Has there been a Tour where someone has been ahead by a significant margin and then stacked it, thus losing the race? Everyone seems to bang on "It could happen!" but does it ever? Only a casual follower so apologies if i've missed some obvious occasion.
Probably the most famous example is Luis Ocana in 1971. He was seven minutes up on Eddy Merckx with a week to go but crashed on the descent of the Col de Mente during a thunderstorm and was unable to continue.
Merckx himself stacked it. Another rider hooked his handlebars before the start of a stage in 75. Merckx fell on his face and couldn’t eat solid food afterwards.
Then a French fan punched him in the gut.
Has there been a Tour where someone has been ahead by a significant margin and then stacked it, thus losing the race? Everyone seems to bang on "It could happen!" but does it ever? Only a casual follower so apologies if i've missed some obvious occasion.