Octave Lapize was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist

Track cycling

Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using track bicycles....

.

Most famous for winning the 1910

1910 Tour de France

The 1910 Tour de France was the 8th Tour de France, taking place 3 July to 31 July 1910. 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 candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a...

 Tour de France

Tour de France

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

 and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 kilometres

The men's 100 kilometres was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the longest of the individual event distances. The time limit for the race was 3 hours and 15 minutes. A challenge cup was presented by the Prince of Wales to the...

 in the men's 100 kilometres, he was a three-time winner of one-day classics, Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Brussels.

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

François Faber

François Faber was a Luxembourgian/French racing cyclist. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands...

. The following year he went head-to-head with Alcyon

Alcyon

The Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1890 and 1957.- Origins :Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, Seine. In 1902, this was complemented by motorcycle production and in 1906, the first cars...

 teammate Faber who led comfortably until colliding with a dog at the foot of the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

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

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. In a total of six starts in the Tour De France between 1909 and 1914, this victory was the only one he finished.

He is noted for looking at some Tour officials on the climb of the Col du Tourmalet

Col du Tourmalet

Col du Tourmalet is the highest road in the central Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of the way up. Luz-Saint-Sauveur is at the bottom of the western side.Tourmalet is also a...

 in the 1910 Tour de France

1910 Tour de France

The 1910 Tour de France was the 8th Tour de France, taking place 3 July to 31 July 1910. 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 candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a...

 and yelling, "Vous êtes des assassins! Oui, des assassins!' (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 for 'You are murderers! Yes, murderers!')" The stage in question was 326 kilometers in length, featured 7 brutal climbs, and was raced on unsealed roads with single-gear bicycles.

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

Flirey

Flirey is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department*Parc naturel régional de Lorraine...

, Meurthe-et-Moselle

Meurthe-et-Moselle

Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...

 on 14 July 1917. Severely injured, he died in a hospital in Toul.

Palmares

1908

Summer Olympics Men's 100 kilometres

Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 100 kilometres

The men's 100 kilometres was one of seven track cycling events on the Cycling at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. Its distance was the longest of the individual event distances. The time limit for the race was 3 hours and 15 minutes. A challenge cup was presented by the Prince of Wales to the...

 - Bronze Medal

1909

Paris–Roubaix, 1st Place

1910

Tour de France

1910 Tour de France

The 1910 Tour de France was the 8th Tour de France, taking place 3 July to 31 July 1910. 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 candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a...

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

Paris–Roubaix, 1st Place

1911

Paris–Roubaix, 1st Place

Paris–Tours, 1st Place

Paris–Brussels, 1st Place

 French National Championships, 1st Place

1912

Tour de France

1912 Tour de France

The 1912 Tour de France was the 10th anniversary of the Tour de France. It consisted of 15 stages for a total of . The Tour took place from 30 June to 28 July 1912. The riders rode at an average speed of 27.763 km/h. After 4 stage wins during the Tour of Belgium, the Alcyon team hired Odile...

 - Stage 6 win

Paris–Brussels, 1st Place

 French National Championships, 1st Place

1913

Paris–Brussels, 1st Place

 French National Championships, 1st Place

1914

Tour de France

1914 Tour de France

The 1914 Tour de France was the 12th Tour de France, taking place June 28 to July 26, 1914. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . It was won by the Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys....

 - Stage 8 win

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline

	1909	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914
Giro Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE
Stages won	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tour Tour de France The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...	DNF-4 1909 Tour de France The 1909 Tour de France was the seventh Tour de France, taking place from 5 July to 1 August 1909. It consisted of 14 stages over , ridden at an average 28.658 km/h. The results were computed by points accorded finishing positions on each stage, the rider with fewest points at the end of the...	1 1910 Tour de France The 1910 Tour de France was the 8th Tour de France, taking place 3 July to 31 July 1910. 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 candidates for the victory were 1909 winner François Faber, a...	DNF-4 1911 Tour de France The 1911 Tour de France was the 9th Tour de France, taking place from 2 to 30 July 1911. It was composed of 15 stages over , ridden at an average speed of 27.322 km/h. The results were computed by giving each rider points according to his finishing position on each stage, and the rider with...	DNF-9 1912 Tour de France The 1912 Tour de France was the 10th anniversary of the Tour de France. It consisted of 15 stages for a total of . The Tour took place from 30 June to 28 July 1912. The riders rode at an average speed of 27.763 km/h. After 4 stage wins during the Tour of Belgium, the Alcyon team hired Odile...	DNF-3 1913 Tour de France The 1913 Tour de France was the 11th Tour de France, taking place June 29 to July 27, 1913. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . The competition was won by the Belgian Philippe Thys, after in the crucial sixth stage Eugène Christophe broke his bicycle and lost several...	DNF-10 1914 Tour de France The 1914 Tour de France was the 12th Tour de France, taking place June 28 to July 26, 1914. The total distance was and the average speed of the riders was . It was won by the Belgian cyclist Philippe Thys....
Stages won	0	4	0	1	0	1
Vuelta Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stages won