The Ballon d'Alsace was first crossed by the
Tour de France on the second stage of the
1905 tour, from
Nancy to
Dijon. Following violent incidents at the Col de la République in
1904, the tour's organiser
Henri Desgrange decided to look elsewhere for challenges for the riders and at the same time gain publicity for the tour and distract the public from the cheating that had taken place in 1904. Although only 17 metres higher than the Col de la République, the climb to the Ballon d'Alsace was steeper and Desgrange declared that no cyclist would be able to ride over it. Despite Desgrange's "over-dramatic" concerns,
René Pottier crossed the summit first by riding all the way to the top and, although he was passed by
Hippolyte Aucouturier before the finish at
Besançon, Pottier became the leader of the tour. Unfortunately, the pace of his ascent exacerbated injuries that he had sustained in a fall on Stage 1, and Pottier was forced to withdraw from the race the next day. Following the 1905 tour's successful passage over the Ballon d'Alsace, Desgrange declared:the ascent of the Ballon d'Alsace ... was one of the most thrilling sights I have ever witnessed, and confirms my opinion that man's courage knows no limits and a highly trained athlete can aspire to remarkable performances. The other riders soon dropped away with only
Augustin Ringeval able to briefly keep in contact with Pottier although even he was dropped well before the summit: Pottier and Ringeval are alone now. A brief but terrifying duel breaks out, until, making a final demand from his boundless reserves, the leader pulls away into the teeth of the gradient. Ringeval loses ground, makes it up again with a magnificent effort, then drops back again, done for! Pottier crossed the summit alone, over four minutes ahead of the next rider and maintained his lead into the stage finish at Dijon, going on to win the whole race in Paris three weeks later.
Passages in the Tour de France The Tour de France crossed over the Col du Ballon d'Alsace every year between 1905 and 1914, and then five times in the 1930s. Since World War II, the crossings have been less frequent, with the most recent being in
2005 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first passage. The tour has crossed the mountain twenty-one times in its history.
Notes Tour de France stage finishes Between 1967 and 1979, the tour had four mountain top finishes at the summit of the Col du Ballon d'Alsace. ==Tour de France Femmes==