Joël Pelier

Joël Pelier (born 23 March 1962, in Valentigney) is a French former professional road bicycle racer.

After the final climb of stage 17 in the 1986 Tour de France, Pelier collapsed from exhaustion and fell into a 7-hour coma.

In the 1989 Tour de France, then 27-year-old domestique had never been watched in his pro career by his parents who were dedicated to caring for Pelier's severely disabled sibling who needed constant attention. His parents made arrangements to watch stage 6 from near the finish line to which he responded with an attempted lone breakaway, and held out to win the stage by 1 minute and 34 seconds. He rode on his own for 4 and a 1/2 hours through wind and rain for 102 of the stage's 161 miles. It was the then second longest breakaway in Tour de France history after Albert Bourlon in 1947 and since surpassed by Thierry Marie. On the podium for the day's presentations a tear drenched Pelier was seen on television saying, "Mon per, mon per". and "This win is so special to me because today is the first time that my mother and father have seen me in the Tour de France".

Major results

1985 1st Stage 4a Paris–Nice 3rd Overall Tour d'Armorique 10th Overall Étoile de Bessèges 1986 2nd Overall Tour Méditerranéen 10th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 1987 1st Stage 1 Tour de la Communauté Européenne 3rd Overall Tour d'Armorique 4th Overall Nissan Classic 1st Stage 2 5th GP Ouest–France 7th Overall Tour Midi-Pyrénées 1st Stage 4 1988 1st Stage 1a (ITT) Grand Prix du Midi Libre 6th Overall Tour d'Armorique 6th Trophée des Grimpeurs 7th Tour du Haut Var 1989 1st Stage 6 Tour de France 7th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 10th Overall Tour Méditerranéen 1990 1st Stage 5 Tour de la Communauté Européenne

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish