Pascal Jules (22 July 1961, in

La Garenne-Colombes La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from Notre Dame de Paris which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Name The city used to be p ...

– 25 October 1987, in Bernay) was a French 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 ...

Career

Jules was a close friend of

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured th ...

whom he rode with at

Renault–Elf Renault () was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1978 to 1985. The team cycled on and promoted Gitane racing bikes. History The team was created in 1978 after the Renault auto group purchased the Gitane bicycle manufacturer ...

between 1982 and 1985. Jules won one stage in the

1984 Tour de France The 1984 Tour de France was the 71st edition of the Tour de France, run over in 23 stages and a prologue, from 29 June to 22 July. The race was dominated by the Renault team, who won the team classification and ten stages: Renault's French rider ...

. With Fignon,

Marc Madiot Marc Madiot (born 16 April 1959) is a French former professional road racing cyclist and double winner of Paris–Roubaix. He also competed in the individual road race event at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Retired from racing in 1994, he is now b ...

and

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

, Jules was part of a quartet in that Renault team who were keen to succeed the legendary

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...

. However, after being thrown back by injury and a fight with team director

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 Fr ...

, he joined

Marino Lejarreta Marino Lejarreta Arrizabalaga (born 14 May 1957) is a retired Basque professional road racing cyclist. His biggest victory was capturing the 1982 Vuelta a España, a Grand Tour stage race, and he is the inaugural and record three-time winner of ...

's Seat–Orbea team.

Death

He died in 1987 following a car crash in Normandy, after returning from a football match for a charitable association. In his autobiography entitled ''Nous étions jeunes et insouciants'' ("We were young and carefree") Laurent Fignon remembers Pascal Jules by saying: ''"It was unsaid but there was a pact of kinship between us which was so strong, so inviolable, almost sacred, that it would last as long as life lasted. But some lives don't last that long."''

Personal life

Jules was the father of

Justin Jules Justin Jules (born 20 September 1986) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who most recently rode for UCI ProTeam . Personal life Born in Sartrouville, he is the son of Pascal Jules, a professional cyclist who was active during the 1980s ...

, who became a professional cyclist himself.Het maatje van Laurent Fignon
– Sportgeschiedenis

Career achievements

Major results

;1982 :Fontenay-sous-Bois ;1983 :Quilan :

Tour de Picardie 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 race was called Tour de l'Oise ...

Circuit Cycliste de la Sarthe Circuit may refer to: Science and technology Electrical engineering * Electrical circuit, a complete electrical network with a closed-loop giving a return path for current ** Analog circuit, uses continuous signal levels ** Balanced circui ...

;1984 :

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

: ::Winner stage 8 :Chateau-Chinon ;1985 :

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Pascal Jules
1961 births 1987 deaths People from La Garenne-Colombes French male cyclists French Tour de France stage winners Sportspeople from Hauts-de-Seine Cyclists from Île-de-France {{France-cycling-bio-1960s-stub