Barry Hoban
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Barry Hoban (5 February 1940 – 19 April 2025) was an English professional
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 ...
who rode during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He formerly held the record for the most stage wins 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 ...
by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 and 1975. He was also the first Briton to win two consecutive stages of the Tour (a feat matched by
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
in 2008, twice in 2009 and once in 2010, and by
Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, ( , ; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...
in 2018).


Early career

Hoban started cycle racing in 1955, joining Calder Clarion, and by the end of the year was competing against Tom Simpson in
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 ...
s. Two years later, he was fourth in the British League of Racing Cyclists hill-climb (the senior title being won by Simpson). Despite his early prowess as a climber, Hoban later established himself as one of Europe's best sprinters. Inspired by the European successes of fellow Yorkshireman Brian Robinson and of Simpson, Hoban went to France in 1962, turned professional two years later, and stayed abroad for another 16 years. He rode for Mercier-Hutchinson-BP where his team leader was
Raymond Poulidor Raymond Poulidor (; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (), was a French professional road bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who rode for his entire career. His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding ride ...
who is famous for coming second three times in the Tour de France but never winning. Hoban was single then and used to come back to Wakefield for the winter with a case full of used shorts/jerseys etc. and sell them to the local riders (it wasn't easy then to get good quality kit and what was available was expensive). Dozens of riders in the BCF West Yorks division had a pair of shorts with Mercier Hutchinson embroidered on the legs. Back then, the best frames were hand-built British ones and Maurice Woodrup, a Leeds frame builder, would have a new frame sprayed Mercier pink waiting for him each year. He would take it back to have Mercier transfers attached. In the
1967 Tour de France The 1967 Tour de France was the 54th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 29 June and 23 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Thirteen national teams of ten riders competed, with three Fren ...
, after the death of Tom Simpson, Hoban was allowed to win the next stage. Two years later, in 1969, Hoban married Simpson's widow, with whom he has a daughter Daniella, and two stepdaughters Jane and Joanne.


Major results

;1963 : 10th Overall Paris–Luxembourg ;1964 (3 pro wins) :
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
::1st Stages 12 & 13 : 1st Stage 3
Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation co ...
: 2nd Circuit des Frontières : 3rd Manx Premier Trophy : 5th Boucles Roquevairoises : 8th
Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...
: 9th
Genoa–Nice Genoa–Nice was a professional cycle race held as a single-day race between Genoa, Italy and Nice, France. It was first held in 1910 and held for the final time in 1975. In 1961 and 1962 it was part of the Super Prestige Pernod The Super Prest ...
;1966 (2) : 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm : 3rd Overall
Tour de l'Oise The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...
::1st Stage 2a : 5th Overall
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
;1967 (1) : 1st Stage 14
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 ...
: 2nd
Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...
: 4th GP Stad Vilvoorde : 5th
Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...
: 7th Dwars door België ;1968 (1) : 1st Stage 19
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 ...
: 2nd Overall
Tour de l'Oise The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...
: 2nd
Grand Prix de Denain Grand Prix de Denain is a professional road bicycle racing, cycle road race held in Denain, France. For 10 years from 2005 the race was organized as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before becoming a 1.HC event for th ...
: 6th
Grand Prix d'Isbergues Grand Prix d'Isbergues is a professional cycle road race held in Isbergues, Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which ...
: 9th GP Fayt-le-Franc : 10th
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...
;1969 (3) :
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 ...
::1st Stages 18 & 19 : 1st Stage 1b
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
: 3rd
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...
: 7th
Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...
: 9th Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke : 9th Ronde van Limburg ;1970 (2) : 1st Manx Premier Trophy : 2nd Circuit des Frontières : 5th
Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's ...
: 6th
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 ...
: 7th Overall
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
::1st Stage 3 : 7th
De Kustpijl De Kustpijl is a cycling race held annually in Belgium. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cy ...
;1971 (2) : 1st
Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's ...
: 1st Stage 5b
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
: 2nd Overall
Tour de l'Oise The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...
: 6th Omloop der Beide Vlaanderen : 10th Overall
Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...
: 10th Omloop van het Leiedal ;1972 : 3rd Overall
Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a UCI race classifications, 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the UCI World Tour, World Tour, by the ...
: 3rd
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' ...
: 8th
Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...
: 9th
Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...
: 9th Omloop der Beide Vlaanderen : 10th Overall Tour du Nord ;1973 (2) :
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 ...
::1st Stages 11 & 19 : 10th Overall
Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan language, Catalan) was a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour ...
;1974 (8) : 1st
Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...
: 1st
Paris–Bourges Paris–Bourges is a French road bicycle race. The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities a ...
: 1st Stage 13
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 ...
: 1st Stage 2a Tour d'Indre-et-Loire : 2nd Overall
Grand Prix du Midi Libre The Grand Prix du Midi Libre (referred to as just Midi Libre) was a multiple-stage road cycling course in the south of France. The race, named after the newspaper that organized it, was first organized in 1949 and was an important preparation co ...
::1st Points classification ::1st Stages 1b & 3 : 2nd Overall Tour de l'Aude ::1st Stage 3 : 4th
Züri-Metzgete Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German; ; ) was a European Classic cycle races, Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland, and continued as a non-professional mass participation event from 2007 until 2014. It was a race with a long history ...
: 10th Overall
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
;1975 (1) : 1st Stage 8
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 ...
: 10th Overall
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
;1978 (1) : 2nd
Grand Prix Pino Cerami Grand Prix Pino Cerami is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Hainaut, Belgium. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before being cancelled from 2019 to 2022. Upon its return in 2 ...
: 4th GP Stad Vilvoorde : 5th Overall
Four Days of Dunkirk The Four Days of Dunkirk () is road bicycle race around the Nord-Pas de Calais region of northern France. Despite the name of the race, since the addition of an individual time trial in 1963, the race has been held over a 5 or 6 day period for ...
::1st Stage 5b : 6th
Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...
: 8th Overall
Étoile des Espoirs The Étoile des Espoirs was an end of the season French cycling stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-d ...
: 10th Overall
Tour de l'Oise The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...
;1979 (1) : 1st London–Bradford : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships ;1980 : 8th
Nokere Koerse Nokere Koerse is a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders. The Nokere Koerse was created in 1944, initially as the ''Grand Prix Jules Lowie'' in honour of 1938 Paris–Nice winner Jules Lowie who ...


Tour de France stage wins

*1967 - Stage 14 - Carpentras – Sète – Hoban was allowed to win after the death of Tom Simpson on the previous stage. *1968 - Stage 19 - Grenoble – Sallanches – a rarity in that Hoban won a mountain stage, not a sprint. *1969 - Stage 18 - Mourenx – Bordeaux *1969 - Stage 19 - Bordeaux - Brive-la-Gaillarde – the first Briton to win successive stages of the Tour. *1973 – Stage 11 - Montpellier - Argelès-sur-Mer *1973 - Stage 19 - Bourges – Versaille *1974 - Stage 13 - Avignon – Montpellier *1975 - Stage 8 - Angoulême - Bordeaux


Other career highlights

Hoban competed in the
team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...
at the
1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...
. Hoban also won two stages of the
1964 Vuelta a España The 19th ''Vuelta a España'' (Tour of Spain), a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the three grand tours, was held from 30 April to 16 May 1964. It consisted of 17 stages covering a total of , and was won by Raymond Poulidor of the Me ...
and the 1974 Gent–Wevelgem, where he finished ahead of
Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (born 17 June 1945), known as Eddy Merckx (, ), is a Belgian former professional road and track cyclist racer who is the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. His victories include an ...
and Roger De Vlaeminck. In the ’Monument’ Classics, his best performances were third places in
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...
(1969) and
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' ...
(1972). Towards the end of a career spent largely in mainland Europe, Hoban occasionally returned to the UK to race; he won the London-
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
race and was second in the British professional road-race championship in 1979, and he won the Grand Prix of Manchester in 1980. At least one bicycle was made with his name on it, including ''Barry Hoban''–badged frames made by Coventry Cycles (later trading as Coventry Eagle). This is a common practice of retired racing cyclists. Hoban lived in Mid-Wales after moving there to work with the factory that built his frames. In 2009 he was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame.


Death

Hoban died on 19 April 2025, at the age of 85.


References


Further reading

* * Hoban, Barry; Vas-y-Barry. 2015. Cycling Legends www.cyclinglegends.co.uk


External links

* *
Official Tour de France results for Barry Hoban
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoban, Barry 1940 births 2025 deaths Sportspeople from Wakefield Cyclists from Yorkshire British Tour de France stage winners British Vuelta a España stage winners Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 1960 Summer Olympics