Lucien Buysse (; 11 September 1892 – 3 January 1980) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

cyclist and a champion 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 ...

Career

Born in Wontergem, Buysse began racing professionally in 1914, when he entered the Tour de France but did not finish. He resumed his career after

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 ...

, entering but abandoning the Tour again in 1919 but placing third in the

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 th ...

classic in 1920. In 1923 he completed the Tour de France and finished in eighth place. In the 1924 and 1925 Tours, he rode with the Italian Automoto team led by

Ottavio Bottecchia Ottavio Bottecchia (; 1 August 1894 – 15 June 1927) was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France. He was found injured and unconscious by a roadside and died a few days later; the exact circumstances of his acciden ...

, where he was perhaps the first

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In I ...

in the history of the Tour. He placed third in 1924 and second in 1925. The 1926 Tour was the longest in its history (5,745 km), with 17 stages averaging 338 km. Buysse, racing with his two brothers

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name * Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

and Michel, took the

yellow jersey The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ). History Th ...

from Gustave Van Slembrouck on stage 10 by attacking during a furious storm on the

Col d'Aspin Col d'Aspin ( oc, Còth d'Aspin) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper Adour valley, with Arreau, on the River Neste. Details of the cl ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. He gained almost an hour during the stage over his team leader Bottecchia who then abandoned. Buysse arrived in Paris as the champion despite suffering the loss of his daughter during the race. In 1926, Buysse forced the Tour de France organiser

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. ...

to create a new rule when he eliminated the entire field by finishing so far ahead that everyone else was outside the limit. Desgrange extended the day's limit to 40 per cent of the winner's time and ruled that nobody in the first 10 could be eliminated. Buysse won a total of five stages of the Tour during his career: one in 1923; two in 1925 and two in 1926.

Career achievements

Major results

;1913 :Tour of Belgium for amateurs ;1914 :Brussels-Liège for amateurs ;1922 :Lier ;1923 : Six Days of Ghent (with Victor Standaert) :

: ::8th place overall classification ::Winner stage 8 ;1924 :

: ::3rd place overall classification ;1925 :

: ::2nd place overall classification ::Winner stages 11 and 12 ;1926 :

: ::

Winner overall classification ::Winner stages 10 and 11 ;1927 :

Stadsprijs Geraardsbergen The Stadsprijs Geraardsbergen is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August or September in Geraardsbergen, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern ...

Grand Tour results timeline

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Lucien Buysse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buysse, Lucien Belgian male cyclists Tour de France winners Belgian Tour de France stage winners 1892 births 1980 deaths People from Deinze Cyclists from East Flanders 20th-century Belgian people