Antonin Magne (; 15 February 1904 – 8 September 1983) was a French cyclist who won 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 1931 and 1934. He raced as a professional from 1927 to 1939 and then became a team manager. The French rider and then journalist, Jean Bobet, described him in '' Sporting Cyclist'' as "a most uninterviewable character" and "a man who withdraws into a shell as soon as he meets a journalist." His taciturn character earned 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 ...

of The Monk when he was racing.

Professional cycling career

Early career

Magne became a professional cyclist in 1927. He was part of the Alleluia Team which, with Pierre Magne, Julien Moineau, Marius Gallotini, Arsène Alancourt, and André Cauet, won the 1927 GP Wolber, considered the unofficial world road race championship. Magne first rode the Tour in 1927, alongside

André Leducq André Leducq (; 27 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a French cyclist who won the 1930 and 1932 Tour de France, Tours de France. He also won a gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics in the team road race event and the 1928 Paris–Roubaix ...

in the

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 ...

team.

1931 Tour de France

In 1931, defending champion

was not in good shape, so Magne took over the role as team leader. Although he was repeatedly attacked by the Italian Antonio Pesanti and the Belgian, Jef Demuysere, Magne was able to win the race.

1932 to 1933

In 1932, Magne did not defend his Tour de France title; instead he started in the Giro d'Italia, but could not impress. In 1933, Magne returned in the Tour de France, and finished in 8th place.

1934 Tour de France

In 1934, Magne again started in the Tour de France, in a strong French team. Magne led from the second day and his team won 19 of the 23 stages, Magne himself winning two stages, including the first

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

in the Tour de France, over 80 km from La Roche-sur-Yon to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. His hopes looked over when he broke a wheel on the descent from l'Hospitalet to Ax-les-Thermes in 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. ...

. He was rescued by the youngest rider in his team, René Vietto, who handed him his own wheel despite being in third place himself. The next day Magne again had trouble. Vietto was just ahead of him on the Col de Portet d'Aspet, turned and saw his leader waving a wheel and rode back down the hill to hand him his own. Vietto wept by the roadside as he waited for another wheel. Magne won the Tour and France dominated it but Vietto, who finished fifth, was the hero. He also won the Grand Prix des Nations, the unofficial world championship of the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

, for the first time that year.

Late career

In 1935 and 1936, Magne again won the Grand Prix des Nations. In 1935, he started in the Tour, but left the race halfway while in second place in the general classification, after a crash on the bottom of the Galibier. In 1936, Magne rode strong in the Tour, and finished in second place, behind Sylvère Maes. Afterwards, he became world champion. In 1937, Magne did not start in the Tour, saying that he had already decided this in 1936, and that he was still recuperating from a car accident in May. He became the official starter of the 1937 Tour instead. In 1938, Magne rode the Tour de France for the last time, and in the last stage he crossed the finishline together with

, who also rode the Tour for the last time; both were declared winner of that stage.

Post-racing career

Upon retirement, Magne became a directeur sportif for several successful riders, such as Louison Bobet and Raymond Poulidor in the Mercier team. He is credited with being a mentor to the great riders of the era, and is considered to be one of the best directeurs sportif in the sport. He never referred to his riders by the informal "tu" but always as "vous"; riders addressed him a "Monsieur Magne". Louis Caput replaced Antonin Magne as manager of Fagor-Mercier in 1970. Magne lived for much of his life at Livry-Gargan, in the

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 2004, the Tour de France honoured the centenary of his birth with a stage finish there. Magne was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1962.

Career achievements

Major results

Antonin Magne-Grand Prix des Nations 1935

;1927 :

:: 6th overall :: Stage 14 win : GP Wolber (as part of the Alleluia team) ;1928 :

:: 6th overall ::Stage 13 and 21 wins ;1929 :Circuit des villes d'eaux d'Auvergne :

:: 7th overall ;1930 :

:: 3rd overall :: Stage 12 win :

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' ...

:: 3rd overall :Paris-Vichy ;1931 :

1st overall :: 16 days in maillot jaune :: Stage 9 win ;1933 :

:: 8th overall :: 2nd mountains classification ;1934 :

1st overall :: 23 days in maillot jaune :: Stage 17 and 21b wins : Grand Prix des Nations ;1935 :Grand Prix des Nations ;1936 :

:: 2nd overall :: Stage 20b win : World Cycling Championship :Grand Prix des Nations ;1938 :

:: 8th overall :: Stage 10c and 21 wins

Grand Tour results timeline

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Antonin Magne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magne, Antonin 1904 births 1983 deaths Cyclists from Cantal French male cyclists Tour de France winners French Tour de France stage winners UCI Road World Champions (elite men) Knights of the Legion of Honour 20th-century French sportsmen