Intermediate sprints classification
Below is an old version of my explanation of the intermediate sprints classification. For a more complete story that I tried to keep up-to-date, see my book about Tour de France rules and statistics.
- » Origin
- » Points system
- » Virtual
Origin
Intermediate sprints have been held since the start of the Tour. In the early years, these sprints were sometimes organized without involvement of the Tour organization. Companies announced that they would give a prize to the first rider to sign at a checkpoint.
Later on, the Tour organisation did it a bit more structured. For example, in 1954 there was an intermediate sprint in every stage, where the winner received money.
In 1960, the last stage included six sprints, intended to make the final stage interesting. The winner would receive a million Francs. (source) A classification was made from these six sprints: the winner of each sprint received 6 points, the second 5 points, and so on. The winner of this classification (sponsored by Hoover) was Jean Graczyk. (source)
| (source) | ||
| Position | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean Graczyk | 31 |
| 2 | Jean Gainche | 23 |
| 3 | André Darrigade | 14 |
| 4 | Bernard Viot | 11 |
| 5 | Félix Le Buhotel | 9 |
| 6 | Pierre Everaert | 8 |
| 7 | Gastone Nencini | 6 |
| 8 | Georges Groussard | 5 |
| 9 | Graziano Battistini | 4 |
| 10 | Michel Van Aerde | 3 |
This was not repeated in the next years. However, in 1966, a real intermediate sprints classification would be held, with intermediate sprints in every stage.
Overview of intermediate sprints
I have collected so many intermediate sprint results, that I made a special overview for them.
Points system
Points system 1966 to 1967
In 1966, the winner of each sprints received 3 points, the second 2 and the third 1. Every stage (excluding time trials) had 1 sprint, very occasionally a stage had 2 sprints.
Points system 1968 to 1969
In 1968, the points system changed: the first 5 riders would receive points, according to the scheme 6-4-3-2-1.
Points system 1970
In 1970, the winner only received 5 points, all other aspects remained the same.
Points system 1971 to 1979
In 1971, the points system went back to the system of 1968 to 1969. An extra element was added: a time bonus could be won at an intermediate sprint. The winner received 5 seconds, the second 3 seconds and the third rider 1 second.
The points system stayed the same, but the time bonus changed a lot. For example: in 1979, there were in some stages around five intermediate sprints. Per stage, the winner received 10 bonus seconds, the second 6 bonus seconds and the third 3 bonus seconds. A classification of this stage was also made, where the rider with the most points would receive 20 additional bonus seconds, the next rider 10 and the third rider 5 seconds.
Points system 1980
In 1980, the winner of each sprint received 5 points, the second 3 points and the third 2 points.
Points system 1981 to 1984
From 1981 to 1984, the winner of each intermediate sprint got 8 points, the second 5 points, and the third 3 points.
Points system 1985
In 1985, it was more complicated. In the first five stages, the distribution was 3-2-1, in the next six stages 6-4-2, in the next 6 stages 9-6-3 and in the final stages 12-8-4.
Points system 1986 to 1989
In 1986 tot 1989, it was 6-4-2 in the first half, and 15-10-5 in the second half.
After 1989, the intermediate sprints classification was not used anymore.
Virtual
In 1989, the classification was abolished, but of course one can speculate about who would have won it in later years, if it would not have been removed. I do this below. I assume the points system of the final years would have been continued: 6-4-2 in the first half, and 15-10-5 in the final half. Until 1998, only stages in the first half gave a time bonus at the finish, and I used the same definition of "first half" here. In the years thereafter, the second half starts at stage 11. To lead the classification, a rider needs to finish the Tour. There was a rule for when riders were tied in points, but I can not find any detail about this rule. In the overview below, I assume that the rider with the most victories in intermediate sprints would have been leading, and if that would still be tied, I would have look at the position in the points classification.
In 2011, the intermediate sprints changed, and there was only 1 sprint per stage. These supersprints are too different from the sprints of 1989, so I stop here.
Sponsor
- 1984–1989:
- Catch
- 1987:
- Rhodic
