Maurice Gaetan Selbach (12 August 1889 – 26 September 1935) was an American-British racing cyclist and

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

builder.

Private life

Maurice Gaetan Selbach was born in the 17th district of Paris. His father was Oscar Carl Selbach, an American engineer of German descent, and his mother Marguerite Kossakowska. During his childhood the family moved to London, where his father worked as a supplier in the burgeoning automobile sector. In

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 ...

he served in the London Cyclist Battalion. On 23 December 1927 he became a naturalised British citizen, having previously been a citizen of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Career

Maurice's cycle racing career is believed to have started in 1908/09. For most of his career he is a member of the Unity C.C. He spent a total of 14 years competing in the sport. In 1923 he rode and finished

Paris - Roubaix Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...

Selbach cycles

After a successful career, Selbach set up a business as a cycle manufacturer in London. His bikes distinguished themselves by the high level of technological innovation in its designs. The quality of his frames were recognised by some of the greatest cyclists of the time, like Harry Grant, who broke the World

Motor-paced Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist (or stayer in this case) follows as close as they can to benefit from the slipstream of their pacer. The first paced ...

One Hour Record using a Selbach frame, and

Albert Richter Albert Richter (14 October 1912 – 2 January 1940) was a German cyclist who won the world sprint championship. He was taken from a train by the Gestapo and never seen alive again. Background Albert Richter, known to friends as Teddy, grew ...

, who won the 1932 Amateur World Sprint Championship.

Death and business closure

In September 1935, while cycling on his way to work, Selbach tried to overtake a truck. Bad road conditions caused him to crash and landed him under the truck's wheels. He died on the way to the hospital. A few years later, in 1939, the Selbach business was closed and its trade name sold.

Racing palmares & records

: Fastest time in 50 mile time trial (8x) : Fastest time in 100 mile time trial (5x) : 1st in 12 hour road race (5x) : 1st in 24 hour road race (3x) ;1919 : Fastest time Anfield B.C. 100 ;1920 : Best on record in 100 mile (tandem) - 4h27'50" ( RRA recognised) ;1921 : London to Bath and back record - 11h55'30" (RRA recognised) ;1922 : 24 hour unpaced record - 337.5 miles (RRA recognised) ;1923 : Land's End to London record - 17h47'00" (RRA recognised)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selbach, Maurice 1889 births 1935 deaths English male cyclists French emigrants to the United Kingdom Road incident deaths in London Cycling road incident deaths