Bordeaux - Paris

Related story - Exploits: Read about Jacques Anquetil's fantastic Bordeaux Paris / Dauphiné Libéré double in 1965.

On this page: || Most wins | Best British performances | History | List of winners

Most Wins

Best British Performances

History

To modern eyes this was the strangest classic of them all, but a classic it certainly was. One glance of the list of winners shows that its palmarès is an illustrious (and cosmopolitan) one: Maurice Garin, François Faber, both Henri and Francis Pélissier, Georges Ronsse, Ferdi Kübler, Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil and Jan Janssen all won the event. Yet in the end it faded away with barely a whisper. So how did this happen?

The inaugaral event was held in 1891, organised by the Bordeaux Vélo Club. The organisers set up camp beds in towns along the route, fully expecting the race to take several days. Imagine, then, their surprise when the winner, the Briton George Pilkington Mills raced through the night to win the 600km long event in little more than a day - a remarkable performance when it is considered that the fastest train of the day took half that time to make the journey. The race prospered and, long after other events like Paris - Roubaix had become simple road races, "the Derby" stuck to its formula of being paced, a throwback to the early days of the sport. In its final incarnation the pacers were taken on about the middle of the race. Thus the peloton would set out in the middle of the night to ride to Poitiers or Chattellerault. Then, they would pick up the pacing dernies, the speed would shoot up, and the race-proper would begin. As a race, it was an attritional one. With pacing, there was less advantage in staying in a pack, more chance to strike out alone. But the final few miles through the Chevreuse valley (a finish shared with the GP de l'Automne when it was raced as Tours - Paris) were a killing ground for tired legs. Not just the sharp climbs, but the many twists and turns and corners, making it easier for a tired rider to lose the wheel of his pacer.

By the 1960's, the race was something of an anachronism. It's date in May clashed with those riders wanting to race the Vuelta or Giro. The organisers moved the event to September, but that was even worse. Who wanted to spend months training for a specialist event (for to win the Derby required dedication in the run-up to accustom the body to the great length of the race) when the pize for winning was not much more than could be had just for showing up to a criterium? Thus the event lost its prestige, the fields declined, specialist trainers could not be found. For the last three years of its existence, the race was run unpaced, an even worse proposition. Now it is no more more as a professional race, though like Paris - Brest - Paris, a randonee is held on the route. One more relic of the past was laid to rest in cycling's graveyard.

As if 600 kilometres wasn't insane enough, in 1920 a single stage race was run from Bordeaux - Paris - Bordeaux: 1200km in one single ride. The winner, in a mere 56h 00' 43" was Louis Mottiat. This is generally held to be the first edition of the Critérium des As. (See also Critérium des As).

Winners

Paced

Year Winner Pacing
1891 George Mills By bicycles from Bordeaux
1892 Auguste Stephane By tandem from Bordeaux
1893 Louis Cottereau By tandems from Bordeaux
1894 Lucien Lesna By tandems and triplets from Bordeaux
1895 Charles Meyer By tandems and triplets from Bordeaux
1896 Arthur Linton and Gastone Rivière, tied (see note 1) By triplets and quadruplets from Bordeaux
1897 Gaston Rivière By triplets and quadruplets from Bordeaux to Tours; thereafter by cars
1898 Gaston Rivière By cars and petroleum triplets from Bordeaux
1899 Constant Huret By cars from Bordeaux
1900 Josef Fischer By bicycles from Bordeaux
1901 Lucien Lesna By bicycles from Bordeaux
1902 Edouard Wattellier and Maurice Garin (see note 2) By bicycles from Bordeaux
1903 Hyppolyte Aucouturier By bicycles from Bordeaux
1904 Fernand Augerau (see note 3) By bicycles from Bordeaux
1905 Hyppolyte Aucouturier By bicycles from Bordeaux
1906 Maurice Cadolle By bicycles from Bordeaux
1907 Cyrille Van Hauwaert By bicycles from Bordeaux
1908 Louis Troussellier By bicycles from Bordeaux
1909 Cyrille Van Hauwaert By bicycles from Bordeaux
1910 Emile Georget By bicycles from Bordeaux
1911 François Faber By bicycles from Ste. Maure
1912 Emile Georget By bicycles from Ste. Maure
1913 Louis Mottiat By bicycles from Ste. Maure
1914 Paul Deman By bicycles from Blois
1915 Not held  
1916 Not held  
1917 Not held  
1918 Not held  
1919 Henri Pélissier By bicycles from Orléans
1920 Eugène Christophe By bicycles from Chatellerault
1921 Eugène Christophe By bicycles
1922 Francis Pélissier By bicycles
1923 Emile Masson Sr By bicycles
1924 Francis Pélissier By bicycles
1925 Henri Suter By bicycles
1926 Adelin Benoît By bicycles
1927 Georges Ronsse By bicycles
1928 Hector Martin By bicycles from Orléans
1929 Georges Ronsse By bicycles
1930 Georges Ronsse By bicycles from Poitiers
1931 Bernard Van Rysselberghe By motorbike from Orléans
1932 Romain Gijssels By motorbike from Tours
1933 Fernand Mithouard By motorbike from Poitiers
1934 Jean Noret By motorbike
1935 Edgard De Caluwé By motorbike
1936 Paul Chocque By motorbike
1937 Joseph Somers By motorbike
1938 Marcel Laurent By derny from Ste. Maure
1939 Marcel Laurent By derny from Poitiers
1940 Not held  
1941 Not held  
1942 Not held  
1943 Not held  
1944 Not held  
1945 Not held  
1946 Emile Masson Jr By derny from Tours
1947 Joseph Somers By derny from Chatellerault
1948 Ange Le Strat By derny from Chatellerault
1949 Jesus Moujica By derny from Chatellerault
1950 Wim van Est By derny from Chatellerault
1951 Bernard Gauthier By derny from Chatellerault
1952 Wim van Est By derny from Chatellerault
1953 Ferdi Kübler By derny from Chatellerault
1954 Bernard Gauthier By derny from Poitiers
1955 Not held  
1956 Bernard Gauthier By derny
1957 Bernard Gauthier By derny from Chatellerault
1958 Jean-Marie Cieleska By derny from Chatellerault
1959 Louison Bobet By derny from Chatellerault
1960 Marcel Janssens By derny from Chatellerault
1961 Wim van Est By derny from Chatellerault
1962 Jo de Roo By derny from Chatellerault
1963 Tommy Simpson By derny from Chatellerault
1964 Michel Nedelec By derny from Chatellerault
1965 Jacques Anquetil By derny from Chatellerault
1966 Jan Janssen By derny from Chatellerault
1967 Georges Van Coningsloo By derny from Chatellerault
1968 Emile Bodart By derny from Chatellerault
1969 Walter Godefroot By derny from Chatellerault
1970 Herman Van Springel By derny from Poitiers
1971 Not held  
1972 Not held  
1973 Enzo Mattioda By derny from Poitiers
1974 Régis Délepine and Herman Van Springel, tied (see note 4) By derny from Poitiers
1975 Herman Van Springel By derny from Poitiers
1976 Walter Godefroot By derny
1977 Herman Van Springel By derny
1978 Herman Van Springel By derny
1979 André Chalmel By derny
1980 Herman Van Springel By derny
1981 Herman Van Springel By derny
1982 Marcel Tinazzi By derny
1983 Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle By derny
1984 Hubert Linard By derny
1985 René Martens By derny

Unpaced

1986 Gilbert Glaus
1987 Bernard Vallet
1988 Jean-François Rault

Not held since 1989

Notes

  1. Linton finished first but took the wrong road in Paris. After an appeal, the race was shared.
  2. Two separate races held.
  3. The first four overall - Léon Georget, Lucien Petit-Breton, César Garin and Rudolphe Muller - were disqualified, for strewing tacks over the road, a crime of which they were almost certainly innocent. Spectators were probably to blame.
  4. Van Springel finished 15 minutes ahead of Delépine, but had taken a wrong road. He was initially demoted, but later the race was shared.