Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional

road racing cyclist 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 comm ...

and track cyclist. Most famous for winning the

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

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 ...

and a bronze medal at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

in the men's 100 kilometres, he was a three-time winner of one-day classics,

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' ...

and

Paris–Brussels The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar. History Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...

Career

In his first Tour De France in 1909, he abandoned early due to wintery conditions during the month of July, but not before he managed a Stage 2 second place behind Tour winner Francois Faber. The following year he went head-to-head with Alcyon teammate Faber who led comfortably until colliding with a dog at the foot of 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. ...

. Lapize finally won by just 4 points helped by a number of punctures to Faber's bike on the final stage from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

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 a total of six starts in the Tour De France between 1909 and 1914, this victory was the only one he finished. While climbing the Col d'Aubsique (via the Col du Soulor and the Col de Tortes) in the

1910 Tour de France The 1910 Tour de France was the eighth edition of the Tour de France, taking place 3 to 31 July. It consisted of 15 stages over , ridden at an average speed of 28.680 km/h. It was the first Tour to enter the Pyrenees mountains. Two main cand ...

he is reported to have said to the race organisers: "Vous êtes des criminels !"' ( French for 'You are criminals!')" Later, at the stage finish in Bayonne, he is reported to have told a reporter that "Desgrange est un assassin" ( French for 'Desgrange is a murderer!") The stage in question was 326 kilometers in length and featured the climbs of the Col de Peyresourde,

Col d'Aspin Col d'Aspin () (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper Adour valley, with Arreau, on the Neste (river), River Neste. Details of the climbs ...

Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds ...

, Col du Soulor, Col de Tortes and the Col d'Aubisque. Lapize won the stage. The

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended his cycling career. As a fighter pilot in the French army, Octave Lapize was shot down near Flirey,

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

on 14 July 1917. Fatally wounded, he died in a hospital in Toul.

Career achievements

Major results

;1908 : Summer Olympics Men's 100 kilometres - Bronze Medal ;1909 :

, 1st Place ;1910 :

1st Overall and 4 stage wins (Stage 5, 9, 10, 14) :

, 1st Place ;1911 :

, 1st Place :

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 ...

, 1st Place :

, 1st Place : French National Championships, 1st Place ;1912 :

- Stage 6 win :

, 1st Place : French National Championships, 1st Place ;1913 :

, 1st Place : French National Championships, 1st Place ;1914 :

- Stage 8 win

Career

Career achievements

Major results

Grand Tour results

See also

References

Further reading