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Bordeaux–Paris

November 16, 2023

This article is about the bicycle race. For the 1895 motorcar race, see Paris–Bordeaux–Paris. For the railway, see Paris–Bordeaux railway.

The Bordeaux–Paris professional cycle race was one of Europe's classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately 560 km (350 mi) – more than twice most single-day races.[1] It started in northern Bordeaux in southwest France at 2am and finished in the capital Paris 14 hours later.[2] The professional event was held from 1891 until 1988. It was held as an amateur event in 2014.

Bordeaux–Paris
Bordeaux
Angoulême
Châtellerault
Orléans
Paris
Race details
RegionFrance
English nameBordeaux–Paris
Local name(s)Bordeaux–Paris
Nickname(s)Derby of the Road
DisciplineRoad
TypeOne-day
History
First edition1891 (1891)
Editions86
First winner George Pilkington Mills
Most wins Herman Van Springel
(7 wins)
Most recent Jean-François Rault

History edit

 
Bordeaux-Paris logo

The event was first run on 23 May 1891, and the Derby of the Road as it was sometimes called, was notable in that riders were paced – allowed to slipstream – behind tandem or conventional cycles. From 1931, pacing was by motorcycles or small pedal-assisted Dernys. Pacing was also briefly by cars. In early events, pacing was provided from Bordeaux. In later events, it was introduced part-way towards Paris. From 1946 to 1985, more than half the distance was paced, Dernys being introduced at Poitiers or Châtellerault, roughly half-way.

The organisers of the inaugural event, Bordeaux Vélo Club and Véloce Sport envisaged that riders might take a few days, but the first edition was won in a continuous ride by George Pilkington Mills. Mills raced through the night to win the 600 km long event in just over a day. Post-war winners include Louison Bobet (1959), Tom Simpson (1963), and Jacques Anquetil (1965). The record for the most victories is held by Herman Van Springel, who won seven times between 1970 and 1981.[3]

The first race edit

 
George Pilkington Mills

George Mills won the inaugural Bordeaux–Paris race in 1891. He was invited by the organisers, the newspaper Véloce Sport because of his reputation in an age when long-distance racing was the fashion. A race from Bordeaux in the south-west to the capital in Paris would be the longest annual event in France.

The race started at 5am in the Place du Pont Bastide in Bordeaux. There were 38 riders. As well as the British – Pilkington Mills, Holbein, Edge and Bates[4] – there were a Pole and a Swiss.[5] Mills fell on bad roads after 10 km when he touched with the Frenchman, Jiel-Laval, but neither was hurt. The English group moved to the front when the field began to straggle after the first hour. They led by a mile at dawn after averaging 14 mph. The historian Victor M. Head wrote: "At 10.30 Angoulème was reached and the Englishmen stopped to gulp down bowls of hot soup. When they restarted, Mills began to make all the running, drawing steadily away from his companions until, arriving at Ruffec, Charente, he was half an hour in the lead."[6]

The rapid departure surprised the organisers. A report said:

Everything had been prepared to receive the riders properly [recevoir dignement]: full meals, baths, hot showers, nothing was forgotten, and there were good beds to welcome our heroes, because there was no doubt among the excellent people of Angoulème that it was impossible to ride 127 km on a bicycle without immediately needing several hours' rest. To the great stupefaction of the spectators, not one of the riders took advantage of what had been provided. The eventual winner, G.P. Mills, stopped for several moments at best. He had a plan: he let Holbein eat peacefully at the control because he knew that a real champion, Lewis Stroud, was waiting to show him the way out of town and that, with him as a precious, fast and durable pacer he could build up the lead he needed to win the race.[7]

Mills reached Tours after 215 miles and more than 12 hours on the road. He rested for five minutes, ate raw meat "and a specially prepared stimulant",[6] and set off an hour ahead of the other British riders. "By now," said Head, "the Frenchmen were hopelessly out of the running." He wrote:

 
Montague Holbein

Although the judges, the officials, and the large crowd had been waiting impatiently for three hours before the winner's weary, mud-caked figure was seen coming along the boulevard de la Porte Maillot, his reception was "wildly enthusiastic", as one writer put it[according to whom?], and he was escorted in triumph to his hotel. The time of 26h 36m 25s was truly remarkable when one considers the appalling road conditions, poor weather, and the delays, and all the other hardships encountered[according to whom?]. The British victory was complete as Montague Holbein (27h 52m 15s) came in second, with Edge, nearly three hours away, third, and Bates fourth.[6]

The Bicycle Union – later renamed the National Cyclists Union – had strict views about amateurism and had demanded its French equivalent ensure that all taking part met its own amateur ideals.[8] Only then would the NCU allow Mills and other British amateurs to take part. When Mills won, the Bicycle Union realised he was the works manager at a bicycle factory and decided he should be asked "whether he paid the whole of his expenses in the above-mentioned race."[9] Only when he could prove that he had did the Bicycle Union concede that he was not a professional.

Results – 1891 edit

Source:[10]

Position Name Time of arrival Overall time
1 Mills 07:36:25 26:36:25
2 Holbein 08:52:15 27:52:15
3 Edge 11:10:00 30:10:00
4 Bates 11:10:08 30:10:08
5 Jiel-Laval 13:06 32:06
6 Coulibeuf 16:19:55 35:19:55
7 Guillet 17:50 36:50
8 Renault 21:53 40:53
9 Corre 22:35 41:35
10 Gillot 22:43 41:43
11 Gebleux 23:10 42:10
12 Duanip 23:15 42:15

Monsieur Bordeaux–Paris edit

 
Bust Herman Vanspringel in Grobbendonk

In a timespan of 11 years, Belgian Herman Van Springel would win Bordeaux–Paris for a record of seven times.

Ten times Van Springel took part in the legendary long-distance race and as many times he stood on the podium: a unique feat. Van Springel was known for his exceptional stamina, although initially he did not have much interest in the tough race. "At the time, there was a rather persistent rumour in the peloton that anyone who rode Bordeaux-Paris was exhausted and therefore absolutely unable to play any significant role in the Tour de France. Some even claimed that such a one-off marathon race could mortgage the rest of your career." Van Springel later said.

In 1981, his last year as a professional cyclist, he won his seventh Bordeaux–Paris aged 37.[11]

Last races edit

Bordeaux–Paris began to lose prestige in the 1980s. It required special training and clashed with riders' plans to compete in the Vuelta a España or Giro d'Italia stage races. Fields began to dwindle and the last motor-paced version was 1985; three non-paced versions were held from 1986 but 1988 proved the last as a professional race.

Winners edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Bordeaux - Paris". FirstCycling.com. 5 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Bordeaux-Paris (Fra) - Ex". Memoire-du-cyclisme.eu (in French). Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Bordeaux - Paris". ProcyclingStats. 6 October 2023.
  4. ^ Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme, Nathan, France, ISBN 2-09-286430-0, p92
  5. ^ The Bicycle, UK, 8 March 1950, p4
  6. ^ a b c The Bicycle, UK, 8 March 1950, p5
  7. ^ Cited Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme, Nathan, France, ISBN 2-09-286430-0, p93
  8. ^ The NCU insisted that amateurs won no prizes in money; the Union Vélocipèdique de France was happy for amateurs to win up to 200 francs, or what a manual worker earned in 16 months
  9. ^ McGurn, James (1987) On Your Bicycle, John Murray (UK) p108
  10. ^ Gallica, Online Archive, Le Petit Journal 25 May 1891 – Velocipedie – La Course de Bordeaux – Paris. Final report at Paris
  11. ^ "Herman Vanspringel is Bordeaux-Parijs en omgekeerd. De zoete zaligheid van zeven zegeruikers". servicekoers.be (in Dutch). 25 August 2022.

Other sources edit

  • Gallica, Online Archive, Le Petit Journal Index
  • Gallica, Online Archive, Le Petit Journal 24 May 1891 - Velocipedie - La Course de Bordeaux - Paris. Intermediate reports - Libourne, Barberieux, Poitier, Tours
  • Gallica, Online Archive, Le Petit Journal 25 May 1891 - Velocipedie - La Course de Bordeaux - Paris. Final report at Paris

November 16, 2023
bordeaux, paris, this, article, about, bicycle, race, 1895, motorcar, race, paris, railway, paris, bordeaux, railway, professional, cycle, race, europe, classic, cycle, races, longest, professional, calendar, covering, approximately, more, than, twice, most, s. This article is about the bicycle race For the 1895 motorcar race see Paris Bordeaux Paris For the railway see Paris Bordeaux railway The Bordeaux Paris professional cycle race was one of Europe s classic cycle races and one of the longest in the professional calendar covering approximately 560 km 350 mi more than twice most single day races 1 It started in northern Bordeaux in southwest France at 2am and finished in the capital Paris 14 hours later 2 The professional event was held from 1891 until 1988 It was held as an amateur event in 2014 Bordeaux ParisBordeauxAngoulemeChatelleraultOrleansParisRace detailsRegionFranceEnglish nameBordeaux ParisLocal name s Bordeaux ParisNickname s Derby of the RoadDisciplineRoadTypeOne dayHistoryFirst edition1891 1891 Editions86First winnerGeorge Pilkington MillsMost winsHerman Van Springel 7 wins Most recentJean Francois Rault Contents 1 History 1 1 The first race 1 2 Results 1891 2 Monsieur Bordeaux Paris 3 Last races 4 Winners 5 References 5 1 Other sourcesHistory edit nbsp Bordeaux Paris logoThe event was first run on 23 May 1891 and the Derby of the Road as it was sometimes called was notable in that riders were paced allowed to slipstream behind tandem or conventional cycles From 1931 pacing was by motorcycles or small pedal assisted Dernys Pacing was also briefly by cars In early events pacing was provided from Bordeaux In later events it was introduced part way towards Paris From 1946 to 1985 more than half the distance was paced Dernys being introduced at Poitiers or Chatellerault roughly half way The organisers of the inaugural event Bordeaux Velo Club and Veloce Sport envisaged that riders might take a few days but the first edition was won in a continuous ride by George Pilkington Mills Mills raced through the night to win the 600 km long event in just over a day Post war winners include Louison Bobet 1959 Tom Simpson 1963 and Jacques Anquetil 1965 The record for the most victories is held by Herman Van Springel who won seven times between 1970 and 1981 3 The first race edit nbsp George Pilkington MillsGeorge Mills won the inaugural Bordeaux Paris race in 1891 He was invited by the organisers the newspaper Veloce Sport because of his reputation in an age when long distance racing was the fashion A race from Bordeaux in the south west to the capital in Paris would be the longest annual event in France The race started at 5am in the Place du Pont Bastide in Bordeaux There were 38 riders As well as the British Pilkington Mills Holbein Edge and Bates 4 there were a Pole and a Swiss 5 Mills fell on bad roads after 10 km when he touched with the Frenchman Jiel Laval but neither was hurt The English group moved to the front when the field began to straggle after the first hour They led by a mile at dawn after averaging 14 mph The historian Victor M Head wrote At 10 30 Angouleme was reached and the Englishmen stopped to gulp down bowls of hot soup When they restarted Mills began to make all the running drawing steadily away from his companions until arriving at Ruffec Charente he was half an hour in the lead 6 The rapid departure surprised the organisers A report said Everything had been prepared to receive the riders properly recevoir dignement full meals baths hot showers nothing was forgotten and there were good beds to welcome our heroes because there was no doubt among the excellent people of Angouleme that it was impossible to ride 127 km on a bicycle without immediately needing several hours rest To the great stupefaction of the spectators not one of the riders took advantage of what had been provided The eventual winner G P Mills stopped for several moments at best He had a plan he let Holbein eat peacefully at the control because he knew that a real champion Lewis Stroud was waiting to show him the way out of town and that with him as a precious fast and durable pacer he could build up the lead he needed to win the race 7 Mills reached Tours after 215 miles and more than 12 hours on the road He rested for five minutes ate raw meat and a specially prepared stimulant 6 and set off an hour ahead of the other British riders By now said Head the Frenchmen were hopelessly out of the running He wrote nbsp Montague HolbeinAlthough the judges the officials and the large crowd had been waiting impatiently for three hours before the winner s weary mud caked figure was seen coming along the boulevard de la Porte Maillot his reception was wildly enthusiastic as one writer put it according to whom and he was escorted in triumph to his hotel The time of 26h 36m 25s was truly remarkable when one considers the appalling road conditions poor weather and the delays and all the other hardships encountered according to whom The British victory was complete as Montague Holbein 27h 52m 15s came in second with Edge nearly three hours away third and Bates fourth 6 The Bicycle Union later renamed the National Cyclists Union had strict views about amateurism and had demanded its French equivalent ensure that all taking part met its own amateur ideals 8 Only then would the NCU allow Mills and other British amateurs to take part When Mills won the Bicycle Union realised he was the works manager at a bicycle factory and decided he should be asked whether he paid the whole of his expenses in the above mentioned race 9 Only when he could prove that he had did the Bicycle Union concede that he was not a professional Results 1891 edit Source 10 Position Name Time of arrival Overall time1 Mills 07 36 25 26 36 252 Holbein 08 52 15 27 52 153 Edge 11 10 00 30 10 004 Bates 11 10 08 30 10 085 Jiel Laval 13 06 32 066 Coulibeuf 16 19 55 35 19 557 Guillet 17 50 36 508 Renault 21 53 40 539 Corre 22 35 41 3510 Gillot 22 43 41 4311 Gebleux 23 10 42 1012 Duanip 23 15 42 15Monsieur Bordeaux Paris edit nbsp Bust Herman Vanspringel in GrobbendonkIn a timespan of 11 years Belgian Herman Van Springel would win Bordeaux Paris for a record of seven times Ten times Van Springel took part in the legendary long distance race and as many times he stood on the podium a unique feat Van Springel was known for his exceptional stamina although initially he did not have much interest in the tough race At the time there was a rather persistent rumour in the peloton that anyone who rode Bordeaux Paris was exhausted and therefore absolutely unable to play any significant role in the Tour de France Some even claimed that such a one off marathon race could mortgage the rest of your career Van Springel later said In 1981 his last year as a professional cyclist he won his seventh Bordeaux Paris aged 37 11 Last races editBordeaux Paris began to lose prestige in the 1980s It required special training and clashed with riders plans to compete in the Vuelta a Espana or Giro d Italia stage races Fields began to dwindle and the last motor paced version was 1985 three non paced versions were held from 1986 but 1988 proved the last as a professional race Winners edit1891 George Pilkington Mills nbsp United Kingdom 1892 Auguste Stephane nbsp France 1893 Louis Cottereau nbsp France 1894 Lucien Lesna nbsp France 1895 Charles Meyer nbsp Denmark 1896 Arthur Linton nbsp United Kingdom and Gaston Riviere nbsp France 1897 Gaston Riviere nbsp France 1898 Gaston Riviere nbsp France 1899 Constant Huret nbsp France 1900 Josef Fischer nbsp Germany 1901 Lucien Lesna nbsp France 1902 Edouard Wattelier nbsp France and Maurice Garin nbsp France 2 separate races 1903 Hippolyte Aucouturier nbsp France 1904 Fernand Augereau nbsp France 1905 Hippolyte Aucouturier nbsp France 1906 Marcel Cadolle nbsp France 1907 Cyrille Van Hauwaert nbsp Belgium 1908 Louis Trousselier nbsp France 1909 Cyrille Van Hauwaert nbsp Belgium 1910 Emile Georget nbsp France 1911 Francois Faber nbsp Luxembourg 1912 Emile Georget nbsp France 1913 Louis Mottiat nbsp Belgium 1914 Paul Deman nbsp Belgium 1919 Henri Pelissier nbsp France 1920 Eugene Christophe nbsp France 1921 Eugene Christophe nbsp France 1922 Francis Pelissier nbsp France 1923 Emile Masson Sr nbsp Belgium 1924 Francis Pelissier nbsp France 1925 Henri Suter nbsp Switzerland 1926 Adelin Benoit nbsp Belgium 1927 Georges Ronsse nbsp Belgium 1928 Hector Martin nbsp Belgium 1929 Georges Ronsse nbsp Belgium 1930 Georges Ronsse nbsp Belgium 1931 Bernard Van Rysselberghe nbsp Belgium 1932 Romain Gijssels nbsp Belgium 1933 Fernand Mithouard nbsp France 1934 Jean Noret nbsp France 1935 Edgard De Caluwe nbsp Belgium 1936 Paul Chocque nbsp France 1937 Joseph Somers nbsp Belgium 1938 Marcel Laurent nbsp France 1939 Marcel Laurent nbsp France 1946 Emile Masson Jr nbsp Belgium 1947 Joseph Somers nbsp Belgium 1948 Ange Le Strat nbsp France 1949 Jacques Moujica nbsp France 1950 Wim van Est nbsp Netherlands 1951 Bernard Gauthier nbsp France 1952 Wim van Est nbsp Netherlands 1953 Ferdi Kubler nbsp Switzerland 1954 Bernard Gauthier nbsp France 1956 Bernard Gauthier nbsp France 1957 Bernard Gauthier nbsp France 1958 Jean Marie Cieleska nbsp France 1959 Louison Bobet nbsp France 1960 Marcel Janssens nbsp Belgium 1961 Wim van Est nbsp Netherlands 1962 Jo de Roo nbsp Netherlands 1963 Tom Simpson nbsp United Kingdom 1964 Michel Nedelec nbsp France 1965 Jacques Anquetil nbsp France 1966 Jan Janssen nbsp Netherlands 1967 Georges Van Coningsloo nbsp Belgium 1968 Emile Bodart nbsp Belgium 1969 Walter Godefroot nbsp Belgium 1970 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1973 Enzo Mattioda nbsp France 1974 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium and Regis Delepine nbsp France 1975 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1976 Walter Godefroot nbsp Belgium 1977 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1978 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1979 Andre Chalmel nbsp France 1980 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1981 Herman Van Springel nbsp Belgium 1982 Marcel Tinazzi nbsp France 1983 Gilbert Duclos Lassalle nbsp France 1984 Hubert Linard nbsp France 1985 Rene Martens nbsp Belgium 1986 Gilbert Glaus nbsp Switzerland 1987 Bernard Vallet nbsp France 1988 Jean Francois Rault nbsp France 2014 Marc Lagrange nbsp FranceReferences edit Bordeaux Paris FirstCycling com 5 October 2023 Bordeaux Paris Fra Ex Memoire du cyclisme eu in French Retrieved 5 October 2023 Bordeaux Paris ProcyclingStats 6 October 2023 Chany Pierre 1988 La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme Nathan France ISBN 2 09 286430 0 p92 The Bicycle UK 8 March 1950 p4 a b c The Bicycle UK 8 March 1950 p5 Cited Chany Pierre 1988 La Fabuleuse Histoire de Cyclisme Nathan France ISBN 2 09 286430 0 p93 The NCU insisted that amateurs won no prizes in money the Union Velocipedique de France was happy for amateurs to win up to 200 francs or what a manual worker earned in 16 months McGurn James 1987 On Your Bicycle John Murray UK p108 Gallica Online Archive Le Petit Journal 25 May 1891 Velocipedie La Course de Bordeaux Paris Final report at Paris Herman Vanspringel is Bordeaux Parijs en omgekeerd De zoete zaligheid van zeven zegeruikers servicekoers be in Dutch 25 August 2022 Other sources edit Gallica Online Archive Le Petit Journal Index Gallica Online Archive Le Petit Journal 24 May 1891 Velocipedie La Course de Bordeaux Paris Intermediate reports Libourne Barberieux Poitier Tours Gallica Online Archive Le Petit Journal 25 May 1891 Velocipedie La Course de Bordeaux Paris Final report at Paris Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bordeaux Paris amp oldid 1178848254, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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