Hippolyte Aucouturier
Encyclopedia
Hippolyte Aucouturier was a French professional road bicycle racer. Aucouturier, a professional between 1900 and 1908, won two stages at the first Tour de France
in 1903 and won three stages and finished second in the 1905 Tour de France
. He also won Paris–Roubaix twice, in 1903 and 1904. His elder brother Francois was also a racing cyclist.
Aucouturier was an outspoken man whom the Tour organiser, Henri Desgrange
, referred to in L'Auto as Le Terrible.
, taking with him Louis Trousselier and others. They caught the fugitives and a new group formed on the côte d'Ennery. Aucouturier, recovered from typhoid the previous year, tested the group repeatedly before Doullens
. He entered the velodrome
at Roubaix
alongside Claude Chapperon, 50 metres ahead of the others.
Tradition had it that riders changed bikes at the entrance to the stadium, taking specialist track bikes to ride the three laps of the velodrome to the finish. Bikes waited for all the remaining riders and Chapperon mistakenly took Trousselier's machine. In the time it took him to realise his error and change to his own bicycle, Aucouturier passed him and took a 100m lead to win.
, would fight out the race between them. The paper published their picture and that of the German, Joseph Fischer
on its front page on 1 July 1903. But Aucouturier abandoned after La Palisse, 320 km into the first stage, with stomach cramp said to be brought on by drinking too much. Nobody now knows if this means what it says, perhaps from unclean water, or if referred to drinking wine and sniffing ether
, both aimed at numbing the pain of long days riding on bad roads with little food. The previous year he had had typhoid fever and he may not have recovered.
The historian Pierre Chany
, wrote:
Géo Lefèvre insisted the cause was food poisoning.
The rules allowed a rider who dropped out to start again next morning, but to compete for daily victories and not for the overall result. Aucouturier won the second stage, 374 km from Lyon
to Marseille
in 14h 28m, and the following stage from Marseille to Toulouse
, 423 km in 13h 19m. He left the race for good the following day, racing to Bordeaux
, when he crashed in Moissac
.
Aucouturier reached Paris, but not by bike. Lefèvre met him there:
, 49 km later. Race historian Pascal Sergent said:
Aucouturier was alone in the lead by early afternoon. Behind him in the rain, César Garin was catching him little by little until at Lens
there was less than a minute between them. The two came together with 45 km to go. Garin fell when a car carrying journalists from La Vie au Grand Air ran into him. But the two were still together at Roubaix and raced on to the track to the cheers of a scant crowd. They had ridden so fast that only 20 people had arrived in time and judges from L'Auto arrived only just before the finish. Until their arrival, there had been no judge at the finish line. Aucouturier and Garin slowed to a tactical crawl, each watching the other. Then Aucouturier sprinted away to win by two lengths.
, the youngest rider to win.
(299 km in 10h 11m), from Grenoble
to Toulon
(348 km in 13h 19m), and Bordeaux to La Rochelle
(247 km in 8h 25m). He came second overall.
1903
1904
1905
1903 Tour de France
The 1903 Tour de France was the first Tour de France, a cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper , ancestor of the current daily, . It ran from 1 July to 19 July in six stages over , and was won by Maurice Garin....
in 1903 and won three stages and finished second in the 1905 Tour de France
1905 Tour de France
The 1905 Tour de France was the third Tour de France, held from 9 July to 30 July 1905, organized by the newspaper L'Auto. Following the disqualifications after the 1904 Tour de France, there were changes in the rules, the most important one being the general classification not made by time but by...
. He also won Paris–Roubaix twice, in 1903 and 1904. His elder brother Francois was also a racing cyclist.
Aucouturier was an outspoken man whom the Tour organiser, Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
, referred to in L'Auto as Le Terrible.
1903 Paris–Roubaix
The 1903 Paris–Roubaix, on 11 April, was decided when Aucouturier organised a chase to bring back a group which had escaped on the côte de St-Germain. Aucouturier took up the pursuit on the way to PontoisePontoise
Pontoise is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise.-Administration:...
, taking with him Louis Trousselier and others. They caught the fugitives and a new group formed on the côte d'Ennery. Aucouturier, recovered from typhoid the previous year, tested the group repeatedly before Doullens
Doullens
Doullens is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.Its inhabitants are called Doullennais and Doullennaises.-Geography:...
. He entered the velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
at Roubaix
Roubaix
Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:...
alongside Claude Chapperon, 50 metres ahead of the others.
Tradition had it that riders changed bikes at the entrance to the stadium, taking specialist track bikes to ride the three laps of the velodrome to the finish. Bikes waited for all the remaining riders and Chapperon mistakenly took Trousselier's machine. In the time it took him to realise his error and change to his own bicycle, Aucouturier passed him and took a 100m lead to win.
1903 Tour de France
Aucouturier came to the Tour de France having won Paris–Roubaix. Speculation was that he and another prominent rider, Maurice GarinMaurice Garin
Maurice-Francois Garin was a road bicycle racer best known for winning the inaugural Tour de France in 1903, and for being stripped of his title in the second Tour in 1904 along with eight others, for cheating.-Origins:Garin was born the son of Maurice Clément Garin and Maria Teresa...
, would fight out the race between them. The paper published their picture and that of the German, Joseph Fischer
Josef Fischer (cyclist)
Josef Fischer was a German road bicycle racer. He is best known for winning the first edition of Paris–Roubaix in 1896 and Bordeaux–Paris in 1900.- Major achievements :189618991900...
on its front page on 1 July 1903. But Aucouturier abandoned after La Palisse, 320 km into the first stage, with stomach cramp said to be brought on by drinking too much. Nobody now knows if this means what it says, perhaps from unclean water, or if referred to drinking wine and sniffing ether
Ether
Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
, both aimed at numbing the pain of long days riding on bad roads with little food. The previous year he had had typhoid fever and he may not have recovered.
The historian Pierre Chany
Pierre Chany
Pierre Chany was a French cycling journalist. He covered the Tour de France 49 times and was for a long time the main cycling writer for the daily newspaper, L'Équipe.- Biography :...
, wrote:
The big athlete in his blue and red jersey collapsed on a chair. He was crying and tears ran down the pink creases in his dusty face.
"I've never felt like this before. My will is strong [La tête est bonne], my legs are good, but I'm not making progress. My stomach is in a bad state."
"Your stomach?", asked Géo Lefèvre.
"Yes. It's finished, finished", Aucouturier replied.
"Allons! Allons! Eat and you'll feel better", Géo Lefèvre said.
He ate, he stood up, clenched his hands and slowly took hold of his machine. Poor beaten champion. The robust Hippolyte brought to ground by stomach pain, abandoned at La Palisse, 135km from the finish.
Géo Lefèvre insisted the cause was food poisoning.
La Palisse, 2 July. Aucouturier has abandoned the race at La Palisse, telling me he could no longer continue the battle, that he had abominable stomach cramp caused by bad food. I followed Garin and Pagie from NeversNeversNevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
station to La Palisse, in other words all through the night... I saw Aucouturier demoralised at MoulinsMoulins, AllierMoulins is a commune in central France, capital of the Allier department.Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin the Anne de Beaujeu Museum.-History:...
and he dropped out at La Palisse and he is now, it seems, in bed in his hotel, in a feverish sleep. The poor man has been beaten by his stomach... Lack of care has killed him. I'd foreseen Aucouturier's weakening [effondrement], but I thought it would have happened a lot further on. Brave Aucouturier! Your dream of glory has flown. Prepare your revenge!
The rules allowed a rider who dropped out to start again next morning, but to compete for daily victories and not for the overall result. Aucouturier won the second stage, 374 km from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
in 14h 28m, and the following stage from Marseille to Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, 423 km in 13h 19m. He left the race for good the following day, racing to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, when he crashed in Moissac
Moissac
Moissac is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is famous world-wide mostly for the artistic heritage handed down by the ancient Saint-Pierre Abbey.-History:...
.
Aucouturier reached Paris, but not by bike. Lefèvre met him there:
His crash... while not serious, troubles him a lot. He has one leg wrapped in a thick bandage and the poor boy limps markedly. His unhappiness at not having been able to ride the race right to the end, to have abandoned it on the first stage, is without limit. A victory in the first Tour de France wouldn't have crowned his sporting career, because he still has long years in front of him, but it would have been his greatest glory. Console yourself, brave Aucouturier. Perhaps you will win the second Tour de France?
1904 Paris–Roubaix
The Paris–Roubaix of 1904 was the first to be run without pacers. Until then, riders had been sheltered by tandems of two and three riders. Aucouturier, rider number 15, was in the leading group when the race reached the first signing-in point at Pontoise. The second check was at BeauvaisBeauvais
Beauvais is a city approximately by highway north of central Paris, in the northern French region of Picardie. It currently has a population of over 60,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, 49 km later. Race historian Pascal Sergent said:
The crowd had started gathering outside the Café Potard, site of the control, from 6am. The leading group had been reduced to nine: Acouturier, Samson, Lepoutre, Chapperon, Wattelier, Pagie and Pothier. The nine riders came into town and the moment they saw the Café Potard, a sprint broke out. Machines were thrown to the ground. Everyone rushed to be first to sign the register and to get away quickly. Tussles broke out over the pen-holder which sometimes disappeared, more or less intentionally, during the torment.
Aucouturier was alone in the lead by early afternoon. Behind him in the rain, César Garin was catching him little by little until at Lens
Lens, Pas-de-Calais
Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...
there was less than a minute between them. The two came together with 45 km to go. Garin fell when a car carrying journalists from La Vie au Grand Air ran into him. But the two were still together at Roubaix and raced on to the track to the cheers of a scant crowd. They had ridden so fast that only 20 people had arrived in time and judges from L'Auto arrived only just before the finish. Until their arrival, there had been no judge at the finish line. Aucouturier and Garin slowed to a tactical crawl, each watching the other. Then Aucouturier sprinted away to win by two lengths.
1904 Tour de France
Aucouturier was one of the four leading riders disqualified at the end in a race so chaotic that Henri Desgrange swore he would never run another. The Tour had been bedevilled by protesters, some of who attacked riders, and by trees felled across the road. So frequent were accusations of cheating among riders, including claims that some had taken a train, that on 30 November 1904 the Union Vélocipédique de France disqualified Maurice Garin, Lucien Pothier, César Garin and Aucouturier, who had taken the first four places. Victory went to Henri CornetHenri Cornet
Henri Jardry called Henri Cornet was a French cyclist who won the 1904 Tour de France. He is its youngest winner, just short of his 20th birthday.-Background:...
, the youngest rider to win.
1905 Tour de France
In 1905 he won the stage from Nancy to BesançonBesançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
(299 km in 10h 11m), from Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
to Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
(348 km in 13h 19m), and Bordeaux to La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
(247 km in 8h 25m). He came second overall.
Palmarès
1901- 1st, Brussels–Roubaix
- 2nd, Bordeaux–Paris
- 3rd, Paris–Brest–Paris
1903
- 1st, Paris–Roubaix
- 1st, Bordeaux–Paris
- Tour de France1903 Tour de FranceThe 1903 Tour de France was the first Tour de France, a cycling race set up and sponsored by the newspaper , ancestor of the current daily, . It ran from 1 July to 19 July in six stages over , and was won by Maurice Garin....
- 1st, Stage 2, Marseille
- 1st, Stage 3, Toulouse
- 2nd, Paris–Valenciennes
1904
- 1st, Paris–Roubaix
1905
- 1st, Bordeaux–Paris
- 2nd, Overall, Tour de France1905 Tour de FranceThe 1905 Tour de France was the third Tour de France, held from 9 July to 30 July 1905, organized by the newspaper L'Auto. Following the disqualifications after the 1904 Tour de France, there were changes in the rules, the most important one being the general classification not made by time but by...
- 1st, Stage 2, Besançon
- 1st, Stage 4, Toulon
- 1st, Stage 8, La Rochelle
- 3rd, Stage 11, Paris