Birthplace of Benoît Faure, who was known as ‘The Mouse’ and was one of the first great climbers to grace the sport, Montbrison initially featured on the Tour de France route as the setting for an intermediate sprint, won by Belgian Dirk de Wolf during the Saint-Étienne – Puy de Dôme stage in 1986. Prior to this stage that’s heading for Tournon-sur-Rhône, the Critérium du Dauphiné started twice in Montbrison, first for a stage to Belleville-en-Beaujolais (2018) and then for a time trial that finished in La Bâtie d’Urfé (2022), won by Filippo Ganna.
- Commune in the department of Loire (42)
- Population: 16,200; 112,400 in the Loire-Forez municipality; 772,100 within the department of Loire
- ville-montbrison.fr • loire.fr • loireforez.fr