Grand Prix des Nations
Encyclopedia
The Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial
(against the clock) for professional racing cyclists. Held annually in France
, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship of the world and as a Classic cycle race
. The race was the idea of a Paris
ian newspaper editor called Gaston Bénac. The beret-wearing sports editor was looking for a race to make a name for Paris-Soir
, the biggest French evening paper before the war.
He and his colleague Albert Baker d'Isy
had been inspired by the world road race championship in Copenhagen
, Denmark
, in 1931. That, unusually, had been run as a time trial, and the two were impressed and also, they said, aware that a time-trial cost less to organise than a conventional road race. Baker d'Isy decided the name Grand Prix des Nations.
There is a dispute over who devised the first route. The American-French writer René de Latour
said in the UK magazine Sporting Cyclist
that he did; Baker d'Isy says that he did. The route started near the Versailles
château and ran round a triangle through Rambouillet
, Maulette
, Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse
, Versailles and Boulogne
to finish on the Vélodrome Buffalo
where the founder of the Tour de France
, Henri Desgrange
, had become the world's first hour record
holder in 1893. There were three hills, one in the first 100 km, plenty of cobbles, and the last 40 km went through the woods of the Vallée de Chevreuse
, a popular area for bike riders. The distance was 142 km.
The introduction of an official time trial champion at the UCI Road World Championships in 1994 and an Olympic
individual time trial championship (1996) reduced its importance. With the introduction of the UCI ProTour
in 2005, the event was removed from the calendar.
in the Paris
area, then near Cannes
on the French Riviera
; for five years from 1993, it was held at the Madine Lake in the Meuse
; from 1998, it has taken place in Seine-Maritime
département, two circuits of 35 km around Dieppe
.
The roll of honour includes cycling's greatest time trialist
s, but the event's history was dominated by two French
men: Jacques Anquetil
won nine times, Bernard Hinault
five.
British
amateur woman Beryl Burton
competed in 1967, finishing only minutes behind her male rivals.
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
(against the clock) for professional racing cyclists. Held annually in France
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...
, it was instituted in 1932 and often regarded as the unofficial time trial championship of the world and as a Classic cycle race
Classic cycle races
The classic cycle races are one-day professional cycling road races in the international calendar. Most of the events, all run in western Europe, have been fixtures on the professional calendar for decades and the oldest ones date back to the 19th Century. They are normally held at roughly the same...
. The race was the idea of a 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...
ian newspaper editor called Gaston Bénac. The beret-wearing sports editor was looking for a race to make a name for Paris-Soir
Paris-Soir
Paris-Soir was a large-circulation daily newspaper in Paris, France from 1923-1944.Its first issue came out in 4 October 1923. After June 11, 1940, the same publisher, Jean Prouvost, continued its publication in Vichy France: Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Marseille, and Vichy while in occupied Paris, it...
, the biggest French evening paper before the war.
He and his colleague Albert Baker d'Isy
Albert Baker d'Isy
Albert Baker d'Isy was a French cycling journalist and author and the founder of the Grand Prix des Nations international time-trial. He is considered, in the French expression, "one of the most beautiful pens" of sports writing...
had been inspired by the world road race championship in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, in 1931. That, unusually, had been run as a time trial, and the two were impressed and also, they said, aware that a time-trial cost less to organise than a conventional road race. Baker d'Isy decided the name Grand Prix des Nations.
There is a dispute over who devised the first route. The American-French writer René de Latour
René de Latour
René de Latour was a Franco-American sports journalist, race director of the Tour de l'Avenir cycle race, and correspondent of the British magazine, Sporting Cyclist, to which he contributed to 120 of the 131 issues.-Background:René de Latour was born in 42nd Street, New York...
said in the UK magazine Sporting Cyclist
Sporting Cyclist
Sporting Cyclist was a British cycling A4-sized magazine originally called Coureur. It began in 1957 and closed after 131 issues in October 1968.-Coureur:...
that he did; Baker d'Isy says that he did. The route started near the Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
château and ran round a triangle through Rambouillet
Rambouillet
Rambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris southwest from the center...
, Maulette
Maulette
Maulette is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
, Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse
Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse
Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is the southernmost station and endpoint of the RER B line.-References:**...
, Versailles and Boulogne
Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sub-prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt....
to finish on the Vélodrome Buffalo
Vélodrome Buffalo
The Vélodrome Buffalo and Stade Buffalo were cycling tracks in Paris. The first existed from 1893 until World War I, the second from 1922 until 1957....
where the founder of the 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...
, 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...
, had become the world's first hour record
Hour record
The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. There are several records. The most famous is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale . It is one of the most prestigious in cycling...
holder in 1893. There were three hills, one in the first 100 km, plenty of cobbles, and the last 40 km went through the woods of the Vallée de Chevreuse
Vallée de Chevreuse
Vallée de Chevreuse is the name given to the valley of the Yvette River, flowing though the Yvelines and Essonne departments....
, a popular area for bike riders. The distance was 142 km.
The introduction of an official time trial champion at the UCI Road World Championships in 1994 and an Olympic
Cycling at the Summer Olympics
Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics.-Track cycling, Men:-Track cycling, Women:-Road bicycle racing, Men:-Road bicycle racing, Women:...
individual time trial championship (1996) reduced its importance. With the introduction of the UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
in 2005, the event was removed from the calendar.
History
Race distances have varied. Until 1955, it was approximately 140 km; six years later, the distance was100km; from 1965 onwards the distance rarely exceeded 90 km, with many events run of around 75 km. The events were in the Vallée de ChevreuseVallée de Chevreuse
Vallée de Chevreuse is the name given to the valley of the Yvette River, flowing though the Yvelines and Essonne departments....
in the 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...
area, then near Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
; for five years from 1993, it was held at the Madine Lake in the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
; from 1998, it has taken place in Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
département, two circuits of 35 km around Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
.
The roll of honour includes cycling's greatest time trialist
Time trialist
A time trialist is a road bicycle racer who can maintain high speeds for long periods of time, to maximize performance during individual or team time trials...
s, but the event's history was dominated by two 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...
men: Jacques Anquetil
Jacques Anquetil
Jacques Anquetil was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964...
won nine times, Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault is a former French cyclist known for five victories in the Tour de France. He is one of only five cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours, and the only cyclist to have won each more than once. He won the Tour de France in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985...
five.
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
amateur woman Beryl Burton
Beryl Burton
Beryl Burton, MBE OBE was an English racing cyclist and one of Britain's greatest ever athletes.She dominated women’s cycle racing in the UK, winning more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles, and setting numerous national records...
competed in 1967, finishing only minutes behind her male rivals.