1988 Tour de France

The UCI had also introduced a rule that limited the number of cyclists in a race to 200. In 1987, the Tour had started with 207 cyclists, so because of this rule, the number of teams in the 1988 Tour was reduced from 23 to 22, of 9 riders, a total of 198.[1] 22 teams were announced two weeks before the Tour.[1][2] The Tour organisation named three reserve teams, in case one of the 22 teams was unable to start: Postobón–Ryalcao, Roland–Colnago and TVM–Van Schilt.[1]

Of the 198 cyclists starting the race, 42 were riding the Tour de France for the first time.[3] The average age of riders in the race was 27.56 years,[4] ranging from the 21-year-old Jean-Claude Colotti (RMO–Cycles Méral–Mavic) to the 39-year-old Hennie Kuiper (Sigma–Fina).[5] The Caja Rural–Orbea cyclists had the youngest average age while the riders on AD Renting–Anti-M–Bottecchia had the oldest.[6]

The teams entering the race were:[7]

The winner of the 1987 Tour de France, Stephen Roche, was unable to defend his title as he was coming back from knee surgeries. The winner from 1986, Greg LeMond, had still not fully recovered from the hunting accident that caused him to miss the 1987 Tour, and did not start this Tour.[8] Remaining favourites were Pedro Delgado, who had finished in second place in 1987, and Andrew Hampsten, the winner of the 1988 Giro d'Italia, several weeks before the Tour.[8]

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) introduced the rule that a cycling race could not span three weekends. The Tour de France could therefore only start on Monday 4 July, and the prologue was removed. The Tour organisers were not happy with this, and they extended the Tour by adding a 'prelude' or 'preface' to the race, circumventing the rule by making it unofficial. Each team would ride for 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi), and one cyclist per team would then finish one kilometer on his own. The recorded times were not used for the rest of the Tour, but the cyclist with the fastest time would wear the yellow jersey in the next stage.[9]

The total length of this Tour was 3,286 kilometres (2,042 mi), which was the shortest since 1906.[8] Since 1910, Belgian cyclists had won at least one stage in every Tour, but in 1988 they did not win any stages.[8] There was one rest day, during which the cyclists were transferred from Villard-de-Lans to Blagnac.[10] The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,115 m (6,939 ft) at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet mountain pass on stage 15.[11][12]

Stage characteristics and winners[2][10][13][14]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
P	3 July	Pornichet to La Baule	3.8 km (2.4 mi)		Individual time trial	Guido Bontempi (ITA)
1	4 July	Pontchâteau to Machecoul	92 km (57 mi)		Plain stage	Steve Bauer (CAN)
2	4 July	La Haie-Fouassière to Ancenis	48 km (30 mi)		Team time trial	Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu
3	5 July	Nantes to Le Mans	213 km (132 mi)		Plain stage	Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
4	6 July	Le Mans to Évreux	158 km (98 mi)		Plain stage	Acácio da Silva (POR)
5	7 July	Neufchâtel-en-Bray to Liévin	148 km (92 mi)		Plain stage	Jelle Nijdam (NED)
6	8 July	Liévin to Wasquehal	52 km (32 mi)		Individual time trial	Sean Yates (GBR)
7	9 July	Wasquehal to Reims	225 km (140 mi)		Plain stage	Valerio Tebaldi (ITA)
8	10 July	Reims to Nancy	219 km (136 mi)		Plain stage	Rolf Gölz (FRG)
9	11 July	Nancy to Strasbourg	161 km (100 mi)		Hilly stage	Jérôme Simon (FRA)
10	12 July	Belfort to Besançon	149 km (93 mi)		Hilly stage	Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
11	13 July	Besançon to Morzine	232 km (144 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Fabio Parra (COL)
12	14 July	Morzine to Alpe d'Huez	227 km (141 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Steven Rooks (NED)
13	15 July	Grenoble to Villard-de-Lans	38 km (24 mi)		Mountain time trial	Pedro Delgado (ESP)
	16 July	Blagnac			Rest day
14	17 July	Blagnac to Guzet-Neige	163 km (101 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Massimo Ghirotto (ITA)
15	18 July	Saint-Girons to Luz Ardiden	187 km (116 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Laudelino Cubino (ESP)
16	19 July	Luz Ardiden to Pau	35 km (22 mi)		Plain stage	Adri van der Poel (NED)
17	19 July	Pau to Bordeaux	198 km (123 mi)		Plain stage	Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
18	20 July	Ruelle-sur-Touvre to Limoges	94 km (58 mi)		Plain stage	Gianni Bugno (ITA)
19	21 July	Limoges to Puy-de-Dôme	188 km (117 mi)		Hilly stage	Johnny Weltz (DEN)
20	22 July	Clermont-Ferrand to Chalon-sur-Saône	223 km (139 mi)		Plain stage	Thierry Marie (FRA)
21	23 July	Santenay	46 km (29 mi)		Individual time trial	Juan Martinéz (ESP)
22	24 July	Nemours to Paris (Champs-Élysées)	173 km (107 mi)		Plain stage	Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED)
	Total		3,286 km (2,042 mi)[15]

Pedro Delgado (pictured at the 1993 Tour), winner of the general classification

The prelude was won by Guido Bontempi, and the first official stage was won by Steve Bauer. Bauer lost the lead in the next stage, a Team Time Trial, to Teun van Vliet.[8] The favourites for the overall victory did not lose time in the first stages. The individual time trial of stage six did not change that, although some outsiders (Sean Kelly and Laurent Fignon) lost two minutes.[8]

In the eleventh stage, in hilly conditions, the first serious attacks were seen. Most contenders were able to stay in the main group, but Laurent Fignon and Jean-François Bernard lost a lot of time and were no longer seen as contenders.[8] The twelfth stage included higher climbs. Delgado escaped on the climb of the Glandon, and he was joined by Steven Rooks. On the descent, they were joined by Gert-Jan Theunisse and Fabio Parra; the other cyclists were unable to get to them. Close to the finish, Rooks escaped and won the stage, and Delgado became the new leader of the general classification.[8] Delgado won the next stage, an uphill individual time trial, and solidified his lead.[8]

In the fourteenth stage, the favourites stayed together, and other cyclists were allowed to go for the stage victory. Philippe Bouvatier and Robert Millar,[16] who had led over the previous two cols, were in the uphill sprint to win, until Bouvatier allowed himself to be misdirected by a gendarme 200 metres before the finish (at the point where the team cars were separated from the cyclists)[17] followed by Millar, and the victory went to Massimo Ghirotto. Ghirotto offered his prize (a new car) to Bouvatier[8] though Millar maintained he would have overhauled Bouvatier to win[18] and told CyclingNews in 2010 that "I don't know if the gendarme was to blame, I don't think he was, I know I would have come round Bouvatier in the sprint but then I ought to have dropped him before we got to that stage".[19]

In the fifteenth stage, Delgado increased his lead. He let Laudelino Cubino get away and claim the victory, because Cubino was no threat for the general classification, and finished in third place, gaining time on all his direct competitors.[8] Delgado further increased his lead in the nineteenth stage, by leaving the other cyclists behind him on the final climb of the day.[8] Delgado was aiming to win the twenty-first stage, an individual time trial, and was leading at all the intermediate check points, but lost time in the final part of the stage, finishing in fourth place. This was more than enough to secure the overall victory.[8]

Pedro Delgado's yellow jersey of the 1988 Tour

There were several classifications in the 1988 Tour de France, six of them awarding jerseys to their leaders.[25] The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification is considered the winner of the Tour.[26]

Additionally, there was a points classification, where cyclists were given points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and was identified with a green jersey.[27]

There was also a mountains classification. The organisation had categorised some climbs as either hors catégorie, first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by the first cyclists that reached the top of these climbs first, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points lead the classification, and wore a white jersey with red polka dots.[28]

There was also a combination classification. This classification was calculated as a combination of the other classifications, its leader wore the combination jersey.[29]

Another classification was the intermediate sprints classification. This classification had similar rules as the points classification, but only points were awarded on intermediate sprints. Its leader wore a red jersey.[30]

The sixth individual classification was the young rider classification. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 25 years were eligible, and the leader wore a white jersey.[29]

For the team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that led this classification were identified by yellow caps.[30] For the last time, there was also a team points classification. Cyclists received points according to their finishing position on each stage, with the first rider receiving one point. The first three finishers of each team had their points combined, and the team with the fewest points led the classification. The riders of the team leading this classification wore green caps.[30]

In addition, there was a combativity award given after each mass-start stage to the cyclist considered most combative. The decision was made by a jury composed of journalists who gave points. The cyclist with the most points from votes in all stages led the combativity classification.[31] Jérôme Simon won this classification, and was given overall the super-combativity award.[10] The Souvenir Henri Desgrange was given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to the first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Tourmalet on stage 15. This prize was won by Laudelino Cubino.[32]

Classification leadership table[33][34][35]

Stage	Stage winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Combination classification	Intermediate sprints classification	Team classifications		Combativity award
								By time	By points
P	Guido Bontempi	no award[lower-alpha 1]	no award[lower-alpha 1]	no award	no award	no award	no award	no award	no award	no award
1	Steve Bauer	Steve Bauer	Steve Bauer	Nico Verhoeven	Wiebren Veenstra	Nico Verhoeven	Søren Lilholt	Weinmann–La Suisse–SMM Uster	Hitachi–Bosal–B.C.E. Snooker	Søren Lilholt
2	Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu	Teun van Vliet			Erik Breukink	Teun van Vliet	Teun van Vliet	Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu		no award
3	Jean-Paul van Poppel		Eric Vanderaerden							Roger Ilegems
4	Acácio da Silva		Eddy Planckaert	Bruno Cornillet			Frans Maassen			Stefano Giuliani
5	Jelle Nijdam	Henk Lubberding				Frans Maassen			PDM–Ultima–Concorde	Jérôme Simon
6	Sean Yates	Jelle Nijdam				Eric Vanderaerden		Superconfex–Yoko–Opel–Colnago		no award
7	Valerio Tebaldi					Philippe Casado		Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu		Michel Vermote
8	Rolf Gölz	Steve Bauer								Michel Vermote
9	Jérôme Simon			Jérôme Simon		Frédéric Vichot		Weinmann–La Suisse–SMM Uster		Federico Echave
10[lower-alpha 2]	Jean-Paul van Poppel									Patrice Esnault
11[lower-alpha 2]	Fabio Parra					Pascal Simon				Ludo Peeters
12[lower-alpha 2]	Steven Rooks	Pedro Delgado		Steven Rooks	Raúl Alcalá	Steven Rooks	Eddy Planckaert	PDM–Ultima–Concorde		Pedro Delgado
13	Pedro Delgado									no award
14	Massimo Ghirotto									Philippe Bouvatier
15	Laudelino Cubino				Erik Breukink					Laudelino Cubino
16	Adri van der Poel									Adri van der Poel
17	Jean-Paul van Poppel						Frans Maassen			Jean-Paul van Poppel
18	Gianni Bugno									Gianni Bugno
19	Johnny Weltz									Johnny Weltz
20	Thierry Marie									Dag Otto Lauritzen
21	Juan Martinéz									no award
22	Jean-Paul van Poppel									no award
Final		Pedro Delgado	Eddy Planckaert	Steven Rooks	Erik Breukink	Steven Rooks	Frans Maassen	PDM–Ultima–Concorde	PDM–Ultima–Concorde	Jérôme Simon

• Augendre, Jacques (2016). Guide historique [Historical guide] (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Martin, Pierre (1988). Tour 88: The 1988 Tour of Italy and Tour de France. With contributions from: Penazzo, Sergio; Baratino, Dante; Schamps, Daniel; Vos, Cor. Keighley, UK: Kennedy Brothers Publishing. OCLC 19669680.
• McGann, Bill; McGann, Carol (2008). The Story of the Tour de France: 1965–2007. Vol. 2. Indianapolis: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59858-608-4.
• Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Vol. 2. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-300-2.
• van den Akker, Pieter (2018). Tour de France Rules and Statistics: 1903–2018. Self-published. ISBN 978-1-79398-080-9.

• Liggett, Phil (1988). Tour de France 1988. London: Harrap Books and Channel 4. ISBN 978-0-245-54727-0.

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