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Jean-Marie Leblanc (born 27 July 1944, in Nueil-sur-Argent, now Nueil-les-Aubiers,
Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.
) is a French retired professional road bicycle racer who was general director 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 ...
from
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
to 2007, when he reached pensionable age and was succeeded by
Christian Prudhomme Christian Prudhomme (born 11 November 1960) is a French journalist and general director of the Tour de France since 2007. Pre-Tour career Born in Paris, Prudhomme studied at the ESJ school of journalism in Lille from 1983 to 1985. He joined RT ...
.


Biography

He became a professional in 1966 and rode until 1971. He gained his best results in criteriums, small tours, and single stage races, like the Grand Prix d'Aix-en-Provence (1968, 1st), the Circuit d'Armorique (1969, 1st), and the Four Days of Dunkirk (1970, 2nd). Afterwards, he became a sports
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
. Under his aegis, the Tour was modernised, most notably with the abandonment of the red and combination jerseys. Revenues were increased, as large numbers of sponsors were replaced by a limited number of larger ones - as well as increased income from television rights. In 1989, Leblanc cancelled further running of
Tour de France Féminin Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...
, citing the economic cost of organising the race with limited media coverage and sponsorship being generated. Leblanc was president of the AIOCC (Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes) from 1989 through 2004.Sport.fr, Cycling, Cordero replaces Leblanc to AIOCC
/ref> In October 2007, he published his autobiography, ''Le Tour de ma Vie''. He took over from Jacques Duquesne as president of the JNP (Journalists Originating from Nord-Pas de Calais). Every Christmas it awards the 'Trophy of light' to whoever has best served the region that year. Every Spring it awards the 'Golden Pen' to the author of the best article of the region. Leblanc is a fan of classical music and jazz and plays the clarinet. His ambition to play Mozart's clarinet concerto with an orchestra was realised on 27 June 2008 when he played at the Salle Philharmonique du Conservatoire de Liège (Belgium), with the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jean-Pierre Haeck.


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Palmares (in French)
1944 births Living people People from Bressuire French male cyclists French journalists Tour de France directors Cycling journalists Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg French male non-fiction writers Sportspeople from Deux-Sèvres Cyclists from Nouvelle-Aquitaine {{France-cycling-bio-1940s-stub