Originally Posted by
Picchio Special
The first rider who I think really built their season around the Tour de France was Indurain <SNIP>
No so, have a look at Anquetil's approach to racing. While he raced well in excess of 200 days a year (not many racers doing that nowadays), he concentrated on stage races and particularly on the Tour de France. Rik Van Steenbergen and Rik Van Looy similarly concentrated on the Classics.