Louis Trousselier (; 1881 – 24 April 1939) was a French

racing cyclist Cycle sport is Competition, 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 ...

who won the

1905 Tour de France The 1905 Tour de France was the third edition of the Tour de France, held from 9 to 30 July, organised by the newspaper '' L'Auto''. Following the disqualifications after the 1904 Tour de France, there were changes in the rules, the most importan ...

. His other major wins were

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 ...

, also in 1905, and the 1908

Bordeaux–Paris The Bordeaux–Paris professional 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 northern Bordeaux in sout ...

. He came third in the 1906 Tour de France and won 13 stages of 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 ...

over his career. He also competed in the men's 25 kilometres event at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

and won a bronze medal in the Men's points race.

Biography

Trousselier was born on 29 June 1881 in

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. S ...

. Nicknamed Trou-Trou, he came from a rich family which had a flower business in central Paris. For that reason, when

Henri Desgrange Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France. ...

, the first organiser of the Tour, sought to popularise competitors by giving them nicknames, he referred to Trousselier as "the florist". Trousselier's brothers Léopold and

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

were also cyclists. After competing in the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier turned professional and rode his first professional race during Christmas 1900. Louis Trousselier 1903

In 1903, Louis Trousselier rode

, which was his first long race. He finished in second place, behind

Hippolyte Aucouturier Hippolyte Aucouturier (17 October 1876 – 22 April 1944) was a French professional road bicycle racer. Aucouturier, a professional between 1900 and 1908, won two stages at the first Tour de France in 1903 and won three stages and finished ...

. However, a few days later he was disqualified, because he had taken shelter behind a car during the race. When the newspaper that organized Bordeaux–Paris organized the first Tour de France later that year, Trousselier was still banned. He rode his first Tour de France in 1905, taking a few days' official leave from his service as a soldier and depending on doing well to save himself from too strong a penalty - potentially as a deserter - when he got back much later. He dominated the race winning five stages, completing the 3,021 km in 110 hours 26 minutes and 58 second at an average speed of 27.48 km. He won with 35 points ahead of

(61 pts) and

Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq (25 April 1884 Arudy, Pyrénées-Atlantiques – 13 May 1928 Peyrehorade, Landes) was a French road bicycle racer between 1900 and 1910. Dortignacq won seven stages in four Tour de France events. He only competed i ...

(64pts). Victory brought him all his prizes, contracts to ride all over France and a bonus from his sponsor. But that night, in a trackside cabin in Paris, he lost the whole lot playing dice with friends. "There's always another Tour to win it back again", he is reputed to have said, although he never rode as well again. The one bet that he did win was that the army would forgive him for overstaying his leave. He rode the Tour well again in 1906 but never to the level of the previous year, nevertheless winning stages and finishing third. He became a specialist in long-distance racing, in 1908 winning

26 minutes ahead of the next rider,

Cyrille van Hauwaert Cyrille Van Hauwaert ( Moorslede, 16 December 1883 – Zellik, 15 February 1974) was a Belgian professional road bicycle racer, known for winning classics as Bordeaux–Paris (1907 and 1909), Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix (both 1908). ...

. He twice came second in the race and once third. He came second in the 1906 Bol d'Or 24-hour race at the Vélodrome Buffalo in

. He rode a six-day event on the track, although he decided against specialising in what could have been a profitable career. He stopped racing just before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and took over the family business. Trousselier had an entertaining personality and a taste for practical jokes. He was known for training with friends and stopping with them at the most expensive restaurant they could find. Towards the end of the meal, they would start a mock argument in which their raised voices attracted the attention of the restaurateur. When he went to intervene, he was told the argument was over who among them was the best rider. The only way to settle it was a race and the restaurateur was invited to set a local landmark several kilometres distant to which the riders would race and then turn and race back to the restaurant. Whoever came in last would pay the bill.The restaurateur would then set his diners off on their race... only for them never to return.

Career achievements

Major results

;1905 :

–

1st overall and 5 stage wins :

: Paris–Valenciennes :

Brussels–Roubaix Brussels–Roubaix was a cycling race held between Brussels, Belgium and Roubaix, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...

; 1906 Tour de France :3rd overall and 4 stage wins ; 1907 Tour de France :2 stages (one tied with

Emile Georget Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

) ;1908 :

; 1909 Tour de France :1 stage win ; 1910 Tour de France :1 stage win

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Death

He died on April 24, 1939 in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trousselier, Louis 1881 births 1939 deaths French male cyclists Tour de France winners French Tour de France stage winners Olympic cyclists of France Cyclists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Cyclists from Paris Olympic bronze medalists for France