Thierry Claveyrolat (31 March 1959 – 7 September 1999) was a French

road bicycle racer 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 ...

. He was

King of the Mountains 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, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest ...

in the 1990 Tour de France.

Racing career

Claveyrolat grew up in the shadow of 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 ...

in the Isère region near

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

. He showed early talent as an amateur cyclist, especially in the hills. He turned professional in 1983 for the St-Étienne-Pélussin team and came to notice that year when he came second on the sixth stage of the

Dauphiné Libéré The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centur ...

.Velo Club, profile of Thierry Claveyrolat
/ref> It became a race in which he succeeded regularly, winning five stages and finishing highly placed. St-Étienne was a small team and Claveyrolat's pay was so low that he worked for a construction company at Alpe d'Huez to make up the difference.Procycling, UK, October 1999 His showing in the Dauphiné Libéré brought him a move to

Système U Système U is a French symbol group retailers cooperative, comprising about eight hundred independent hypermarkets and supermarkets, headquartered in the Parc Tertiaire SILIC in Rungis, France France (), officially the French Re ...

in 1984, after which he changed sponsors frequently. It was with RMO, sponsored by an employment agency, that he won his first race as a professional: a stage of the Dauphiné Libéré in 1987. He went on to win the Tour du

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

in 1989, and the Tour du Haut-Var and the Coupe de France in 1993. The peak of his career was 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 1990, when he won the stage at St-Gervais in the shadow of

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

. He finished the race in the polka dot jersey as leader of the

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 ...

. He won a stage at nearby

Morzine Morzine (; frp, Morzena) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. A traditional market town in the heart of the Portes du Soleil, Morzine is dominated by chalets spread across a rive ...

the following year. Claveyrolat was a classic, lightly built climber. His slim build and short height brought him the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

''Clavette'', a play on his name meaning "cotter pin" His weakness was time-trialling, when his lightness made it hard to ride at sustained speed. There is a small memorial to him on the Chemin de la Bastille in

Retirement

Claveyrolat rode for Z (a children's clothing company) and GAN (an insurance company) before retiring in May 1994. He bought a bar, the Café de la Gare, at

Vizille Vizille (; frp, Veselye) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Sights Vizille is the home of the Musée de la Révolution française, a rich depository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French ...

, south of Grenoble, and turned it into a bar-brasserie called L'Étape. It had a neon polkadot sign to represent the climber's jersey he had won in the Tour. The interior was a museum of his jerseys, cups, medals and other cycling artefacts. His former team-mate,

Paul Kimmage Paul Kimmage (born 7 May 1962 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish sports journalist and former amateur and professional road bicycle racer, who was road race champion of Ireland in 1981, and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games. He wrote for ''The ...

, wrote:

It was the perfect investment, the redeployment he had dreamed of. After 12 happy and successful years as a racer, he had left the sport on his own terms, with no regrets. Over the next four years, he worked hard to make his new life a success. On new year's day 1998, he bought a scratch-card from the newsagent, shortly after opening up, and won a trip to
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 ...
for the French edition of ''The Winning Streak'' where he was invited to spin the wheel and won a million French francs. Among his former team-mates, the perception was that Claveyrolat could do no wrong. Everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. But the reality was different.

Kimmage said Claveyrolat had enjoyed the atmosphere of the Café de la Gare, which is why he had bought it. But in converting it, and then turning it into a night-spot with music, he drove away the locals who had made it a success. He said:

There were so many things that he hadn't noticed about the place he Café de la Gare The scum who threw up and urinated, regularly, all over the toilet floor. The early starts, late finishes, the guys who had never had enough. Seven nights a week. Fifty-two weeks of the year. But there was no turning back. He would make it work. It was sink or swim.

The lottery win couldn't have come at a better time. He sold a share of the business, used his winnings to plug the black hole in his bank account and determined to make a fresh start. But, within a year, the problems were exactly as before. A bouncer was hired, and paid under the counter, to patrol the undesirables. After a disturbance one evening, the police called and asked the bouncer to produce his ''carte d'identité''. The bouncer didn't have one. He had entered the country illegally from
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
. Thierry was brought before the authorities and asked to explain himself. Informed that they intended to prosecute, the problem was a drop in the ocean compared to the horror of what was waiting round the corner.

Death

On 13 August 1999 Claveyrolat drove down the Côte de Laffrey, a mountain he had ridden many times by bike. A

Renault 19 The Renault 19 is a small family car that was produced by the French car manufacturer Renault between 1988 and 1996. In Turkey and in Argentina, production continued until 2000. The internal development code for the 19 was X53, with the five doo ...

came the other way as Claveyrolat cut a corner and the two crashed. The other driver suffered multiple fractures, and his 14 year old son (who was sitting in the passenger seat) was seriously injured and lost an eye. Claveyrolat was arrested and had also been drinking. Claveyrolat committed suicide by shooting himself with a rifle at 3am on 7 September 1999. He was found dead in his cellar. He left a widow, Myriam, and two children.

Major results

;1982 : 9th Overall

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independen ...

;1984 : 10th Overall

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle raci ...

;1986 : 6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey white dots on red

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 3 & 6 ;1987 : 4th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Jersey blue

Combination classification ::1st Stage 7 : 4th

Grand Prix de Cannes The Grand Prix de Cannes was a single-day road cycling held annually in Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Canne ...

;1988 : 3rd

A Travers le Morbihan Grand Prix du Morbihan is a single-day men's road bicycle race held annually in May around Plumelec, in the region of Brittany, France. Since 2020, the race is organised as a 1.Pro event on the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tie ...

;1989 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 1 : 1st

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille, France. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event ...

: 2nd Overall

Euskal Bizikleta Euskal Bizikleta (Spanish: ''Bicicleta Vasca'', English: ''Basque Bicycle'') was an annual road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country in June. From 2005 to 2008, the race was organized as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, it ...

::1st Stages 3 & 5 : 3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Jersey white

Combination classification ::1st Stage 5 : 5th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 6th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of ...

::1st

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 2a & 5 : 8th GP Ouest–France ;1990 : 1st Jersey blue

Overall

::1st Stages 4 & 5 : 1st

Polynormande The Polynormande is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Normandy, France. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2003, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental ...

: 1st

Mountains classification

::1st

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 ...

::1st Stage 10 : 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey cyan

Points classification ::1st Jersey blue polkadot

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 6 : 6th

;1991 : 1st Stage 18

: 1st

Mountains classification Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 4th Overall

: 7th Overall

;1992 : 1st Jersey white dots on red

Mountains classification Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 2nd

: 3rd GP Ouest–France : 4th

Grand Prix de Rennes Grand Prix Cycliste de la Ville de Rennes was a professional cycle road race held in Rennes, France until 2008 when it was last organised, with the organisers citing financial difficulties as the reason. Since 2005 the race was organized as a 1.1 ...

: 5th Overall

: 9th

Classique des Alpes Classique des Alpes was a classic taking place as a mountainous single-day cycling race. It took place in Chartreuse Mountains, beginning in Chambéry and finishing in Aix-les-Bains. It was held between 1991 and 2004, a day before the start of the ...

;1993 : 1st GP Ouest–France : 1st

Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...

: 1st

Trophée des Grimpeurs The Trophée des Grimpeurs, called Polymultipliée until 1970, was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Val-d'Oise, France, between Argenteuil and Sannois. Between 1980 and 2002 it was a criterium. Since 2005, t ...

: 2nd

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 5th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre : 6th Overall

Étoile de Bessèges The Étoile de Bessèges () is an early-season five-day road bicycle racing stage race held annually around Bessèges, in the Gard department of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. First organized in 1971 as a one-day race, it became a ...

: 7th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré ::1st Jersey white dots on red

Mountains classification : 10th

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Thierry Claveyrolat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claveryrolat, Thierry 1959 births 1999 deaths French male cyclists French Tour de France stage winners Suicides by firearm in France Sportspeople from La Tronche 1999 suicides Cyclists from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes