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 carried a letter from a regional agent of the bicycle manufacturer the team was sponsored by. The timing seemed a bit too late, there was no free pacemaker left to help the new rider.
And yet Pierrard asked his mechanics to set up a bicycle for the Belgian. His primary task was to try to keep up with the other riders as long as it possible. And he did it. Van Hauwaert finished his first Paris-Roubaix second behind the winner Georges Passerieu.
Van Hauwaert’s next race was Bordeaux-Paris where he was the best rider.
1908 was the real successful one for Cyrille Van Hauwaert. He won Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. Before La Classicissima, he travelled from Belfium to Italy by bicycle. He considered it as a training ride.
Van Hauwaert delivered a constant performance throughout the subsequent years, usually finished among the top5 riders both at Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo.
He rode also the Tour de France frequently, finished 5th in the general classification in 1909. He won also a stage in that year: the 272 km long first one from Paris to Roubaix. That made him the first Belgian cyclist to lead the general classification temporarily.
Cyrille Van Hauwaert retired from cycling racing during the war, but remained close to the world of bicycle. He founded the manufacture “Cycles Van Hauwaert”.