The first Belgian Tour de France winner, who meant to be the first Belgian Tour de France winner.
Odiel Defraeye was born on 14th July 1888, his professional career started in 1909. He was the protégé of the Belgian star cyclist Cyrille van Hauwaert, who was hoping Defraeye would be the first Belgian Tour de France winner. And so it happened in 1912.
Defraeye participated in the Tour de France seven times between 1909 and 1924, but he managed to complete it only in his winning year.
He also won Milano-Sanremo in 1913 and played a big part of that the first Ronde van Vlaanderen was organized in the same year.
After his retirement Defraeye opened a Caflé in Belgium but struggled with alcoholism.
Odiel Defraeye died o in a retirement home on 20 August 1965