Pierre Beuffeuil ( L'Éguille, France, 30 October 1934) is a former 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 ...

. He won a stage of the

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 ...

after the rest of the field had stopped to greet Charles de Gaulle, the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Tour de France

Pierre Beuffeuil was riding the Tour de France in 1960 for the regional Centre-Midi team when news came that Charles de Gaulle, the president, would be by the route at

Colombey-les-deux-Églises Colombey-les-Deux-Églises (, literally ''Colombey the Two Churches'') is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It is best known as the home of Charles de Gaulle. The municipality of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises was cr ...

, where he lived. The organisers,

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 di ...

and Félix Lévitan asked the national champion, Henry Anglade, if the riders would be willing to stop. Anglade agreed and the news was spread through the race. Beuffeuil, however, had stopped to repair a tyre and knew nothing of the plan. He was three minutes behind the race. He reached Colombey convinced he would still be behind the race when it finished in

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

, then found the race halted in front of him. He pressed on alone, now leading rather than following, and won the stage alone on the boulevard Jules-Guesde by 49 seconds. "I voted for de Gaulle", he said. Beuffeuil won the stage from Montluçon to Orléans in 1966 after a break of 204 km. He came third in the Four Days of Dunkirk in 1961 and again in 1966.

Major results

;1956 :Circuit d'Aquitaine :Ontron :Vergt ;1959 :Auzances :Périgueux ;1960 :Bourcefranc :Peyrelevade :

: ::Winner stage 20 ;1961 :Quilan ;1962 :Circuit des genêts verts :Guéret :Maël-Pestivien ;1965 :Chaniers :Saint-Just ;1966 :Saint-Tropez :

: ::Winner stage 21 ;1967 :Querrien :Valence-sur-Baise

References

External links

*
Official Tour de France results for Pierre Beuffeuil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beuffeuil, Pierre French male cyclists 1934 births Living people French Tour de France stage winners Sportspeople from Charente-Maritime Cyclists from Nouvelle-Aquitaine