Skip to content
Home » Octave Lapize

Octave Lapize

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

Tour de France winners died 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 Peloton: The Devastating Impact of World War I on the Tour de France)) has disappeared immediately, when they found themselves in the trenches, but among the millions of young men lost their life during the conflict, there were also several cyclists, even some famous ones. There were three former Tour de France winners, who have lost their lives in the… Read More »Tour de France winners died in the First World War

Octave Lapize, the first three-time Paris-Roubaix champion

Every road cycling fan knows the name Octave Lapize, the rider who crossed Tourmalet first at the Tour de France in 1910. His memorial is on the top of the ascent. Lapize also won that year’s Tour de France. But, although he was  rather considered a climber, he was good also at the Paris-Roubaix. Actually, he was the first rider, who won the race three times. In 1909, 1910 and 1911. Lapize just turned professional at the beginning of the season 1909 and made a good impression on Henri Desgranges: “He has an energetic aspect, a solid chin, a focused look, a pointed moustache, all of which give him the look of a racer[…]He has a… Read More »Octave Lapize, the first three-time Paris-Roubaix champion

Firmin Lambot, the winner of the Tour de France 1919

The slowest Tour de France ever

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 had not enough possibilities to train. This is one of the reason why mostly the older riders with more racing routine dominated the competition. On the other hand, the international elite peloton suffered some important losses: three of the former Tour de France winners, Lucien Petit-Breton (winner of 1907 and 1908), Francois Faber (1909) and Octave Lapize (1910) died during… Read More »The slowest Tour de France ever