradigm. I was speaking entirely of GT winners in my own lifetime (i.e. post-Merckx).
Click to expand...
Why? Cycling didn't begin when you started watching :p ? I like Caritoux tho...but the best ever is Roger. If this coming summer if Ellisonde (winner on the Vuelta-Angliru) wins the TdF, I can safely bet that we'll all think: wtf? That was Walkowiak.
 
N

Non Grimpeur

Mar 17, 2009
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

Oscar Pereiro won the Tour in 2006 without winning a stage.

Greg Lemond won the Tour in 1990 without winning a stage.
 
I

ice&fire

Jul 1, 2015
5,653
4,676
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

Non Grimpeur said:
Oscar Pereiro won the Tour in 2006 without winning a stage.

Greg Lemond won the Tour in 1990 without winning a stage.
Click to expand...

Lemond had won stages in 1985, '86 and '89
Pereiro won a stage in 2005, and sold another one to Hincapie.
 
Pantani Attacks

Pantani Attacks

Jul 7, 2015
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Re: Winning Grand Tour without a single stage victory - Ever

Non Grimpeur said:
Oscar Pereiro won the Tour in 2006 without winning a stage.

Greg Lemond won the Tour in 1990 without winning a stage.
Click to expand...

Pereiro won a stage of the Tour in 2005.

LeMond won stages in 84 and 85 before he won his first GT in 86.
 
Pantani Attacks

Pantani Attacks

Jul 7, 2015
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Angel Casero, winner of the 2001 Vuelta never won a stage, even thought he finished second to Heras the previous year in addition to his win.

Marino Lejarreta, winner of the 1982 Vuelta didn't win a stage in the GT he won or any GT previous to that, although he won stages in each ofthe three GTs after that.
 
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