There is a story about Louis Trousselier (1881-1939), the winner of Tour de France in 1905, that’s makes him one of those very characteristic protagonists of the early days of road cycling races: he lost all his prize money earned during the Tour de France by playing dice with friends on the night of his … Read more
Henri Cornet (1884-1941), the youngest Tour de France winner ever, had a quite short list of triumphs. Indeed, besides winning the most famous cycling race, his other big success was his victory at Paris-Roubaix in 1906. Actually Cornet wasn’t the best rider on the roads at the Tour France in 1904. It was Maurice Garin, … Read more
Maurice Garin (1871-1957), the winner of the first Tour de France became a professional cyclist only accidentally. Garin was racing as amateur already (he won his first race in 1893), when he decided to start at a race near to his hometown. He learned only at the start of the race, that this was an … Read more