Bordeaux-Paris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Region | France |
| English name | Bordeaux-Paris |
| Local name(s) | Bordeaux-Paris (French) |
| Nickname(s) | Derby of the Road |
| Discipline | Road |
| Type | One-day |
| History | |
| First edition | 1891 |
| Editions | 86 |
| Last edition | 1988 |
| First winner |  George Pilkington Mills |
| Most wins |  Herman Van Springel(7 wins) |
| Most recent |  Jean-François Rault |
The Bordeaux-Paris professional cycle race was one of mainland Europe's Classic cycle races, and the longest in the professional calendar, covering a distance of approximately 560 kilometres (350 miles) - more than twice the distance of most single day races. It would start at Bordeaux in south-west France at 2am and finish in the French capital Paris approximately 14 hours later.
[edit] History
The event was first run in 1891, and the Derby of the Road (as it was sometimes called) was particularly notable in that riders were 'paced' - allowed to slipstream behind team-mates mounted, in the early events, on tandem bicycles or other conventional cycles. From 1931, the pacing was provided by motorcycles or small pedal-assisted Dernys.
In the inaugural events, pacing was provided from Bordeaux. In later events, the pacing was introduced part-way towards Paris. From 1946 to 1985, more than half the race distance was paced, the Dernys being introduced at, for example, Poitiers or Chatellerault, roughly half-way through the race.
The organisers of the inaugural event, the Bordeaux Vélo Club, envisaged riders might take a few days to complete the race, but Englishman George Pilkington Mills raced through the night to win the 600km long event in just over a day. Another Brit (Arthur Linton) won the event in 1896, but only one Englishman won the race in the modern era: Tom Simpson in May 1963. Other post-war winners included Louison Bobet (1959) and Jacques Anquetil (1965). The record for the most victories is held by Herman Van Springel who won seven times between 1970 and 1981.
[edit] Last races
By this time, however, the race was beginning to lose its prestige. 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 held in 1985; three non-paced versions were held from 1986 but the 1988 proved to be the last running of the event as a professional cycle race.
