Jonathan Boyer (born October 8, 1955), nicknamed "Jock" and "Jacques", is an American former professional cyclist who, in 1981, became the first American to participate 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 November 2002, Boyer pled guilty to seven counts of child molestation and three counts of genital penetration of an underage girl. After his release from jail, Boyer resumed competitive racing and worked with charitable organizations in Africa.

Early life and racing career

Boyer grew up in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

and was a member of the Velo Club Monterey there. He raced as an amateur in Europe from 1973, after joining the ACBB club in the Parisian suburb of

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

. The club frequently provided riders for the

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

professional team, which had had English-speaking riders since the Briton,

Tom Simpson Thomas Simpson (30 November 1937 – 13 July 1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He was born in Haswell, County Durham, and later moved to Harworth, Nottinghamshire. Simpson began road cycling as a teenager ...

, led it in the 1960s. Boyer, however, turned professional in 1977 for the smaller Lejeune–BP team, sponsored by a Parisian cycle company and an international oil giant. He first competed in the Tour in 1981, when the organiser,

Félix Lévitan Félix Lévitan (12 October 1911 in Paris – 18 February 2007 in Cannes), was a sports journalist and the third organiser of the Tour de France a role he shared for much of the time with Jacques Goddet. Lévitan is credited with looking after ...

, encouraged him to wear not his team jersey but a Stars and Stripes design which suggested that he was the American national champion. Many have said that Lévitan, who looked after the financial aspects of the race while his colleague

Jacques Goddet Jacques Goddet (; 21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986. Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance ...

managed the sporting side, saw Boyer as a way to attract further American interest and money. Boyer rode the Tour de France five times and finished 12th in 1983. He was unusual in refusing to eat meat and became well known for the large quantities of nuts and fruit that he brought to the race. The French team manager,

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de F ...

, described Boyer as "un marginal", a description hard to translate but which suggests an outsider, almost a hippie. The British journalist Dennis Donovan, working for the London magazine ''

Cycling 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 ...

'' remarked on Boyer's intense religious beliefs. In the 1981 Tour, he said, English-speaking journalists felt sorry for him as a colleague in a French-speaking world and offered him a collection of girlie magazines. Boyer, said Donovan, declined politely and said he preferred to read his Bible. Boyer also competed in and won the 1980 Coors Classic in the US, and the 1985

Race Across America The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prov ...

completing the 3,120 miles in nine days, two hours, and six minutes. His career included 87 amateur victories and 49 professional ones. Boyer was inducted into the United States Cycling Hall of Fame in 1998. He was expelled from the Hall in 2016 for "ethical issues".

Criminal conviction

In November 2002, Boyer pled guilty to seven counts of child molestation and three counts of genital penetration, which began when the victim was eleven and continued for at least three years. He was sentenced to a 20-year prison term, which was suspended by the judge pending the successful completion of one year in jail and five years probation.

Post-conviction life

In 2006, Boyer participated in the

again, this time in the new "Solo Enduro" category which ''requires'' all participants to use 40 hours of rest (stopping) during the race at official stations along the course. Early in the race Boyer showed he was using a different strategy from other favorites. While the two ahead of him were using minimal rests (30 minutes and 2½ hours after the first 36 hours of racing), Boyer had already used 5½ hour of off-bike time. In the end, all Enduro contenders used their required 40 hours' off-bike time well before the finish, where Boyer prevailed in the Enduro division. Since 2007 Boyer has lived much of the year in Rwanda where he runs Team Rwanda, a cycling team for Rwandan cyclists, and assists with Project Rwanda, a relief agency focused on providing bicycles and other aid to people in Rwanda. In 2009 Boyer completed a motorcycle journey from South Africa to Rwanda on a BMW motorcycle. In 2014, Team Rwanda moved to a new complex only a few kilometers from the Gorilla Park Headquarters in Kinigi, Rwanda. The center is called Africa Rising Cycling Center. The program has expanded to include BMX, Junior Road and MTB, Elite MTB and Women Road and MTB. Boyer returned to Wyoming in 2017, but remained as an executive director of Team Africa Rising. In late 2019, Boyer published an open letter listing alleged misconduct within the Rwandan cycling federation, which resulted in the resignation of the federation president and his entire executive team.

Major results

;1977 : 3rd

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organi ...

: 4th GP du canton d'Argovie : 8th GP Ouest–France ;1979 : 2nd Overall Coors Classic ;1980 : 1st Overall Coors Classic : 5th Road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

;1982 : 2nd

Druivenkoers Overijse Druivenkoers Overijse is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in Overijse, Belgium. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing compet ...

;1983 : 9th Overall

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir () is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Felice Gimondi, Joo ...

::1st Stage 6a : 5th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

;1984 : 1st Stage 6

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse () is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France, which is on the calend ...

: 9th

Trofeo Pantalica The Trofeo Pantalica was a professional road bicycle race held annually in Province of Syracuse, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Ita ...

References

External links

Team Rwanda Web page
*Documentary film
Rising From Ashes
*''Sydney Morning Herald'', June 8, 2014, Article: by Phillipa Hawke

*''The New Yorker'', July 11, 2011, Article
"Climbers"
by Philip Gourevitch,
Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Jacques American male cyclists People from Moab, Utah Living people 1955 births Tour de Suisse stage winners Sportspeople from Monterey, California Ultra-distance cyclists Cyclists from California Cyclists from Utah American sportspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century American sportsmen American people convicted of child sexual abuse