Lucien Van Impe

Lucien Van Impe (; born 20 October 1946) is a former 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. He was the winner of the 1976 Tour de France, and six times winner of the mountains classification in the Tour de France.

Biography Van Impe credits the start of his career to Spaniard Federico Bahamontes, a climber nicknamed the eagle of Toledo and a former Tour de France winner. In 1968 van Impe was King of the Mountains in the Tour de l'Avenir. 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. He would repeat that five more times, a record then shared with Bahamontes. When Richard Virenque broke the record with a seventh victory in 2004, Van Impe criticized Virenque for being opportunistic rather than the best climber; he said he had himself refrained from breaking Bahamontes' record himself out of reverence.

Van Impe's 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. He was considered to be among the pre-race favorites as this edition had eight high mountain stages and it was expected to be a battle between Van Impe, Joop Zoetemelk and defending champion Bernard Thevenet. Thevenet was no match for these two riders from the Low Countries in the 1976 edition, and despite a strong start from debutant Freddy Maertens, the race became a duel between Van Impe and Zoetemelk with the mountains of the 1976 Tour de France deciding who would become champ. Guimard claims it was his order to attack Zoetemelk that won Van Impe the Tour, shouting at Van Impe that he'd run him off the road with the car if he didn't attack. Van Impe has denied this. Despite Zoetemelk winning three high mountain stages Van Impe's attack gave him a lead of more than +3:00 on the Dutchman, and he then clinched his victory by finishing more than a minute ahead of Zoetemelk in the final individual time trial.

After 1976, Van Impe changed teams. In the 1977 Tour de France he started favorite but failed to take a lead in the mountains. He waited until the last mountain stage to attack, which finished atop Alpe d'Huez, and was in the lead late in the stage but forgot to eat, which caused his lead to slip away. He was still in the lead when he was hit by one of the TV cars. Due to his team car being so far behind he had to stand on the side of the road and wait several minutes for a new bike as Bernard Thévenet and Hennie Kuiper rode past; and the 1977 edition would be decided between the two of them as a result.

After three years where he wasn't among the GC favorites, Van Impe rode incredibly well in the 1981 Tour de France. He finished on the podium in 2nd place, although he was more than +10:00 behind Bernard Hinault, however he won the mountain classification yet again. All total Van Impe finished in the top 5 of the Tour de France eight times.

He also won the mountain classification in the Giro d'Italia twice.

Single-day races were not his specialty and it was a surprise that he won the national championship in 1983.

Van Impe started 15 Tours de France and reached the finish in Paris every time. This was a record when he finished his last, but he would be passed for most Tour finishes by Joop Zoetemelk in 1986, and eventually Sylvain Chavanel reached 16 finishes in 2018. He is currently tied for 2nd with Viatcheslav Ekimov who finished his 15th edition in 2006.

From 2007 to 2013, he was sporting director of a cycling team of professional riders, called .

Lucien Van Impe lives in Impe (his family name refers to that town) with his wife Rita, he has two grown up children, a son and a daughter. His house is called Alpe D'Huez, after the French mountain where he took the yellow jersey (the leader in the Tour de France) 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 and after his professional career, Van Impe has never tested positive, refused a doping test or confessed having used doping.

He has been commemorated with an abstract statue depicting him on his bike, installed on a stone plinth at a small roundabout in Belgium, approximately 180 km before the finish of the Tour of Flanders.

Van Impe suffered a cardiac arrest in 2017, but completely recovered from it.

Major results Road

1966 5th Flèche Ardennaise 1968 Tour de l'Avenir

1st Stage 8 1969

3rd Circuit des Frontières 1970

2nd Manx Trophy 6th Overall Tour de France 7th Overall Tour de Romandie 9th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme 10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 1971

3rd Overall Tour de France 1st Mountains classification 5th Overall GP du Midi Libre 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 9th Overall Tour de Luxembourg

9th Rund um den Henninger Turm 10th Overall Étoile des Espoirs 1972 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie

3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 4th Overall Tour de France 1st Mountains classification 1st Stage 12 5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 6th Overall À travers Lausanne 1973 1st Stage 3 Grand Prix du Midi Libre 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie 1st Stage 3 5th Overall Tour de France 1st Stage 12b

7th Trophée des Grimpeurs 1974

7th GP du Tournaisis 9th Paris–Camembert 1975

1st Stage 1 & 3 2nd Grand Prix d'Isbergues 3rd Overall Tour de France

1st Stages 14 & 18 (ITT) 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre

5th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc 6th Paris–Bourges 6th Trophée des Grimpeurs 7th Druivenkoers Overijse 9th Road race, UCI World Championships 1976

1st Stage 14

1st Trophée des Grimpeurs 1st Stage 2b Tour de l'Aude 2nd Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre 1st Stage 4b (ITT) 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

7th Overall Escalada a Montjuïc 7th Nokere Koerse 9th La Flèche Wallonne 9th Circuit de l'Aulne 1977 2nd Overall Tour de Suisse

1st Stages 7 & 8 3rd Overall Tour de France

1st Stage 15b (ITT) 3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

1st Stage 6 6th Road race, National Road Championships 6th Trophée des Grimpeurs 8th Overall Tour de Romandie 1978 9th Overall Tour de France 1979 1st Stage 16 Tour de France 5th Overall Vuelta a España 1st Stage 15 6th Overall Volta a Catalunya 1st Stage 7a (ITT) 6th Overall Tour of Belgium 6th Liège–Bastogne–Liège 7th Tour de Wallonie 8th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 8th Amstel Gold Race 1980 4th Overall Tour de Suisse

8th De Kustpijl 1981 1st Polynormande 2nd Overall Tour de France

1st Stage 5 5th Omloop Mandel-Leie-Schelde 9th GP Stad Vilvoorde 1982 3rd Overall Tour of Sweden 4th Overall Giro d'Italia

5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato 6th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 10th Druivenkoers Overijse 1983

1st Heusden Koers 4th Overall Tour de France

1st Stage 19 (ITT) 8th Giro dell'Appennino 9th Overall Giro d'Italia

1st Stage 11 10th GP Montelupo 1984 6th Nationale Sluitingsprijs 7th Overall Giro d'Italia 1985 5th Grote 1-MeiPrijs 10th Giro dell'Appennino 1986

1st Stage 1 8th Overall Vuelta a Asturias

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish

Criteriums

1973 1st Plogastel Saint-Germain 1974 1st Outer 1st Lalaing 1975 1st GP Erpe-Mere 1st Ottignies 1st Lannion 1st Lescoet-Jugon 1st Kitzbuehl 1976 1st Creusot 1st Plancoët 1st Brette-les-Pins 1977 1st Trophée des Cimes 1st Aalst 1st Dunières 1st Pleaux 1978 1st Lamaul-Guimileau 1st Geraardsbergen 1979 1st Assenede 1st Mende 1st Pampelune 1980 1st Tirlemont 1981 1st Moerbeke 1st Aalst 1st Saint-Martin de Landelles 1982 1st San Crocce sull'Arno 1st Kalmthout 1983 1st GP Erpe-Mere 1st Ronse 1984 1st Visp - Grächen 1st Buggenhout 1987 1st Mere

Honours and awards

Challenge Sedis: 1976 Former record of most Mountains classification wins in the Tour de France: 6 from 1971 to 1983 A race in Mere, GP Lucien Van Impe Best climber of all times by climbbybike.com: 2007 A race in Serskamp, Lucien Van Impe Classic: From 2014 Statue in Erpe-Mere: 2016 Honorary citizen of Lede: 2018