Alexandre Virot (1890 – 14 July 1957) was a French

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

, who was active from the 1920s until his death in 1957. He won a silver medal in painting at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

. Virot died in a motorcycle accident whilst covering the

1957 Tour de France The 1957 Tour de France was the 44th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 27 June to 20 July. It was composed of 22 stages over . The 1957 Tour was the first win for Jacques Anquetil, who won the Tour five times over his career. The ...

, making him the only journalist to have been killed whilst covering the Tour.

Career

In his youth, Virot was interested in sports and art courses, with a particular interest in

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important fi ...

. Virot fought in the

First World War 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 ...

in the trenches and as a trained pilot, and also fought for the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Virot drew for the ''Miroir des Sports'', and was asked by the newspaper to cover the

in Amsterdam. Whilst there, he was awarded the silver medal in the painting event. In the 1920s, Virot also wrote for ''

L'Intransigeant ''L'Intransigeant'' was a French newspaper founded in July 1880 by Victor Henri Rochefort, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay, Henri Rochefort. Initially representing the left-wing opposition, it moved towards the right during the Georges Ernest Boulanger ...

''.

As a journalist, Virot reported on 22 editions of 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 ...

. In 1929, he broadcast the first radio report of the Tour. In 1932, Virot broadcast a

summit finish This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...

at the

Col d'Aubisque The Col d'Aubisque ( oc, Còth d'Aubisca) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees south of Tarbes and Pau in the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region of France.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du T ...

, the first live radio broadcast from a summit finish. Virot also covered football, boxing, motorsports and skiing, as well as the first French national lottery draw in 1934. He covered the

1932 International Lawn Tennis Challenge The 1932 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the 27th edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup. 22 teams would enter the Europe Zone; while 8 would enter the Americas Zone, 5 in North America and 3 in South America. The United States Dav ...

. During the 1930s, Virot also worked as a war reporter. During the

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression which was fought between Italy and Ethiopia from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is often referred to simply as the Itali ...

, Virot interviewed Ethiopian King

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

. In 1938, he left his coverage of the

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1938 The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1938 in alpine skiing were the eighth edition of the competition, organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS), and were held in Engelberg, Switzerland in February 1938. Due to the "Anschluss", partici ...

to travel to Austria to provide a live report of the German annexation of Austria, in defiance of Nazi

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

of the event. After the Second World War, he worked for

Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF; ''French Radio and Television Broadcasting'') was the French national public broadcaster television organization established on 9 February 1949 to replace the post-war "''Radiodiffusion Française''" ...

and

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

Death and legacy

Virot died in a motorcycle accident whilst covering the

, making him the only journalist to have been killed whilst covering the Tour. Virot was covering the

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

stage from Barcelona, Spain, to

Ax-les-Thermes Ax-les-Thermes (; oc, Ax or ) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Axéens'' or ''Axéennes''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''N ...

, which was stage 16 of the race. Riding on a motorcycle with his driver, René Wagner, Virot had been providing a time check to cyclist

Marcel Queheille Marcel Queheille (16 March 1930 – 17 July 2021) was a French professional road bicycle racer. He was born in Sanguis. In 1959 Queheille was the winner of the ninth stage of the 1959 Tour de France. Major results ;1956 :Cazès-Mondenard :Tarb ...

; Virot and Wagner were both working for Radio Luxembourg. Travelling at about , the motorcycle veered off the track and crashed in a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Sports Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virot, Alex 1890 births 1957 deaths French sports journalists Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic silver medalists in art competitions Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics French Resistance members French military personnel of World War I Olympic competitors in art competitions Motorcycle road incident deaths Road incident deaths in France French war correspondents