Léon Georget (2 October 1879 – 5 November 1949) was a racing

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

from

Preuilly-sur-Claise Preuilly-sur-Claise () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Situation Preuilly-sur-Claise is situated at the extreme south of the Touraine at crossroad of Berry (Indre) and Poitou (Vienne) on the Claise river. The ...

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was known as ''The Father of the Bol d'Or'', having won the race nine times between 1903 and 1919 in Paris. He was also nicknamed ''Big Red'' or ''The Brute''. Léon's younger brother Émile was also a very successful cyclist, winning the

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 ...

and nine stages of 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 ...

. His son Pierre Georget won silver (1000 metres) and bronze medals (tandem) at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Major results

* Bol d'Or 1903 1st * Bol d'Or 1904 2nd * Bol d'Or 1906 3rd * Bol d'Or 1907 1st * Bol d'Or 1908 1st * Bol d'Or 1909 1st * Bol d'Or 1910 1st * Bol d'Or 1911 1st * Bol d'Or 1912 1st * Bol d'Or 1913 1st * Bol d'Or 1919 1st * Bol d'Or 1924 6th * Brussels 24 hours, 1906 1st Tandem with Émile * Six Days Toulouse: 1906 1st (with Émile) * Bordeaux–Paris: 1903 2nd * Bordeaux–Paris: 1910 3rd * Six Days New York: 1907 3rd (teamed with Émile in 1906, 1909 and 1911) * Tour de France: 1906 8th

References

1879 births 1949 deaths Cyclists from Indre-et-Loire French male cyclists {{France-cycling-bio-stub