Roger Lapébie
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Roger Lapébie |
| Born |
16 January 1911 Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France |
| Died |
12 October 1996 (aged 85) Pessac, Gironde, France |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1932-1936 | La Française |
| 1937-1939 | Mercier |
| 1947 | Mercier |
| Major wins | |
| |
|
Infobox last updated on 22 May 2008 | |
Roger Lapébie (pronounced: [ʁɔ.ʒe la.pe.bi]; 16 January 1911 – 12 October 1996) was a French racing cyclist who won the 1937 Tour de France. In addition, Lapébie won the 1934 and 1937 editions of the Critérium National. He was born at Bayonne, Aquitaine, and died in Pessac.
1937 Tour de France
Lapébie won the 1937 Tour by riding 4,415 kilometers in 138 hours, 58 minutes and 31 seconds. His victory was controversial as he was the first rider to complete the race using a modern derailleur. This gave him the advantage of shifting gears without having to stop, dismount and flip the wheel as was customary of racing bicycles used at the time.[1] Lapébie was also known to accept outside assistance in violation of the rules and was at one point penalized 90 seconds by race commissaires.[2]
The advantages taken by Lapébie angered his Belgian rival, Sylvère Maes who had won the Tour the previous year. Maes had led the race through the Alps and Pyrenees but decided to quit in protest of Lapébie's tactics and derailleur use after the 16th stage to Bordeaux. Lapébie, in second place, took the yellow jersey in the absence of Maes and kept it until Paris. The victory delighted the French but angered the cycling-proud Belgians.
Following Lapébie's victory derailleurs became standard racing equipment in the Tour peloton.
Career achievements
Major results
- 1932
- Tour de France
- Winner stage 12
- 1933
- Circuit du Morbihan
France National road race Championship- Paris-Saint-Etienne
- 1934
- Tour de France
- Winner stages 3, 4, 12, 14 and 15
- 3rd place overall classification
- Critérium International
- Paris–Nice:Winner stage 2 and 5B
- Paris-Saint-Etienne
- Paris-Vichy
- 1935
- Paris - Saint-Etienne
- Paris Routiers, Six Days
- Paris, Six Days
- 1937
- Critérium International
- Paris–Nice
- Tour de France
Winner overall classification- Winner stages 9, 17C, 18A
- 1938
- Paris - Sedan
- 1939
- 1st stage Paris - Nice
Grand Tour results timeline
| 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE | DNE |
| Stages won | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mountains classification | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour | 23 | 29 | 3 | DNF-12 | DNE | 1 |
| Stages won | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 3 |
| Mountains classification | NR | NR | NR | NR | — | NR |
| Vuelta | N/A | N/A | N/A | DNE | DNE | N/A |
| Stages won | — | — | ||||
| Mountains classification | — | — |
| 1 | Winner |
| 2–3 | Top three-finish |
| 4–10 | Top ten-finish |
| 11– | Other finish |
| DNE | Did Not Enter |
| DNF-x | Did Not Finish (retired on stage x) |
| DNS-x | Did Not Start (no started on stage x) |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| N/A | Race/classification not held |
| NR | Not Ranked in this classification |
References
- ↑ History of the Tour de France: 1920–1939 - Les Forcats de la Route by Mitch Mueller
- ↑ The Official Tour de France Centennial 1903-2003, pg. 124
External links
- Roger Lapébie profile at Cycling Archives