Mathieu Cordang (6 December 1869 – 24 March 1942) was a Dutch professional cyclist. His specialties were

track racing Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an unpaved oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type. The most common variant is Speedway which h ...

and endurance racing.

Biography

Cordang started racing in 1893, after he left a boat in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

where a cycling race was being held. He borrowed a bicycle, won the race, and decided to take up cycle-racing. In 1894, he set a world record for the mile on a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

, and finished second in the

Dutch national road race championships The Dutch National Road Race Championships take place annually, on the weekend prior to the start of the Tour de France. First held in 1888, today it is organized by the Top Sports Group, commissioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union, KNWU. Men ...

behind

Jaap Eden Jacobus Johannes "Jaap" Eden (19 October 1873 – 2 February 1925) was a Dutch athlete. He is the only male athlete to win world championships in both speed skating and bicycle racing. Early life Jaap Eden was born in Groningen to Johannes Ede ...

. One year later, he raced a train between

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

and

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

and won. Cordang won the amateur 100 km motor-paced world championship in 1895 in Köln. Cordang was a professional from 1896 to 1900. In 1897 he finished second in

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' ...

after falling in the velodrome in Roubaix. The winner, Maurice Garin, did not wait for him and won by 30meters. He also rode Bordeaux-Paris in 1897, sponsored by Gladiator, which built a team around him, and provided 25 bicycles. He finished second behind Gaston Rivierre who had extra help in the form of a car. In the same year, Cordang broke five world records on the track of

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. During the Bol d'Or in 1900, Cordang set a 24-hour record of 999.651 km. After that, he won the 3 km race in the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), 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 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

in Paris. This included professionals, so it is not considered official by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. Cordang ended his career after this. According to his grandson, he stopped because he was cheated too often. Cordang became the owner of a garage company. He died in 1942, largely unnoticed. When a namesake died in 1962, the Dutch press printed obituaries for Cordang.

Palmares

Source: ;1894 *Amsterdam-Arnhem-Amsterdam *Maastricht-Nijmegen-Maastricht *Rotterdam-Utrecht-Rotterdam *World record 1000 km ;1895 *Amsterdam-Arnhem-Amsterdam *Leiden-Utrecht-Leiden *Maastricht-Roermond against train *World champion pace racing ;1896 *5th place Bordeaux-Paris ;1897 *24 hours of Crystal Palace (991,651 km) *2nd Bordeaux-Paris *2nd

*3rd 1000 km Défi Routier ;1898 *100 km GP Roubaix *100 km GP Amsterdam *200 km GP Berlijn ;1899 *100 km GP Den Haag *World record 24 hours (1000,110 km) ;1900 *

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: ** Bol d'Or (unofficial event) **3 km (unofficial event)

References

External links

"Vergeten sportheld" Mathieu Cordang, Sportgeschiedenis.nlCordang, Joannes Matheus (1869-1942)
in ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland 4'', 1994, Huygens Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordang, Mathieu 1869 births 1942 deaths Dutch male cyclists Sportspeople from Venlo Cyclists from Limburg (Netherlands) UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Dutch track cyclists 19th-century Dutch people 20th-century Dutch people