Bol d'Or cycle race

Last updated
Bol d'Or
Race details
Region
English nameThe Golden Bowl
Discipline Track
Type24-hour endurance race
History
First edition1894 (1894)
Editions25
Final edition1950
First winnerFlag of France.svg  Constant Huret  (FRA)
Most winsFlag of France.svg  Léon Georget  (FRA) (9)
Final winnerFlag of Italy.svg  Fiorenzo Magni  (ITA)

The Bol d'Or was a bicycle track race that ran in France between 1894 and 1950. It was a paced, 24-hour endurance event. It has been won by several notable cyclists including Constant Huret (4 times), the Australian Hubert Opperman and three time hour record breaker Oscar Egg. The person with the most wins is Léon Georget (brother of Émile) with nine (including eight in a row).

Contents

Origins

In the nineteenth century, English and French cyclists were trying to get the world record for 24 hours cycling. Usually, the English cyclists had the record, but in 1892 a French cyclist (Auguste Stéphane) broke the record, riding 631 km. The English cyclists organized a cycling event a few days later, and in that race they took back the record when Frank Shorland rode 665 km. The record changed hands a few more times during irregularly scheduled competitions, but in 1894 the French created the Bol d'Or so they would have a yearly go at the record. [1]

The race was created on 23 and 24 June 1894 by a Monsieur Decam. It first ran at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris and was sponsored by Chocolate Meunier.

The race gets its name from the prize awarded to the winner - a gilded bronze bowl or cup.

Rules

During the Bol d'Or, riders had 24 hours to ride as many laps as possible. The riders were helped by pacers; details of the pacing changed over the years. In 1899, electric tandems were tried, which resulted in a record distance. In 1902, riders were only paced in the first two and last two hours, which resulted in a lower distance. [1]

In the early years riders were paced by tandems or triplets. Motor (derny) pacing was used in 1950. The 1900 event was one of the cycling events during the 1900 Summer Olympics, but it is not considered an Olympic event by the IOC because professional cyclists were allowed to enter.

Winners

YearRiderCountryDistancePacingVelodrome
1894 Constant Huret Flag of France.svg  France 736.946kmtandem paced Vélodrome Buffalo
1895Constant HuretFlag of France.svg  France 829.498kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1896 Gaston Rivierre Flag of France.svg  France 859.120kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1897 Lucien Stein Flag of France.svg  France 764.826kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1898Constant HuretFlag of France.svg  France 852.468kmtriplet paced Roubaix Vélodrome
1899 Albert Walters Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain 1020.977kmelectric tandem paced Parc des Princes Vélodrome
1900 Mathieu Cordang Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 956.775kmtriplet paced Vélodrome de Vincennes
1902Constant HuretFlag of France.svg  France 779.488kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1903 Léon Georget Flag of France.svg  France 847.803kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1904 Lucien Petit-Breton Flag of France.svg  France 852.000kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1905 Arthur Vanderstuyft Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 943.666kmtandem paced Vélodrome d'hiver
1906 René Pottier Flag of France.svg  France 925.290kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1907Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 904.420kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1908Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 973.666kmtandem pacedVélodrome d'hiver
1909Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 845.700kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1910Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 923.300kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1911Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 915.160kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1912Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 951.750kmtandem pacedVélodrome d'hiver
1913Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 909.984kmtandem pacedVélodrome d'hiver
1919Léon GeorgetFlag of France.svg  France 924.680kmtandem pacedVélodrome d'hiver
1924 Oscar Egg Flag of Switzerland.svg   Switzerland 936.325kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1925 Honoré Barthélémy Flag of France.svg  France 1035.114kmtandem paced Bordeaux Vélodrome
1927Honoré BarthélémyFlag of France.svg  France 924.500kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1928 Hubert Opperman Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 950.060kmtandem pacedVélodrome Buffalo
1950 Fiorenzo Magni Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 867.609kmderny pacedVélodrome d'hiver

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References

  1. 1 2 "De geschiedenis van den "Bol d'Or"". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Delpher. 19 June 1924. Retrieved 21 August 2016.