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: Luigi Malabrocca (1920-2006)
Although nowadays Luigi Malabrocca is remembered by the unheroic fight for the maglia nera, the last place of the Giro d’Italia, he also managed to earn some real victories during his professional career between 1945 and 1958. Malabrocca, usually one of the domestiques for Fausto Coppi during road cycling races, was a two-time Italian cyclocross … Read more
Faces from the peloton: Olimpio Bizzi (1916-1976)
The youngest Giro-stage winner ever, Olimpio Bizzi (1916-1976) was active as professional cyclist between 1936 and 1952. Practically, he was racing in the shadow of the greatest generation of Italian cyclists, including Learco Guerra, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, or Giorenzo Magni Nevertheless, Bizzi had his own successes during his career. Besides some minor one-day race … Read more
Cyrille Van Hauwaert (Faces from the peloton)
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
Faces from the peloton: Victor Fontan (1892-1982)
A cyclist running while carrying his bike on his shoulder. Surely, you’ve seen this vintage cycling image several times. Now it’s time to learn a bit more about the protagonist of the picture. Victor Fontan (1892-1982) in the Faces from the peloton series of PelotonTales blog. A local rider World War I (as did World … Read more
Who were the smoking cyclists at Tour de France 1927
The smoking cyclists of Tour de France 1927 is one of the most famous vintage cycling images from the heydays of road cycling races. It’s popular because it conveys a certain aspect of the many differences between our time and the life hundred years ago. The dissonance between our 21st-centurian knowledge that smoking is very … Read more
The toughest Tour de France stage ever
The 10th stage of Tour de France 1926 is often dubbed as the toughest stage ever in the history of the race. The 326 km long route between Bayonne and Luchon on the 6th July 1926 went down in history also as one of the most chaotic ones thanks to the extreme weather conditions in … Read more
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
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
- "Very deep is the well of the past" -Thomas Mann [↩]