Famous cycling images: who is who on the iconic pictures?

There are plenty of famous cycling imagaes shared (mostly) on social media daily. We all know them very well. But do you know who are those cyclists on the picture? It’s a more trickier question, isn’t it. Many (but of course not all) of them weren’t successful or famous in their own days, only our strange time made them kind of cycling celebrities.

Léon Valloton and Alfons Lauwers

vintage cycling image of two cyclists standing at a wall looking like warriors coming from a battle — Léon Valloton and Alfons Lauwers
(1911)

Robert Jacquinot

A cyclist eating in a pub at the Tour de France, a boy looking in into a window — Robert Jacquinot
(Tour de France 1922)

Eating pasta at Giro d’Italia 1966

Of course , the cyclists on this picture aren’t no name riders. All four men were Giro d’Itali winners a least once. Gianni Motta (1966), Vittorio Adorni (1965), Jacques Anquetil (1960, 1964) and Felice Gimondi (1967, 1969, 1976)

eating pasta at the giro d'italia 1966 famous funny cycling pictures — Gianni Motta, Vittorio Adorni, Jacques Anquetil and Felice Gimondi are having fun at the Giro d’Italia in 1966.

Henri Colle and Charles Parel

Although it seems a bit odd nowadays, it was not unusual, but perfectly normal during the first decade of road cycling races, that cyclists refreshed themselves in a tavern. In fact, in the early days of road cycling cafés and taverns were the checkpoints of Tour de France in the countryside.