Paul Köchli is a former bicycle racer and cycling coach from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, born April 22, 1947, in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Biography

Köchli became a professional bike racer in 1967, riding for the Swiss Tigra-Grammont team. In 1968, he rode in 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 the bi-national Swiss/Luxembourgish team. Then, in 1969, he rode in Jean de Gribaldy's team, Frimac-Viva-de Gribaldy. He was the coach of the

La Vie Claire La Vie Claire was a professional road bicycle racing team named after its chief sponsor La Vie Claire, a chain of health food stores. History The La Vie Claire team was created in 1984 by Bernard Tapie and directed by Paul Köchli. The t ...

team from 1984 to 1987, having been asked for specifically by

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...

, with whom he wrote a training book for amateur cyclists. With the La Vie Claire team, he won two Tours de France, thanks to the victories of Bernard Hinault and

Greg Lemond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

. From 1988 to 1992, he was the head of the Weinmann-La Suisse team, which became

Helvetia Helvetia () is a national personification of Switzerland, officially , the Swiss Confederation. The allegory is typically pictured in a flowing clothing, with a spear and a shield emblazoned with the Flag of Switzerland, Swiss flag, and commo ...

References

1947 births Living people Swiss male cyclists Cycling coaches Cyclists from Basel-Stadt 20th-century Swiss sportsmen {{Switzerland-cycling-bio-stub