The first decades of history of Tour de France are full with extraordinary stories. One of them is the story of the cyclist with a glass eye.
Honoré Barthélémy (1891-1964) crashed badly on the 8th stage (Perpignan
- Aix-en-Provence, 325 km) of Tour de France in 1920. Despite having problems with his sight, he mounted his bike again and continued the race. Only a bit later he realised, he didn't suffered concussion, but was really half-blind. He finished the stage also with a broken shoulder and a dislocated wrist.
Barthélémy, who was 5th in overall at the previous edition of Tour de France, managed to finish the race despite this serious health difficulties. At the end, he was the 8th best rider of Tour de France 1920.
Although the circumstances were far less than optimal for a person with a glass eye, Barthélémy continued racing. He not only finished 3rd the Tour de France in 1921, but also won a stage (12th stage, Geneva - Strasbourg, 371 km).
Sometimes he took the eye out, it was more confortable, especially on dusty roads. Also, it happened many occasions, that the eye just felt out and caused unexpected troubles for the cyclist.
Honoré Barthélémy was good not only on roads, but he had some success, even after his accident, on track too.
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.1 Indeed, he was one of… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)
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
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.1 Indeed, he was one of… Read More »Faces from the peloton: Jean Alavoine (1888-1943)