Jules Rossi was born in the village of Tiglio, Emilia Romagna, in the province of Parma, 3 November 1914 —
Champigny-sur-Marne,
France, 30 June 1968) was an Italian professional
road bicycle racer
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...
. Rossi became an orphan at the age of six and came to France to live in the town of
Nogent-sur-Marne with the rest of his family. He started serious cycling at the age of 14 in 1928 and by 1933 had become one of the top amateurs in France riding for the Velo Club de
Levallois. In 1934 Rossi turned professional for the Alcyon-Dunlop team of Ludovic Feuillet. He soon turned in some impressive performances as a professional winning the Circuit of the
Allier
Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...
in 1935 and Paris-St Etienne in 1936. In 1936 he finished fifth in
Paris–Roubaix and in 1937 he became the first Italian to win that cobbled classic at the age of just 23. In 1938 he won
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, ...
in a record average speed for a professional race of 42.092 km per hour, being awarded the
Ruban Jaune for that achievement. Also in 1938 Rossi won Stage 6A of the
Tour de France between
Bordeaux and
Arcachon. Rossi continued to race throughout the years of
World War II winning Paris-Reims twice (1941 and 1943) and the
Grand Prix des Nations in 1941.
[''"A Century Of Paris–Roubaix"'', Pascal Sergent, , Gives bio and career details.]
Major results
;1936
:Paris - Saint-Etienne
;1937
:
Paris–Roubaix
;1938
:
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, ...
:
Tour de France:
::Winner stage 6A
;1941
:Paris-Reims
:
Grand Prix des Nations
;1943
:Paris-Reims
;1945
:Nantua
References
External links
*
Official Tour de France results for Jules Rossi
Italian male cyclists
1914 births
1968 deaths
Italian Tour de France stage winners
Sportspeople from the Province of Parma
Cyclists from Emilia-Romagna
{{Italy-cycling-bio-1910s-stub