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
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. ((If Mark Cavendish would succeed next year, he would break this record either. He celebrated his first stage victory in 2008.)) Indeed, he was one of … Read more
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
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 … Read more
Everybody knows the famous image of the “smoking cyclists” from 1927. One of them was Gustaaf Van Slembrouck. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 days at the Tour … Read more
Learn a bit more about the protagonists of vintage cycling images — that’s the purpose of the category Faces from the peloton. The Belgian cyclist Gustaaf Van Slembrouck (1902-1968) was a professional rider between 1926 and 1932. The first year of his professional career was the most successful: he wore the yellow jersey for 6 … Read more