Lucien Petit-Breton

Tour de France winners died in the First World War

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Francoise Faber, Octave Lapize, Lucien Petit-Breton, Tour de France winners, who lost their life in the First World War

As in almost every part of European life, also in the world of cycling races World War I was a significant watershed. Not only the naivity of some athletes ((who thought previously, that fighting on the battlefield would be the same like competing at the Olympics  – read more about it in Graham Healy:The Shattered … Read more

The first monument winners

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montage picture of the five cyclist who won the first editions of the five monuments

Of course, they weren’t called “monuments” those days, but here are some interesting stuff about the winners of the first editions of the five most important one-day races. Léon Houa, Liége -Bastogne-Liége (1892) Belgian cyclist Léon Houa (1867-1918) actually won the first three editions of La Doyenne. The first two of them were amateur events. … Read more

5 facts about Tour de France 1907

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A vintage black&white image about cyclists waiting for the start of Tour de France 1907

Tour de France visited Switzerland for the very first time in 1907. The  5th edition was the first time when a car with bicycle repairmen drove behind the riders, to give assistance in solving mechanical problems on bicycles. Although the riders officially rode Tour de France as individuals, some shared the same sponsor and cooperated … Read more

Giovanni Gerbi’s last Giro d’Italia

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Giovanni Gerbi (1885-1955), iconic cyclists from the first half of the 20th century is posing with his bicycle.

Giovanni Gerbi (1885-1955) is the oldest contestant in the history of Giro d’Italia ever. He was 47 years old, when he attended his last Giro in 1932. The Red Devil Giovanni Gerbi, who earned the nickname “Red Devil” (Diavolo Rosso) was one of the most iconic figures of road cycling races in the early years … Read more

The first Milano-Sanremo (1907)

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Like in the case of many of the great, historical cycling races, creating Milano-Sanremo was closely linked to a newspaper, namely, the La Gazzetta dello Sport. First of all, the finish town, Sanremo was certain. The wealthy members of the local sport club wanted to have a race and contacted Eugenio Costamagna, the owner of … Read more

The slowest Tour de France ever

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Firmin Lambot, the winner of the Tour de France 1919

The slowest Tour de France in history was the 13th edition between 29th June and 27 July in 1919. The race included 5560 km, divided into 15 stages. This was the second longest Tour de France in history. Due to the recent war times (World War I between 1914 and 1918) most of the riders … Read more