He Tour de France I had already organized other goals in Spain before: in Saint Sebastianwhich opened the series in 1949, in Barcelona, in the Seo d’Urgell, in Vitoria, in Jaca… But he had never celebrated the Grand Depart until Donosti, once again a pioneer, launched the race in 1992 with two full days: a prologue and a stage. It is the only precedent prior to Bilbao.
He Basque Country I was going through a very turbulent period then, with the terrorism of ETA and street violence in full swing. His behavior was the great enigma of the Tour, despite the fact that Herri Batasuna, the political wing, assured in a pamphlet distributed to journalists that it showed “a position of support and encouragement for this sporting event.” The agreement with HB did not prevent the burning of several accredited vehicles, including those of the Antenne 2 and Channel 4 televisions. The mayor of the city, Odon Elorza, He later went to the Press Room to express his “categorical condemnation” and to “guarantee the safety” of the Tour family.
Despite this, the Basque public turned upside down as usual. Some 6,000 people followed the presentation of the teams at the Anoeta velodrome, where Miguel Indurain, who wore the number 1 as current champion, was the most applauded along with an absentee, the local idol, Marino Lejarreta, convalescing from the terrible fall he suffered in April in the Spring GP in Amorebieta, that ultimately withdrew him from cycling. Among the parallel activities, a concert by Serrat, Duncan Dhu and the Orfeón Donostiarra was held on the same stage, at a price of 1,500 pesetas, currently 9 euros.
Sportingly, it was also a party. On July 4, Saturday, Indurain won the prologue, with La Concha beach as a close witness, at a speed of 51.206 km/h, two seconds ahead of the rookie Alex Zülle and three on Thierry-Marie, a great specialist. “In front of this wonderful audience, what less could I do?” Miguel said, happy, but aware that there was still a lot of work to revalidate the title. In fact, the following day he gave up the yellow jersey in favor of Zülle, who got a bonus in Zarautz. That day he went up jaizkibeljust as it will be done this Sunday, and there were the first sparks between the favourites, with an attack of Franco Chioccioli. Dominique Arnauld, Frenchman from Castorama, won. On Monday, the 6th, the Tour said goodbye to San Sebastián, already heading towards France and the Pyrenees, but the joy for Spanish cycling did not end there: Javier Murguialday won in Pau.