Louis "Louison" Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955. His career included the national road championship, Milan–San Remo (1951), Giro di Lombardia (1951), Critérium International, Paris–Nice (1952), Grand Prix des Nations (1952), world road championship (1954), Tour of Flanders (1955), Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1955), Tour de Luxembourg (1955), Paris–Roubaix (1956) and Bordeaux–Paris (1959).
Charly Gaul was a Luxembourgian professional cyclist. He was a national cyclo-cross champion, an accomplished time triallist and superb climber. His ability earned him the nickname of The Angel of the Mountains in the 1958 Tour de France, which he won with four stage victories. He also won the Giro d'Italia in 1956 and 1959. Gaul rode best in cold, wet weather. In later life he became a recluse and lost much of his memory.
Hugo Koblet was a Swiss champion cyclist. He won the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia as well as competing in six-day and pursuit races on the track. He won 70 races as a professional. He died in a car accident amid speculation that he had committed suicide.
Ferdinand "Ferdi" Kübler was a Swiss cyclist with 71 professional victories, including the 1950 Tour de France and the 1951 World Road Race Championship.
Octave Lapize was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist.
The 1954 Tour de France was the 41st edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 8 July to 1 August 1954. It consisted of 23 stages over 4,656 km (2,893 mi). The race was won by Louison Bobet, the second of his three consecutive wins.
The 1953 Tour de France was the 40th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 3 July to 26 July. It consisted of 22 stages over 4,476 km (2,781 mi).
The 1950 Tour de France was the 37th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 13 July to 7 August. It consisted of 22 stages over 4,773 km (2,966 mi).
Col d'Izoard is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France.
Raphaël Géminiani is a French former road bicycle racer. He had six podium finishes in the Grand Tours. He is one of four children of Italian immigrants who moved to Clermont-Ferrand. He worked in a cycle shop and started racing as a boy. He became a professional and then a directeur sportif, notably of Jacques Anquetil and the St-Raphaël team.
Sport in France plays an important role in French society, which is reflected in its popularity among the French people and the nation's strong sporting history. Various types of sports are played and followed in France, the most popular of which is association football.
Jean Malléjac was a professional French road bicycle racer.
Mercier was a French professional cycling team that promoted and raced on Mercier racing bikes. Together with the Peugeot team, the Mercier team had a long presence in the cycling sport and in the Tour de France from 1935 until 1984.
Jean Bobet is a French former road bicycle racer. He is the younger brother of Louison Bobet. Less talented, he nevertheless won the world students' championship as an amateur and then, as a professional, Paris–Nice in 1955, Genoa–Nice in 1956 and the Circuit du Morbihan in 1953. He came third in Milan–San Remo in 1953. He rode from 1949 to 1959, including all three Grand Tours.
Jacques Augendre is a French journalist and is the first journalist to have followed fifty Tours de France. Jacques Goddet covered 53 but from 1936 to 1986 he was also the race organiser. Pierre Chany would have been the first journalist to 50 Tours de France had he not died in 1996 within weeks of the start.
The men's road race at the 1957 UCI Road World Championships took place in Waregem. The course comprised 12 laps around 23.8-kilometre route, making a total distance of 285.6 km.
The 1949 World University Cycling Championship was a World University Cycling Championship not organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The championship consisted of a road cycling road race event and a team pursuit. Both were won by Jean Bobet from France.
The men's road race at the 1954 UCI Road World Championships was the 21st edition of the event. The race took place on Sunday 22 August 1954 in Solingen, West Germany. The race was won by Louison Bobet of France.
The 1955 Paris–Nice was the 13th edition of the Paris–Nice cycle race and was held from 12 March to 16 March 1955. The race started in Paris and finished in Nice. The race was won by Jean Bobet.
