The chapel of Notre-Dame des Cyclistes is situated in the commune of

Labastide-d'Armagnac Labastide-d'Armagnac (; oc, La Bastida d'Armanhac) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. It hosts Notre Dame des Cyclistes. It was founded in 1291 by Bernard VI, Count of Armagnac. See also *Comm ...

Les Landes Les Landes is an area of coastal heathland in the north-west of Jersey. It has been designated as a ''Site of Special Interest'' (SSI) since 1996. The site is the largest of its kind in Jersey at 160 ha. Site of Special Interest Les Landes ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' in

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

, France. The chapel is all that remains of a 12th-century fortress of the Knights Templar. The Château de Géou was razed by the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

in 1355. It was listed as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

on 27 February 1996.

History

On 22 August 1958, Father Joseph Massie, pastor of

Créon-d'Armagnac Créon-d'Armagnac is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of France ...

, Mauvezin-d'Armagnac and Lagrange, was inspired by the chapel of Madonna del Ghisallo in Italy to make a similar chapel for cyclists.Site officiel de Labastide d'Armagnac
/ref> On 18 May 1959, Pope John XXIII agreed to make the old chapel a National Sanctuary of Cycling and Cyclists under the protection of the Virgin: Our Lady of cyclists (Notre-Dame des cyclistes). 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 ...

has passed the chapel five times: in 1984, 1989, 1995, 2000 and 2017. There was also a departure from

on July 9, 1989.

Museum of cycling

The chapel and museum is a focal point for amateur cyclists and tourists. From 1958, it was converted into a Museum of Cycling in aid of French racing and touring cyclists. Numerous champions have donated their shirts, including

André Darrigade André Darrigade (born 24 April 1929 in Narrosse) is a retired French professional road bicycle racer between 1951 and 1966. Darrigade, a road sprinter won the 1959 World Championship and 22 stages of the Tour de France. Five of those Tour vict ...

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 t ...

Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager ...

Roger Lapébie Roger Lapébie (; 16 January 1911 – 11 October 1996) was a French racing cyclist who won the 1937 Tour de France. In addition, Lapébie won the 1934 and 1937 editions of the Critérium National. He was born at Bayonne, Aquitaine, and died i ...

Jean Stablinski Jean Stablewski (21 May 1932 – 22 July 2007), known as Jean Stablinski, was a French professional cyclist from a family of Polish immigrants. He rode from 1952 to 1968, winning 105 races as a professional. He won the national road champion ...

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...

Raymond Poulidor Raymond Poulidor (; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (), was a French professional racing cyclist, who rode for his entire career. His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding riders – Jacques Anquet ...

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

and

Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía (; 9 June 1945 – 19 May 1994) was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the 1973 Tour de France and the 1970 Vuelta a España. During the 1971 Tour de France he launched an amazing solo breakaway that put him ...

The chapel includes a stained glass window designed and created by Henri Anglade, a former rider of the Tour de France, to represent cycling. It was reportedly intended to celebrate a thaw in the intense rivalry between

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champion of Champions ...

and

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

, as they shared a bottle (''bidon'') on the

Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the s ...

during the

1952 Tour de France The 1952 Tour de France was the 39th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 19 July. It was composed of 23 stages over . Newly introduced were the arrivals on mountain peaks. The race was won by Italian Fausto Coppi. Coppi d ...

. The bicycle used in the French film '' Les Cracks'', directed by

Alex Joffé Alex Joffé (18 November 1918 – 18 August 1995) was a French film director and screenwriter, known for ''Les cracks'' (1968), ''Fortunat'' (1960) and ''La grosse caisse'' (1965). He was the father of the director Arthur Joffé, as well as Mar ...

in 1968, is on display at the museum.

Other chapels of cycling

* Madonna del Ghisallo, situated in

Magreglio Magreglio ( Valassinese lmo, Magrei ) is a small town in the province of Como, Lombardy, Italy. Twin towns * Friedberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the seco ...

near Lake Como and was dedicated to Italian cycling in 1948 by

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

. * Nuestra Señora de Dorleta, situated in

Leintz-Gatzaga Leintz Gatzaga (Spanish, ''Salinas de Léniz'') is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The municipality's population is 251 (2015). Etymology The first part of the name, Lei ...

(Basque; in Spanish Salinas de Léniz) in the province of

Guipuzcoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

.Official web site of Leintz-Gatzaga
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Notre Dame Des Cyclistes Churches in Landes (department) Chapels in France Cycling in France Museums in Landes (department) Cycling museums and halls of fame