Alcyon was a French professional

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

that was active from 1905 to 1959, and returned in 1961 and 1962. It was started by Alcyon, a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer.

History

André Darrigade, Tour de France 1961 (1)

The team won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

four times before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with

François Faber François Faber (; 26 January 1887 – 9 May 1915) was a Luxembourgian racing cyclist. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands. He died in ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

Octave Lapize Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist. Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kilometres, ...

in 1910,

Gustave Garrigou Cyprien Gustave Garrigou (; 24 September 1884 – 23 January 1963) was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once. Of 117 stages, he won eight, came in the top ten 96 times and ...

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and

Odile Defraye Odile Defraye (; nl, Odiel Defraeye; 14 July 1888 – 21 August 1965) was a Belgian road racing cyclist who won three stages and the overall title of the 1912 Tour de France, which was the last tour decided by a points system instead of overall ...

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

. Alcyon won the team prize at the

from 1909 to 1912 and then from 1927 to 1929. Immediately after the First World War, Alcyon like many other bicycle companies joined a Consortium that employed many riders under the La Sportive name. This consortium would win the

from 1919 to 1921. The Consortium stopped in 1922 and the member companies which included Automoto, Peugeot and Alcyon restarted up their separate cycling teams. Alcyon grew into a very strong team that dominated the Tour de France with three wins in with

Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz (; 4 November 1899 – 8 November 1985) was a Luxembourgish bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career (1923 to 1934). He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon- Dunlop from 1924 to 1 ...

in 1927 and in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

Maurice De Waele Maurice De Waele (; 27 December 1896 – 14 February 1952) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. De Waele placed 2nd in the 1927 Tour, an hour and fifty eight minutes Nicolas Frantz and 3rd in 1928, again won by Frantz. However, he ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Alcyon dominated the Tour de France during the 1920s. In the 1929 edition, Maurice Dewaele won the race despite the fact that he was sick when the race went through the Alps. This was because no one attacked the Alcyon rider there. The organisers of the

decided in 1930 that the race would be disputed by national teams. It has been said that this was done to break the domination of some of the commercial teams, most notably Alcyon As a result, Alcyon was unable to continue to dominate the race. However Alycon-Dunlop riders riding for the French national team were able to dominate the race, such as

André Leducq André Leducq (; 27 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a French cyclist who won the 1930 and 1932 Tours de France. He also won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the team road race event and the 1928 Paris–Roubaix. Career Le ...

, an Alycon-Dunlop rider who won the very first Tour that was disputed by national teams. Leducq would win the Tour again in 1932, while another Alycon rider, Georges Speicher won the Tour again in 1933.

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

Romain Maes Romain Maes (; 10 August 1913 – 22 February 1983) was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1935 Tour de France after wearing the yellow jersey of leadership from beginning to end. Maes was the 13th child in his family. He started racing when he w ...

and Sylvère Maes were riders of the team when they won the

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the team name changed to Alcyon-BP (1946–1949), which was followed by Alcyon-Dunlop (1950–1954). Alcyon stopped sponsoring the team after 1958, although a team existed for 1961 and 1962, managed by former rider

Georges Speicher Georges Speicher (; 8 June 1907 – 24 January 1978) was a French cyclist who won the 1933 Tour de France along with three stage wins, and the 1933 World Cycling Championship. After Speicher had won the 1933 Tour de France, he was initially not ...

Major wins

Bordeaux–Paris 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 – more than twice most single-day races. It started in northern Bordeaux in sout ...

1906, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1923, 1926, 1939, 1946 * Belgian National Cyclo Cross Championship 1953 * French National Cyclo-Cross Championship 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, * Luxembourgish National Cyclo Cross Championship 1924, 1940 *

Flèche Wallonne Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire * Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique *Flèche (fortification) A flèche ( Fr. for "arrow") is ...

1947 *

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

1913 *

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

1946, 1947, 1950, 1955 *

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa ...

1941, 1942 *

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season ...

1949, 1955 *

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1945, 1953 *

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1955 * Omloop Het Volk 1945, 1946 *

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

1909, 1914, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1946, 1947 *

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

1934 *

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

1908, 1910, 1925, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1944, 1945, 1953 *

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

1909, 1910, 1912, 1924, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1946, 1947 *

Belgian National Road Race Championships The Belgian National Road Race Championship is a cycling race which decides who will become Belgian national champion for the year to come. The record for most wins is currently held by one of the most successful Belgian sprinters, Tom Steels, wh ...

1908, 1909, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1942, 1946, 1947 *

French National Road Race Championships The French National Road Race Championship is a cycling race where the French cyclists decide who will become the champion for the year to come. The event was established in 1899, a professional championship was established in 1907 and the women ...

1909, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1942, 1943, 1944 *

Luxembourgish National Road Race Championships The Luxembourg National Road Race Championship is a cycling race where Luxembourg cyclists decide who will become the champion for the year to come. The event was established in 1922. The event was organised alongside the German and Swiss nati ...

1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1937, 1938 *

German National Road Race Championships The German National Road Race Championship is a cycling race organized by the German Cycling Federation. The event was established in 1910, with the women's championship starting in 1968. No competitions were held in 1914–1918, 1926/1927, 192 ...

1937 *

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

1914, 1934, 1939, 1948 *

Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen The Scheldeprijs is a cycling race in Flanders and the Netherlands which starts in Terneuzen, crosses the Scheldt River, and finishes in Schoten. Until 2018 it was held entirely in Belgium. The event, ranked as a 1.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour ...

1924, 1934, 1952, 1955 *

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1927, 1928, 1929 *

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

1947 * World Road Race Championship 1933, 1935, 1937, 1948

References

External links

History, catalogs, technic...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcyon (Cycling Team) Defunct cycling teams based in France Cycling teams established in 1905 Cycling teams disestablished in 1962 Cycling teams based in France 1905 establishments in France