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It was in 1958, after some dramatic stages, that Charly Gaul has won the Tour de France, major success in his career together with two Giro d'Italia. The Charly Gaul Foundation, which purpose is to honour the memory of Charly and his performances, prepares a series of commermorations for this aniversary,
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Charly Gaul during the Tour de France 1958
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some of them together with the ACC Contern and the Tourist Office of the Trento region, where Charly Gaul has reached cult status since his victory in a Giro stage in 1956. These three associations had invited on January 21 to Niederanven, where they presented their program to the public, in presence of Gilberto Simoni, two times winner of the Giro d'Italia and big fan of the Angel of the Mountains.
The ACC Contern will associate the name of Chraly Gaul to two of its organizations in 2008: the Charly Gaul cyclo-sport race and the Gala Tour de France. For nearly 20 years now, the only cyclo-sport race of Luxembourg honours the name and the memory of Charly Gaul, and the success has been huge in the last years with around 1000 participants. The 19th edition of La Charly Gaul will take place on September 7, 2008, in Echternach. One of the biggest challenges in this sort of event for the organization is to guarantee the security of such a big peloton out there on the roads and in the last years, the course has showed some weak items concerning that point, notably in the first kilometers.
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La Charly Gaul 2006
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For this reason, the start and finish will be changed to Echternach in 2008, to avoid the narrow and twisty roads as well as the numerous crossroads around Contern. Of course, the race will be tough again with a trip to the North of the Country and to the Luxemburgish Switzerland. As usual, participants will be able to choose among two courses of respectively around 100 and around 150 kilometers.
If La Charly Gaul presents some new aspects in 2008, the Gala Tour de France will be completely renewed this year. Eventually, the Olympic Games densify the international calender even more than usual and it seems impossible to have the three riders of the ACC Contern, Kim Kirchen, Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck, for a week-end in Luxemburg.
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Gala Tour de France 2007
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The criterium will thus take place in the middle of a week in the evening, on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 after 19h00 o'clock to be precise. This will also involve a change in the course because it doesn't seem reasonable to close the roads near to the station on a Wednesday afternoon. We have therefore opted for a new loop around place Guillaume and Marché des Poissons, a spectacular one because unlike the one in the Avenue de la Liberté, it contains an uphill section. Another new aspect will be the association of the event to the name of Charly Gaul, mainly concerning the support acts with historic exhibition and music. A certain number of former team-mates and opponents of Charly Gaul will also be present on July 30 in Luxembourg-town to participate in the celebrations.
Next to its own events, ACC Contern also supports another organization, the Gran Fondo Charly
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Presentation of the Gran Fondo Charly Gaul
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Gaul Trento-Monte Bondone. The third edition of this cyclo-sport race in Trento in Italy will take place on August 10, 2008, and the organizers have what it takes to make one of the biggest national events of this kind out of it. Between the first and the second edition, the number of participants has already doubled to 800 and this year, the support program will last for a whole week with visits, exhibitions and on Saturday, August 9, the Bondone day that will allow everyone to explore the mythical mountain by all possible means of locomotion. Gilberto Simoni has presented in Niederanven the course of the Gran Fondo 2008, which contains a longer version of 124 kilometers and an easier one of 108 kilometer. Both laps finish on top of the Monte Bondone and of course contain the mythical "Salita Charly Gaul" that entered into the legend in 1956. The ACC Contern will support the event by organizing bus trips to Trento in cooperation with Voyages Emile Weber. More information on the different trips shortly on this homepage.
You can find more informations on all these events soon on the internet sites of the ACC Contern:
Gala Tour de France (July 29, 2008): http://www.acccontern.lu/English/2008F/galatdf08.htm
La 19ème Charly Gaul (September 7, 2008): http://www.acccontern.lu/English/2008F/gaul08.htm or http://www.lacharlygaul.lu
Gran Fondo Charly Gaul (August 10, 2008): http://www.acccontern.lu/Francais/2008F/gaulbondone08.htm or http://www.charlygaulgranfondo.it
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