Roger Pingeon, winner of 1967 Tour de France, dies aged 76

Roger Pingeon, the winner of the 1967 Tour de France and 1969 Vuelta a Espana, has died at the age of 76.

He is the third winner of the Tour de France to have died in the past three months.

In December, 1950 champion Ferdinand Kübler  from Switzerland passed away aged 97.

> Tour de France champ Ferdi Kubler dies

He was succeeded as the oldest surviving Tour de France winner by France’s Roger Walkowiak, who died aged 89 in February.

> Roger Walwowiak, shock winner of 1956 Tour de France, passes away

From 1966 until 1972, Pingeon rode for the Peugeot-BP Michelin team, where he was a team mate of the late Tommy Simpson.

The pair were rivals, however, at the 1967 edition of the Tour de France, when organisers reintroduced national teams.

In that race 50 years ago, Pingeon represented France, while Simpson, who collapsed and died on the slopes of Mont Ventoux on Stage 13, was riding for the Great Britain team.

Besides his Tour de France victory, Pingeon also topped the General Classification at the Vuelta a Espana in 1969.

Of the 59 men to have won the General Classifiction of the Tour de France, 21 are still alive – currently, the oldest surviving champion is Spanish rider Federico Bahamontes, winner in 1959 and now aged 88.