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 Constant Huret, nicknamed "le Boulanger" (the Baker) (26 January 1870, in Ressons-le-Long – 18 September 1951, in Paris) was a French long distance track racing cyclist. He was a professional from 1894 to 1902. Major achievements He won the ...

(4 times), the Australian

Hubert Opperman Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE (29 May 1904 – 18 April 1996), referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acc ...

and three time

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious reco ...

breaker

Oscar Egg Oscar Egg (2 March 1890 – 9 February 1961) was a Swiss track and road bicycle racer. He captured the world hour record three times before the First World War and won major road races and stages of the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. ...

. The person with the most wins is Léon Georget (brother of Émile) with nine (including eight in a row).

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

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. 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

External links

Bol d'Or at memoire-du-cyclisme.eu

References

{{reflist Track cycling races Cycle races in France Defunct cycling races in France Sports competitions in Paris Recurring sporting events established in 1894 1894 establishments in France Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1950 1950 disestablishments in France