Nicolas Frantz (; 4 November 1899 – 8 November 1985) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

ish bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career (1923 to 1934). He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for

Alcyon The Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1903 and 1954. Origins Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902, this was complemented b ...

- Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won 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 ...

in 1927 and 1928. Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous farming family. Frantz could have taken over the farm but had no interest in it. In 1914 he rode his first race. He won. That convinced him that farming was not for him. He was close to unbeatable in Luxembourg until the start of the first world war. Frantz, a well-built man weighing 80 kg, turned professional in 1923. He had immediate success, winning Paris-Lyon and the GP Faber. His advantage in stage races was his consistent health and fitness. He rode the Tour de France for the first time in 1924, won two stages and finished second just 35 minutes and 36 seconds behind

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 ...

. In 1925 and 1926 he won another four stages and finished fourth and second respectively. Frantz then dominated the race for two successive years. He won three stages in 1927 and won overall. He was seventeen minutes behind the race-leader

Hector Martin Hector Martin (26 December 1898–9 August 1972) was a Belgian road racing cyclist, professional from 1925 to 1935. In 1924 he won the "Tour of Flanders for Independents" and the Belgian championship cycling for independents . From 1925 to ...

before start of the stage to Luchon but finished in yellow. His second stage win was between

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

and the final win was at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. He finished an hour and forty eight minutes ahead of second placed

Maurice De Waele Maurice De Waele (; 27 December 1896 – 14 February 1952) was a Belgium, Belgian professional road bicycle racer. De Waele placed 2nd in the 1927 Tour de France, 1927 Tour, an hour and fifty eight minutes Nicolas Frantz and 3rd in 1928 Tour ...

. He wore the yellow jersey from the first to last day in 1928, the only rider since

to have done so. (Bottecchia however didn't wear the yellow jersey during the first stage in 1924). In that race, the frame of his bicycle broke on a level-crossing during the 19th stage with 100 km remaining. He borrowed an undersized, women’s bicycle and was helped back into the race by his

domestiques. He exchanged it for another Alcyon bicycle, which he rode to victory in

Paris 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. S ...

ahead of teammates Andre Leducq and De Waele. After winning stage seven of the 1929 Tour in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, Frantz was one of three yellow jerseys on the same time in general classification with Leducq and

Victor Fontan Victor Fontan (born Pau, France, 18 June 1892, died Saint-Vincent 2 January 1982) was a French cyclist who led the 1929 Tour de France but dropped out after knocking at doors at night to ask for another bicycle. His plight led to a change of r ...

. However, the following day, Gaston Rebry ended the embarrassment of multiple leaders. Despite leading the race at one point in stage 10, a puncture cost him the yellow jersey before the end of day and he eventually finished the Tour in fifth place. His last chance of a podium finish was gone and he entered the Tour only once more, in 1932 when he finished in a lowly 45th place. Frantz won Paris–Brussels in 1927 and Paris–Tours in 1929. He twice finished in the first three of the world championship. He also won the championship of Luxembourg for 12 consecutive years (1923-1934. After racing, he became directeur sportif of the Luxembourg and Luxembourg Mixed teams in the Tour de France from 1949 to 1957. He was the first national team manager of

Charly Gaul Charly Gaul Sporting Cyclist, UK, undated cutting (8 December 1932 – 6 December 2005)Jean Goldschmit Jean Goldschmit (20 February 1924 – 14 February 1994) was a professional Luxembourgian road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1946 to 1953 and had 14 victories which included two stage wins and wearing the yellow jersey as leader of t ...

. Frantz was a taciturn man. He retired to the village of Mamer and died there in 1985.

Career achievements

Major results

;1923 : National road race champion ;1924 :

::2nd place overall classification ::Winner 2 stages : National road race champion ;1925 :

::4th place overall classification ::Winner 4 stages : National road race champion ;1926 :

::2nd place overall classification ::Winner 4 stages : National road race champion :

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

;1927 :

Winner overall classification ::Winner 3 stages ::14 days in

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 ...

: National road race champion ;1928 :

Winner overall classification ::Winner 5 stages ::22 days in yellow jersey (entire Tour) : National road race champion ;1929 :

::Winner 2 stages ::5th place overall classification ::1 day in yellow jersey (together with

André Leducq André Leducq (; 27 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a French cyclist who won the 1930 and 1932 Tours de France. He also won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the team road race event and the 1928 Paris–Roubaix. Career Ledu ...

and

) : National road race champion :

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

;1930 : National road race champion ;1931 : National road race champion ;1932 : National road race champion :

::45th place overall classification ;1933 : National road race champion ;1934 : National road race champion

Grand Tour results timeline

Literature

*François Guillaume, ''Du Tour de Frantz au Tour de Gaul'' (2nd ed.; Diekirch (Luxembourg): Editions APESS, 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Frantz, Nicolas Luxembourgian male cyclists Tour de France winners People from Mamer 1899 births 1985 deaths