René Vietto (17 February 1914,

Le Cannet Le Cannet (; oc, Lo Canet; older it, Canneto) is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Administration Le Cannet was part of Cannes until 1778, when it was made a separate commune. Location Le Cannet is locate ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

– 14 October 1988,

Orange, Vaucluse Orange (; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Aurenja'' or ''Aurenjo'' ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. It is ...

) was a French

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

. In the

1934 Tour de France The 1934 Tour de France was the 28th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 3 to 29 July. It consisted of 23 stages over . The race was won by Antonin Magne, who had previously won the 1931 Tour de France. The French team was dominant, ...

, Vietto, a relative unknown, got wings on the mountains. This was not a surprise, because he had won the Grand Prix Wolber. He was prepared for the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and won easily on the steepest terrain. After he won the two major Alpine stages, journalists reported that this 'boy' could be the purest mountain climber that France knew. During the 1934 Tour, he was poised to be race leader after his team leader

Antonin Magne Antonin Magne (; 15 February 1904 – 8 September 1983) was a French cyclist who won the Tour de France in 1931 and 1934. He raced as a professional from 1927 to 1939 and then became a team manager. The French rider and then journalist, Jean Bo ...

crashed during stage 16. Vietto was unaware of Magne's situation; his advantage gave him the virtual race lead. A marshal on a motorcycle caught Vietto to inform him his captain was on the side of the road, with team-mate Lapébie ahead, and the other team-mates behind the yellow jersey. Vietto turned and rode back up the mountain into the descending riders (at the time, reversing course was legal, but is no longer so), to give Magne his bike. Magne mounted Vietto's bike and with Lapébie closed the gap to preserve his overall lead and win the Tour. A photograph shows Vietto sitting on a stone wall as the race passes. This made him a star in France. The image of a 20-year-old who sacrificed his chance of winning the Tour doubled his popularity. Vietto was nevertheless named the Tour's best climber; he finished 5th overall, almost 1 hour behind Magne. Vietto never won the Tour. He was closest in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

, when he gained the yellow jersey in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

in one of the first stages, but in the mountains, once his favorite place, he was left by

Sylvère Maes Sylvère Maes (; 27 August 1909 – 5 December 1966) was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939. In 1937, Maes left the 1937 Tour de France together with his Belgian team while he was leading the gene ...

. After that Tour, war broke out and the race wasn't held until 1947. Vietto, still loved, attacked from the second stage. As a result, he took the yellow jersey in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, to lose it two days before the finish, in a time trial of 139 km. Despite failing to hold the lead, Vietto wore the yellow jersey for 15 stages during the

1938 Tour de France The 1938 Tour de France was the 32nd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 to 31 July. It was composed of 21 stages over .The race was won by Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, who also won the mountains classification. Innovations and ...

and during the

1947 Tour de France The 1947 Tour de France was the 34th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 25 June to 20 July. The total race distance was 21 stages over . It was the first Tour since 1939, having been cancelled during World War II, although some Tour ...

for 14 stages. He finished second in 1939, fifth in 1934 and 1947 and eighth in 1935. Until

Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981), nicknamed "Spartacus", is a Swiss cycling executive, businessman and former professional road racing cyclist who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was born in Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland. Cancellara began r ...

broke his record in the

2012 Tour de France The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July. The Tour consisted of 21 stages, inc ...

, Vietto had the highest career

yellow jersey statistics Since the first Tour de France in 1903, there have been 2,205 stages, up to and including the final stage of the 2021 Tour de France. Since 1919, the race leader following each stage has been awarded the yellow jersey (french: link=no, Maillot ja ...

of anyone to never win the Tour de France overall. Vietto lost a toe to

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in 1947. Legend has it"Lance Armstrong's War, p. 101, and Les Woodland's "The Yellow Jersey Companion to the Tour de France" that Vietto insisted his

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 Ita ...

Apo Lazaridès Apo Lazaridès (16 October 1925 – 30 October 1998) was a French champion cyclist. Born Jean-Apôtre Lazaridès in Marles-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais of Greek ancestry (he became French in 1929). During the German occupation of France, Lazar ...

, cut off one of his own toes to match. According to legend, Vietto's toe is in formaldehyde in a bar in Marseilles.

Major results

;1934 :

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 ...

: ::

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

::Winner stage 7, 9, 11 and 18 ::5th place overall classification :Grand Prix Wolber ;1935 :

: ::Winner stage 6 and 9 ::8th place overall classification :

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

;1939 :

: ::2nd place overall classification ::holding

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 ...

for 11 days ;1943 :Circuit du Midi ;1946 :Grand Prix de la République ;1947 :

: ::Winner stage 2 and 9 ::5th place overall classification ::holding

for 15 days

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vietto, Rene 1914 births 1988 deaths People from Le Cannet French male cyclists French Tour de France stage winners French Vuelta a España stage winners Sportspeople from Alpes-Maritimes Cyclists from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur