Antonin Magne (; 15 February 1904 – 8 September 1983) was a French cyclist who 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 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 Bobet, described him in ''

Sporting Cyclist ''Sporting Cyclist'' was a British cycling A4-sized magazine originally called ''Coureur''. It began in 1955 and ended after 131 issues in April 1968. History ''Coureur'' ''Coureur - the magazine for the sporting cyclist'' was the idea of the ...

'' as "a most uninterviewable character" and "a man who withdraws into a shell as soon as he meets a journalist." His taciturn character earned 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 ...

of The Monk when he was racing.

Professional cycling career

Early career

Magne became a professional cyclist in 1927. He was part of the Alleluia Team which, with Pierre Magne, Julien Moineau, Marius Gallotini, Arsène Alancourt, and André Cauet, won the 1927 GP Wolber, considered the unofficial world road race championship. Magne first rode the Tour in 1927, alongside

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 ...

in the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

team.

1931 Tour de France

In 1931, defending champion

was not in good shape, so Magne took over the role as team leader. Although he was repeatedly attacked by the Italian Pesanti and the Belgian,

Jef Demuysere Jef Demuysere ( Wervik, 26 July 1907 – Antwerp, 30 April 1969) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He won the Milan–San Remo in 1934, and finished on the podium of the Tour de France in 1929 and 1931, and of the Giro d'Ital ...

, Magne was able to win the race.

1932 to 1933

In 1932, Magne did not defend his Tour de France title; instead he started in the Giro d'Italia, but could not impress. In 1933, Magne returned in the Tour de France, and finished in 8th place.

1934 Tour de France

In 1934, Magne again started in the Tour de France, in a strong French team. Magne led from the second day and his team won 19 of the 23 stages, Magne himself winning two stages, including the first

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

in the Tour de France, over 80 km from La Roche-sur-Yon to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. His hopes looked over when he broke a wheel on the descent from l'Hospitalet to

Ax-les-Thermes Ax-les-Thermes (; oc, Ax or ) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Axéens'' or ''Axéennes''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ' ...

in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. He was rescued by the youngest rider in his team,

René Vietto René Vietto (17 February 1914, Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes – 14 October 1988, Orange, Vaucluse) was a French road racing cyclist. In the 1934 Tour de France, Vietto, a relative unknown, got wings on the mountains. This was not a surprise, ...

, who handed him his own wheel despite being in third place himself. The next day Magne again had trouble. Vietto was just ahead of him on the Col de Portet d'Aspet, turned and saw his leader waving a wheel and rode back down the hill to hand him his own. Vietto wept by the roadside as he waited for another wheel. Magne won the Tour and France dominated it but Vietto, who finished fifth, was the hero. He also won the

Grand Prix des Nations The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (against the clock) for both professional and amateur racing cyclists. Held annually in Cannes, France, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship ...

, the unofficial world championship of the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

, for the first time that year.

Late career

In 1935 and 1936, Magne again won the Grand Prix des Nations. In 1935, he started in the Tour, but left the race halfway while in second place in the general classification, after a crash on the bottom of the Galibier. In 1936, Magne rode strong in the Tour, and finished in second place, behind

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 gen ...

. Afterwards, he became

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In 1937, Magne did not start in the Tour, saying that he had already decided this in 1936, and that he was still recuperating from a car accident in May. He became the official starter of the 1937 Tour instead. In 1938, Magne rode the Tour de France for the last time, and in the last stage he crossed the finishline together with

, who also rode the Tour for the last time; both were declared winner of that stage.

Post-racing career

Upon retirement, Magne became a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is se ...

for several successful riders, such as

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 ...

and Raymond Poulidor in the Mercier team. He is credited with being a mentor to the great riders of the era, and is considered to be one of the best directeurs sportif in the sport. He never referred to his riders by the informal "tu" but always as "vous"; riders addressed him a "Monsieur Magne". Louis Caput replaced Antonin Magne as manager of Fagor-Mercier in 1970. Magne lived for much of his life at

Livry-Gargan Livry-Gargan () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History On 20 May, 1869, a part of the territory of Livry-Gargan was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Clich ...

, in the

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 ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobig ...

near

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. Si ...

. In 2004, the Tour de France honoured the centenary of his birth with a stage finish there. Magne was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1962.

Career achievements

Major results

Antonin Magne-Grand Prix des Nations 1935

;1927 :

:: 6th overall :: Stage 14 win : GP Wolber (as part of the Alleluia team) ;1928 :

:: 6th overall ::Stage 13 and 21 wins ;1929 :Circuit des villes d'eaux d'Auvergne :

:: 7th overall ;1930 :

:: 3rd overall :: Stage 12 win :

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the ' Monuments' or classics of th ...

:: 3rd overall :Paris-Vichy ;1931 :

1st overall :: 16 days in maillot jaune :: Stage 9 win ;1933 :

:: 8th overall :: 2nd

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

;1934 :

1st overall :: 23 days in maillot jaune :: Stage 17 and 21b wins :

;1935 :Grand Prix des Nations ;1936 :

:: 2nd overall :: Stage 20b win :

World Cycling Championship The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

:Grand Prix des Nations ;1938 :

:: 8th overall :: Stage 10c and 21 wins

Grand Tour results timeline

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Antonin Magne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magne, Antonin 1904 births 1983 deaths Sportspeople from Cantal French male cyclists Tour de France winners French Tour de France stage winners UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Cyclists from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes