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Such was the scene on July 14, 1976. To enhance the chances of a French winner that day, the riders tackled three stages (!) on the day. Three times the opportunity. Three flat stages of around 100 kilometers each followed a week of hard Pyrenean challenges. The hope rested on fast Frenchmen like Jacques Esclassan, Jean-Pierre Danguillaume, Régis Delépine, or outsider Michel Perin, who passed his own front door in Lavardac during the morning stage.

No matter how much the French crowd motivated their favorites, their compatriots didn't stand a chance in the morning leg from Auch to Langon. As expected, the stage ended in a bunch sprint. Régis Delépine managed the best result for the French with a fifth place, just behind his teammate Gerard Vianen from the Netherlands. On the day's podium, Pierino Gavazzi and Gerben Karstens flanked the winner, Freddy Maertens. The Belgian powerhouse claimed his fifth stage victory of the 1976 Tour, of which three in the yellow leaders jersey.

In the afternoon, the French united their efforts: a whopping 8 of the top 20 finishers in Lacanau océan held French nationality. However, Jacques Esclassan, the most prominent French contender, fell just short, losing out to none other than Freddy Maertens again! The super champion from the Velda - Flandria-team clinched his second Tour de France stage win of the day, becoming the third rider ever to achieve this feat in the Tour de France.

In 1937 and 1938, his compatriot Eloï Meulenberg had accomplished this, and a year later, in 1939, Maurice ‘Le Nabot’ Archambaud replicated the feat. After Freddy Maertens, no one managed to win two regular stages in a single day in the Tour de France again. (Team time trials excluded, as winning a stage and a team time trial was achieved by Patrick Sercu and Jan Raas (twice) after Maertens.)

Back to the French hopes on Quatorze Juliiet 1976. In the evening, stage 18c went from Lacanau to Bordeaux. However, the French hope finished 14th, 13th, 12th, 11th, 10th, 7th, 6th, and this time, Eclassan only managed fourth place. Once again, the French were outdone on their day by a rider from the lowlands. Maertens fell just short of completing a historic treble, finishing second behind Gerben Karstens.

But the story doesn't end there, especially not for Freddy Maertens. In that same Tour, he would go on to win two more stages, bringing his total for that Tour to 8 stage victories. Matching the record set by Charles Pélissier and Eddy Merckx. The record of winning 8 stages in a single Tour de France event still stands unbroken to this day.

There's even more. For Freddy Maertens, this marked the beginning of a remarkable streak. In the subsequent Grand Tour, the 1977 Vuelta a España (then the first of the three Grand Tours on the calendar), he also won two stages in a day, namely stages 11a and 11b on May 7th in Barcelona. In that Vuelta, Freddy Maertens astonishingly won 11 out of 21 stages, a record that seems nearly impossible to surpass.

And the saga continues. In the following Grand Tour, the Giro d'Italia, Maertens was once again unstoppable. He won the prologue and the first stage, and in the fourth stage, he sprinted to victory again. On May 26th, lightning struck again. Twice. Maertens won both stage 6a and 6b to Gabicce Mare, becoming the only rider ever to win two stages in a day in all three Grand Tours. Not only that, he achieved this feat in three consecutive Grand Tours. In that Giro, he was also on track to approach the record for most stage wins in a single edition held by Alfredo Binda (12). After his double victory, he also won stages 7 and 8a, bringing his total to 7. However, in stage 8b, Freddy Maertens crashed heavily in the sprint at the Mugello race circuit. He broke his wrist and had to abandon the race. The magnificence of Freddy Maertens, who turned every opportunity into a victory, was never seen again after that.