One of the reasons I've created the Faces from the peloton category on PelotonTales blog that there are so many cyclists from the good old black&white era, especially from the time period before the First World War who we know almost nothing about. Except the obvious thing, that they are the protagonsts of one of those very famous images circulating on the internet.
This picture below is one of those epic images about two cyclists looking like warriors.
But who they were? What they did? Did they achieved something important?
(1911)
According to Le Site du cyclisme (which seems to be more reliable source for records from the early days of road cycling than Procyclingstats) Léon Vallotton (1885-1956) was a Swiss rider, active between 1906 and 1912. Usually, he competed as an individual/independent rider, but in 1909 he had a contract with the Peugeot-Wolber team.
Vallotton's biggest success was most likely the 20th place at the Giro di Lombardia in 1911. He competed Tour de France once, in 1912, but abandoned the race on the 4th stage.
Now let's see the career of Alfons Lauwers!
Alfons Lauwers (1885-1964) was a Belgian cyclist, who attended road cycling races between 1907 and 1919 (source: dewielersite.net). He was rather an individual rider too, but he was part of the La Française - Diamant team in 1913 (thus he was teammate of Octave Lapize and the cyclist called 'Samson' , among others), while the subsequent year he rode for the Liberator - Hutchinson team, which was far less notable. Nevertheless, these were the years, when he rode Tour de France, without any kind of success.
However, he was good at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. His best result was a second place behind André Trousselier in 1908.
But after this brief overview of their careers, now we're facing a tiny little problem.
There are so many controversies between the informations of different cycling websites, that it's hard to figure out, when exactly that famous picure was taken. The year 1911 is widely known fact on the internet, but when we're taking a look at the record, it's hard to figure out which race it might have been. ( Actually was it really in 1911?)
Anyway, I hope, that this little post helps you to learn more about those famous "warrior cyclists".
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
Faces from the peloton: Hippolyte Aucouturier (1876-1944)
Although the idea of a French cyclist in a striped shirt might seem like a little bit of a cliché, sometimes stereotypes are carrying quite much truth in themselves. Just take a look at Hippolyte Aucouturier! One of the most iconic characters from the early days of road cycling races. Nevertheless, he was not only … 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
5 facts about Tour de France 1903
The first Tour de France started at 3 pm on the 1st of July in 1903 from the Café au Reveil Matin (Paris).
Climbing Col d’Allos at Tour de France 1914 -Vintage cycling image of the day
Tour de France 1914 started on the same day, 28th June, as the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg were assassinated in Sarajevo. When the riders lined up in the middle of the nigh for the start of the first stage in Paris, they knew nothing about that this day … Read more
When Tour de France went abroad before 1914
Defining historical events of the 20th century often left their marks on road cycling history. Just think about, for istance, the impact of World War 1 on the mythology of some famous races, like Paris-Roubaix. The born of the famous phase of “Hell of the North” is a quite well known story among cycling fans. … Read more