Bernard Thevenet (1975)

After having gained the overall lead in the 1975 Tour de France from Eddy Merckx on the strength of a truly historic ride in stage 15 (Nice - Pra Loup), Bernard Thevenet would punctuate his ascendency to the Maillot Jaune the very next day over the course of the similarly mountainous stage 16 (Barcelonnette - Serre Chevalier) which included the Vars and Izoard climbs. Seen here powering his way past Joop Zoetemelk (GAN-Mercier) while ascending the Izoard, Thevenet would cross the stage finish line alone by an impressive 2 minutes and 22 seconds. And while this would prove to be his last out-and-out stage victory of the 1975 Tour, from this point forward, Thevenet maintained a stranglehold on the Maillot Jaune, thereby unseating five time winner Merckx as the reigning champion of the Tour de France.