For example,
French cyclist Jules Deloffre (1885-1963)
earned his nickname 'The Acrobat' (L'Acrobate) through his acrobatic performances after Tour de France stages.
Especially during the last few years of his career, when he was over 40 already, therefore no more in the shape to expect good results, he was motivated rather by the opportunity to entertain the audience after riding 300 km or more.
Nevertheless, he had plenty of occasions to show his acrobatic skills in front of the public, since he attended the famous French grand tour between 1908 and 1928 for a total of 14 times. But he completed only seven editions. His best result was a 12th place in the general classification.
Already his 8th participation in 1920 made him a record holder. He kept this position until 1985, although from 1966 he had to share it with another rider, André Darrigade. (In 1985, Lucien Van Impe became the new recorder with 15 participations.)
Deloffre rode his last Tour de France at the age of 43. After his retirement of professional racing, he still attended small regional races.
In 1963, at the age of 78, he was riding a race called 'Criterium International de Cambrai', when he was run over by a car. He died following this accident.
Faces from the peloton: Raymond Delisle (1943-2013)
Thank you for being a devoted reader of PelotonTales. You are the reason why it’s worth spending so many hours to create new content and trying to improve this website. If you would show appreciation to my work, please consider supporting the blog with a small donation. Thank you! Raymond Delisle was one of those… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Raymond Delisle (1943-2013)
Faces from the Peloton: Theo Middelkamp (1914-2005)
You would never guess in what kind of stage the first Dutch Tour de France stage winner, Theo (Theofiel) Middelkamp (1914-2005) gained his victory. In a mountain stage in the Alps, including Télégraphe, Galibier and Lautaret. Considering that even in the early 1950s, when Wim van Est, the first Dutch cyclist to wear the yellow… Read More »Faces from the Peloton: Theo Middelkamp (1914-2005)
Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)
French cyclist Jean Alavoine holds a unique record in the history of Tour de France: there are 14 years between his first (1909) and his last (1923) stage victory.2 Indeed, he was one of… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)
Faces from the peloton: Jules Deloffre, “the acrobat cyclist”
Undoubtedly, there were plenty of cyclists with unique stories in the peloton in the first few decades of road cycling races. These atlethes were not necessarily successful riders or didn’t become the bigest stars of their days, but yet, their stories are worth to be told. Actually, if we are looking deeper into the well… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jules Deloffre, “the acrobat cyclist”
The grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle – Giusto Cerutti at Tour de France 1928
Giusto Cerutti (1903-1993) had at least one bad day at the Tour de France in 1928.We don’t know much about the grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle. But one thing is sure, he is the unlucky (anti)hero of one of the most searched vintage cycling images on the internet.According to ProCyclingStats, Cerutti abandoned the race… Read More »The grumpy cyclist with the broken bicycle – Giusto Cerutti at Tour de France 1928
Cyclists meet a local inhabitant during Tour de France 1925
During the first few decades in the history of Tour de France, mountain routes were kind of “terrae incognitae”, uncharted territories. We all know the story when Alphonse Steniès persuaded Henri Desgrange to include Tourmalet in the program of Tour de France 1910. He was struggling even to find a car driver, a local guide… Read More »Cyclists meet a local inhabitant during Tour de France 1925
Jean Alavoine on the Col d’Aspin (Tour de France 1922)
Jean Alavoine (1888-1943) had a very good Tour de France in 1922. He won three stages, two of them in the Pyrenees and thanks to his great performance, he was wearing the yellow jersey for five days. Col d’Aspin was part of the program of the 6th stage alongside with Aubisque and Peyresourde, as usual.… Read More »Jean Alavoine on the Col d’Aspin (Tour de France 1922)
Ottavio Bottecchia on the Izoard (Tour de France 1925)
Col d’Izoard was introduced to Tour de France in 1922. It seems to have been the new favourite of the organizers, they put it in the program also in the next 5 years. (And it is still one of the most used ascent in the history of Tour de France) Ottavio Bottecchia might have been… Read More »Ottavio Bottecchia on the Izoard (Tour de France 1925)