Géo Lefèvre (1877–1961) was a French sports journalist and the originator of the idea for 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 ...
.
He suggested the idea for the Tour at a meeting with
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.
...
, editor of the daily newspaper ''
L'Auto'' as a way to boost circulation. Desgrange recruited Lefèvre from the rival daily sports paper, ''
Le Vélo
''Le Vélo'' was the leading French sports newspaper from its inception on 1 December 1892 until it ceased publication in 1904. Mixing sports reporting with news and political comment, it achieved a circulation of 80,000 copies a day. Its use of s ...
'', to work as his rugby and cycling correspondent. Lefèvre played both sports but was keener on cycling. When ''L'Auto''s circulation didn't match the hopes of its backers, Lefèvre was the youngest at a crisis conference held on the first floor of ''L'Autos office in the rue Faubourg Montmartre in Paris. He said in subsequent interviews that he suggested a six-day race round France only because he could think of nothing else to say.
Desgrange said: "As I understand it, petit Géo, you are suggesting a Tour de France". The name had been used before, particularly in car racing, as the
Tour de France Automobile was first held in 1899, but it was the first time it had been used in cycling. Desgrange took Lefèvre for lunch and the pair discussed the idea over coffee. Only when the newspaper's accountant, Victor Goddet, said he would put the company's funds into the scheme did Desgrange accept the idea. He didn't believe it so whole-heartedly, though, because he stayed away from the first Tour in 1903 and appointed Lefèvre director of the course and judge at both the start and finish, following the race by train, missing the finish in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
.
Géo Lefèvre also played a key role in the early days of the sport of
cyclo-cross.
cyclingnews.com
"Who got their tyres crossed?", 9 November 2006
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefevre, Geo
1870s births
1961 deaths
French sports journalists
Tour de France journalists
Cycling journalists
Place of birth missing
French male non-fiction writers
20th-century French male writers