François Faber (; 26 January 1887 – 9 May 1915) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands. He died in World War I while fighting for France.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, Nathan, France, p155 Faber was known for his long solos; he is the only rider in Tour de France history to lead solo more than 1000 km.

Origins

Faber's father, Jean-François, was born in

Wiltz Wiltz ( or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, situated in the canton of the same name. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near t ...

, which gave his son Luxembourgish nationality. His mother, Marie-Paule, was born in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

. François Faber had a Luxembourgish passport but lived in France and considered himself French. His half-brother was another cyclist, Ernest Paul.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, Nathan, France, p109 Faber worked as a furniture-remover and as a docker when he raced as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

Racing career

Faber was a professional from 1906 to 1914. He won 27 races. His size— and —and his suburb of Paris gave him the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

''The Giant of

Colombes Colombes () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 53rd largest city in France. ...

''. He rode for Labor in 1906 and 1907, moved to

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

in 1908, then Alcyon from 1909 to 1911. He joined

Automoto Automoto was a French bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer founded in 1902, which joined with the Peugeot group in 1930 and was fully absorbed by 1962. Prior to World War II Automoto sourced engines from Chaise, Zurcher, J.A.P., and Villiers Engi ...

for 1912 before returning to Peugeot in 1913 and 1914. He rode the

for the first time in 1906 but didn't finish and the next year, he came seventh. In

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

as part of the all-conquering Peugeot team, he finished second, winning four stages. He dominated the

1909 Tour de France The 1909 Tour de France was the seventh edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 July to 1 August. It consisted of 14 stages over , ridden at an average 28.658 km/h. The results were computed by points accorded finishing positions ...

, winning five consecutive stages, which is still a record. The 1909 Tour had the worst weather the race had seen.Augendre, Jacques (1996), Le Tour, Panorama d'un Siècle, Société du Tour de France, France, p13 Fifty riders dropped out in six days when rain, snow, thick mud, frost and deeply rutted, unsurfaced roads dogged the race from 7 to 13 July. The worse things got, the better Faber rode. He led the race alone for 200 km to win the 398 km stage from

Roubaix Roubaix ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

on the second day. The third day started at three degrees above freezing and the weather became even worse. The race set off for

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

and again Faber broke clear going over the Ballon d'Alsace and, after leading alone for 110 km, he finished covered in mud with his main challenger,

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 a ...

, 33 minutes behind. Still the weather got worse as the next stage left at 2am to ride to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. Faber's riding attracted a crowd of 3,000 to see him leave and what was said to be 20,000 to see him finish. He won again after riding the last 62 km alone after a day of potholes and knee-high water. He climbed the Col de Porte in a wind that twice blew him off his bike and being knocked down by a horse. His chain broke on the approach to Lyon and he ran a kilometre to the finish, pushing his bike. He won all five stages from

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million the final one after attacking Garrigou when he stopped due to a puncture. At the end of the race, the race official, Alphonse Steinès, asked Faber what he planned to do next. Faber said:

Lucien Petit-Breton Lucien Georges Mazan (18 October 1882 – 20 December 1917), known by the pseudonym Lucien Petit-Breton (), was a French racing cyclist best known as the first two-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Plessé, Loire-Atlantique ...

said of him: In the 1910 Tour, Faber was leading his Alcyon teammate

Octave Lapize Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional Bicycle road racing, road racing cyclist and track cycling, track cyclist. Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France, 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal a ...

in the overall general classification when in Stage 7, a collision with a dog at the foot of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

left him seriously injured. Despite winning the stage at

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, the injury cost him the tour. Lapize attacked and took the tour with a last gasp attack from Faber on the final stage from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

to Paris ending with a number of punctures. He continued to compete in the Tour de France with moderate success until his cycling career, like many of his peers, was curtailed with the start of World War I. Faber won 19 Tour de France stages,Tour de France, Official site, History archive, Francois Faber
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Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

Bordeaux–Paris The Bordeaux–Paris professional road bicycle racing, cycle race was one of Europe's classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately – more than twice most single-day races. It started in north ...

, Sedan-Brussels,

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 ...

twice,

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 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

and the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

Death

Faber joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

when the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out. He was assigned to the

2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment The 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment, () was a French military unit of the Legion which formed the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (R.M.L.E) and existed ephemerally from end of 1914 to 1915. Creation and different nomi ...

, at

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

on 22 August 1914. He was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. On 9 May 1915, the first day of the Battle of Artois at Carency near

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

he received a telegram saying his wife had given birth to a daughter. One story says that, cheering, he jumped out of the trench and was killed by a German bullet. Another, more commonly accepted, is that he was shot while carrying an injured colleague back from no-man's land during fighting between Carency and Mont-Saint-Éloi. His regiment lost 1,950 of 2,900 in their attack. Faber was posthumously awarded the

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

.''Journal Officiel'', France, 24 May 1922 The GP François Faber, a small race in Luxembourg, is named after him. There is a plaque in his memory in the church of

Notre Dame de Lorette Notre Dame de Lorette (), also known as Ablain St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery, is the world's largest French military cemetery.Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

. On 28 March 2015, a new plaque in his memory was unveiled in Mont-Saint-Éloi, close to where he died. It was unveiled by Faber's grandson, Jacques Pallut and the town's mayor, Jean-Pierre Bavière.

Career achievements

Major results

;1908 : 1st

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 3, 4, 8 & 12 ;1909 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 10 : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Sedan-Brussels ;1910 : 1st

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2, 4 & 7 ;1911 : 1st

::1st Stages 3 & 6 ;1913 : 1st

::1st Stages 10 & 13 : 1st Stage 2

Tour of Belgium The Tour of Belgium (; ) is a five-day bicycle race which is held annually in Belgium, and is part of the UCI ProSeries. It was held annually between 1908 and 1981, except during both world wars. Between 1982 and 1990 several races were not org ...

;1914 :

::1st Stages 13 & 14

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faber, Francois 1887 births 1915 deaths Deaths by firearm in France French military personnel killed in World War I Luxembourgian male cyclists Luxembourgian people of World War I Luxembourgian Tour de France stage winners Recipients of the Médaille militaire (France) Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Cyclists from Eure Tour de France winners