Louison Bobett

Louison Bobet (Saint Méen le Grand, Ille-et-Vilaine, France, March 12, 1925-Biarritz, March 13, 1983) was a French cyclist, the first rider to win the Tour of France in three consecutive editions, a test in which he obtained a total of 12 stage victories. In the Giro d'Italia he also achieved a total of 2 stage victories.

He was also an extraordinary classicsman as shown by his ability to win four of the five "monuments of cycling" and the world championship.

Known by the nickname The Saint-Méen baker, due to the trade he practiced in his hometown before turning to cycling. His brother Jean was also a professional cyclist.

Biography

Road bearing the name of the great cyclist

Louis Bobet, one of the family's three children, was born in the house above his father's bakery, on rue de Montfort, in Saint-Méen-le-Grand, near Rennes. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two years old and by six months he could ride 6 km. Bobet's father was also named Louis, so the son was affectionately nicknamed Louison, the little Louis, to avoid confusion (the ending -on is a diminutive in French). He was known as Louis in his early years as a cyclist, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained popularity.

His sister played table tennis and his brother Jean played soccer, although he would also become a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis and football and became British table tennis champion, it was his uncle Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris, who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.

Bobet's first race was a 30km event when he was 13 years old. He came second in a sprint finish. He began to enter local races, and in 1941 won four trials for unlicensed cyclists. He qualified for the final of the unofficial junior championship, the Premier Pas Dunlop in 1943 in Montluçon, where he placed sixth. The winner was Raphaël Géminiani, who would become a professional teammate and rival.

Bobet is said to have carried messages for the Resistance during World War II. After the Normandy landings, he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilized in December 1945.

After a successful professional career, during which he won three editions of the Tour de France (1953, 1954 and 1955), Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother Jean crashed into the outside of Paris in the fall of 1960.

Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped running, including a clothing store, but became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of thalassotherapy. He had used it when he was recovering from his car accident. He opened the seaside Louison Bobet center at Port du Crouesty in Quiberon.The Quiberon center was acquired by Accor in 1984 and became the flagship of its Thalassa Sea & Spa However, he fell ill and died of cancer the day after his 58th birthday. He had speculated about cancer during an operation for boils. Bobet is buried in the Saint-Méen-le-Grand cemetery, and there is a museum in memory of him in the town, the brainchild of the town's postmaster, Raymond Quérat.

Honours of Prizes

Results

Losa de pavimento dedicated to Louison Bobet for his victory at the 1956 Paris-Roubaix.

During his racing career he achieved the following places in Grand Tours, minor tours and one-day races:

Grand Tours

Minor turns

Classics, Championships and JJ. oh.

Race		1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961
	Milan San Remo	-	-	18.	9.	1.o	DQ.	53.	13.	11.	-	17.	10.	-	-	20.
	Tour de Flandes	-	-	-	-	-	6.o	4.o	14.o	1.o	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Paris-Roubaix	-	-	32.o	15.	2.	7.	4.o	38.	3.o	1.o	65.o	27.	21.	-	-
Flecha Valona		-	-	9.	-	4.o	28.o	-	-	-	-	28.o	-	-	-	-
	Liège-Bastoña-Lieja	-	-	-	-	7.	4.o	-	-	-	-	9.	-	-	-	-
Paris-Tours		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2.	-	3.o	2.	-	-	-	-
	Giro de Lombardy	-	12.	-	33.	1.o	9.	-	-	-	7.	-	24.	21.	-	-
World on Route		-	-	-	5.o	14.o	8.	8.	1.o	Ab.	8.	2.	2.	-	-	Ab.
France on Route		-	-	-	1.o	1.o	-	3.o	-	2.	3.o	-	-	-	-	-

—: Does not participate
Ab.: Abandon
X: Editions not held
DQ: Disqualified

Acknowledgments

• He was appointed as one of the most outstanding cyclists in history when he was elected in 2002 to be part of the Inaugural Session of the ICU Hall of Fame.