Philippe Thys (; nl, Philippe Thĳs; 8 October 1889 – 16 January 1971) was a Belgian cyclist and three times winner of the Tour de France.

Professional career

In 1910, Thys won Belgium's first national cyclo-cross championship. The following year he won the Circuit Français Peugeot, followed by stage races from Paris to Toulouse and Paris to Turin. He then turned professional to ride the Tour de France. Thys won the Tour in

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

despite breaking his bicycle fork, and needing to find a bicycle shop to mend it. The repair induced a 10-minute penalty, but he won with a lead of just under nine minutes. Thys took the stage and the race lead when

Eugène Christophe Eugène Christophe (born Malakoff, Paris, France, 22 January 1885, died in Paris, 1 February 1970) was a French road bicycle racer and pioneer of cyclo-cross. He was a professional from 1904 until 1926. In 1919 he became the first rider to wear ...

broke his fork on the way to Luchon.

Marcel Buysse Marcel Buysse ( Wontergem, 11 November 1889- Ghent, 3 October 1939) was a Belgian racing cyclist. After finishing fourth in the 1912 Tour de France, Buysse led the general classification for two days until a broken handlebar cost him dearly. D ...

overtook him in the results the following day. Another broken fork on the way to Nice gave Thys the lead again but drama continued when he fell on the penultimate stage from Longwy to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Gustave Garrigou Cyprien Gustave Garrigou (; 24 September 1884 – 23 January 1963) was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once. Of 117 stages, he won eight, came in the top ten 96 times and ...

, with Buysse third. In

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

, he took his first stage victory, to Le Havre, holding the race from start to finish despite a 30-minute penalty for an unauthorised wheel change on the penultimate stage. His victory looked uncertain, his lead cut to less than two minutes ahead of Henri Pélissier. Ironically, on the final stage from Dunkirk to Paris, the Frenchman's supporters along the route who were expecting victory over the Belgian were the reason he was prevented from launching a breakaway. He won the stage but Thys finished on his wheel to win the Tour. In 1917, Thys won

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, ...

and the Giro di Lombardia. In 1918, he also won the second and last Tours–Paris. After World War I, Thys won the Tour a third and final time in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

. He led from the second stage, Henri Desgrange writing "France is not unaware that, without the war, the crack rider from Anderlecht would be celebrating not his third Tour, but his fifth or sixth". Not until 1955 did Louison Bobet equal Thys's record, and not until 1963 did Jacques Anquetil break it with four wins. Thys also rode in the

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

Tour, winning five stages, and in the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

Tour, winning two stages. Thys was one of a generation of cyclists whose careers were disrupted by the First World War. After retiring, he recalled that he had been asked by his manager,

Alphonse Baugé Alphonse Joseph Alexis Baugé (2 August 1873 in Tours – 23 October 1938 in Paris) was a French cyclist and cycling team manager. Biography A great bicycle enthusiast, he began his cycling career by winning the French Amateur Stayer C ...

, to wear a yellow jersey as leader of the Tour, although that distinction is more commonly attributed to Eugène Christophe.

Career achievements

Major results

;1910 :National cyclo-cross championship ;1913 :

1913 Tour de France The 1913 Tour de France was the 11th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 29 June and 27 July. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . The competition was won by the Belgian Philippe Thys, after in the cru ...

– 1st overall and 1 stage win ;1914 :

1914 Tour de France The 1914 Tour de France was the 12th edition of the Tour de France, taking place in 15 stages from 28 June to 26 July. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . It was won by the Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys. The day the ...

– 1st overall and 1 stage win ;1917 : Giro di Lombardia :

;1918 :

(see race notes for details) ;1920 :

1920 Tour de France Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

–

1st overall and 4 stage wins ;1921 : Critérium des As ;1922 :

1922 Tour de France The 1922 Tour de France was the 16th Tour de France bicycle race, taking place from 25 June to 23 July. The 1922 Tour consisted of 15 stages covering a total of . The race was won by the Belgian Firmin Lambot, who had also won the 1919 Tour de F ...

– 5 stage wins ;1924 :

1924 Tour de France The 1924 Tour de France was the 18th edition of the Tour de France and was won by Ottavio Bottecchia. He was the first Italian cyclist to win the Tour and the first rider to hold the yellow jersey the entire event. The race was held over 5,425&n ...

– 2 stage wins (one tied with Théophile Beeckman)

Grand Tour results

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results
for Philippe Thys. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thys, Philippe Belgian male cyclists Tour de France winners Belgian Tour de France stage winners Cyclo-cross cyclists 1889 births 1971 deaths People from Anderlecht Belgian cyclo-cross champions Cyclists from Brussels