The winner of the longest ever individual time trial (139 km ) in the history of Tour de France, Raymond Impanis had a successful career. Although a bit in the shadow of the biggest names of the era. That certain individual time trial at Tour de France 1947 was one of his two TDF stage … Read more
Fausto Coppi’s brother, Serse was born on the 19th of March in 1923 in Castellania, Italy. He started to race professionally in the Bianchi team as the most trusted domestique of his older sibling in 1946. Nevertheless, he had his own personal success either: he won Paris-Roubaix in 1949, although under disputable circumstances. Originally, André … Read more
Austrian cyclist Max Bulla (1905-1990) attended Tour de France twice. In 1931 he finished 15th, in 1932 19th in overall. He also had a 34th place at the Giro d’Italia in 1934 and a 5th place at the first Vuelta a Espana in 1935. In 1931 he won a Tour de France stage and was … Read more
Italian cyclist Franco Bitossi earned the nickname “Crazy heart” (“Cuore matto”) due to a cardiac arrhythmia which often forced him to stop midway in a cycling race. Bitossi, born in 1940, was professional between 1961 and 1978. He was considered a very attack-friendly cyclist, who was also excellent in the mountains. His first big success … Read more
The history of Tour de France isn’t a fairy tale. Even the life of its greatest and most shining starts overshadowed by tragedies. And there are those ones, who didn’t get enough time to prove their talents, like Roger Riviére (1936-1976) Roger Rivière made his name in the history of cycling by set the hour … 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
Surely, most cycling fans know, that Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France in 1903. But have you ever wonder, who else were in the top ten of the first edition? This post might answer your question. 1. Maurice Garin (1871-1957) One of the stars of the early years of road cycling races. Read … Read more
The cyclist, who is mostly remembered by being poisoned at the Tour de France in 1911. Paul Duboc (1884-1941) competed as a professional rider between 1907 and 1927. He won 5 Tour de France stages (one in 1909 and four in 1911) his best result in the general classification was a 2nd place. In 1909 … 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