Iconic Paris-Roubaix images: André Leducq crossing the finish line in 1928

Winners of both Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix in the same year: Henri Suter 1923 Romain Gijssels 1932 Gaston Rebry 1934 Raymond Impanis 1954 Fred De Bruyne 1957 Rik Van Looy 1962 Roger De Vlaeminck 1977 Peter van Petegem 2003 Tom Boonen 2005 Fabian Cancellara 2010 Tom Boonen Belgium 2012 Fabian Cancellara 2013 Mathieu van … Read more

Hippolyte Aucouturier, one of the most iconic riders in the early days of road cycling races, was born on the 17th October in 1876 in La Celle (France). Aucouturier won Paris-Roubaix among a rather chaotic circumstances in 1903. During the early years of the race, riders traditionally changed their bikes at the entrance of the … Read more

Serse Coppi, the younger brother of the big Fausto was born on the 19th of March in 1923 in Castellania, Italy.

The second edition of Paris-Roubaix was  held on the 18th April 1897. 32 professional and 28 amateur cyclists departed in the rainy Paris, but the 280 km long racerun mostly under sunny conditions. The Italian-born French Maurice Garin, who is best known for winning the first Tour de France in 1903, and the Duch Mathieu … Read more

Cyrille Van Hauwaert (1883-1974) was one of the most successful Belgian cyclist in the pre -WW1 era. His story  began like a folktale. The big and strong Flemish farm boy, who didn’t speak French arrived in the office of the La Française team’s directeur sportif, Pierre Pierrard two days before Paris-Roubaix in 1907. Van Hauwaert … Read more

Snow at the Tour de France? Yes, it happens sometimes, especially, when the race visits such high places like Col d’Iseran in the Alps. In the 16th stage of Tour de France 1963, the peloton visited the Alps. It was a 202 km long stage between Grenoble and Val d’Isere, including Col de la Croix … Read more

The first stage of Tour de France in 1936 run in pouring rain.

Cycling in extreme weather: Charly Gaul on the famous stage 20 up to Monte Bondone at the Giro d’Italia 1956   Race director Vincenzo Torriani was asked to cancel the stage due to the rough weather conditions were forecasted. But he declined it, he may have thought, this could make the unexciting race exciting again. … Read more

Snow at Tour de France is quite rare, but not impossible, as the image of Hector Heusghem at Tour de France 1923 proves. Belgian cyclist Hector Heusghem (1890-1982) was active as professional cyclist between 1912 and 1925. His best result at Tour de France was 2nd  position both in 1920 and 1921. In 1922 he … Read more

On the afternoon of the 20th April 1980, while a little girl, called Anita Pethő ( the author of PelotonTales blog) was born in a small town in North-West Hungary, on the other part of Europe, in Belgium, Bernard Hinault delivered one of the most iconic victories in the history of the Monuments. Snow can … Read more

The 13th Tour de France, held between 29 June and 27 July was the first edition after First World War. The yellow jersey was introduced during this edition of Tour de France. Most of the cyclists were racing in grey jersey, thus there must have been something, a colorful jersey for example, to distinguish the … Read more

In 1926, Tour de France started outside Paris for the very first time. In 1926, Evian, the famous high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva, hosted the start of the first stage. It was 373 km long, finished in Mulhouse. Jules Buysse was the winner of the day. MORE TOUR … Read more

Firmin Lambot became the first Tour de France winner without winning a stage during the race. Also, he is the oldest cyclist ever to win Tour de France. Veteran cyclist Eugéne Christophe was leading the general classification for three days, which made him the oldest leader (37 years, 164 days) leader of the race ever.

The oldest Tour de France winner ever, Firmin Lambot was born in Florennes (Belgium) in 1886. Like many of his contemporaries, Lambot used his bicycle to ride to work since his age of 17. When he won his first bike race, he bought a racing bicycle from the prize.He turned professional in 1908 and attended … Read more

Tour de France 1920 winner Philippe Thys became the first cyclist to win the race three times (his previous victories were dated back before First World War, in 1913 and 1914). The weather was so hot, that after 4 stages 65 of 113 cyclists had quit the race already.