Jacques Boyer
Encyclopedia
Jonathan "Jacques" or "Jock" Boyer (October 8, 1955, Utah
, USA) was a professional bicycle
racer who, in 1981, was the first American to participate in the Tour de France
. Boyer grew up in Monterey, California
and was a member of the Velo Club Monterey there.
Boyer raced as an amateur in Europe from 1973, after joining the ACBB club in the Paris
ian suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt
. The club frequently provided riders for the Peugeot
professional team, which had had English-speaking riders since the Briton, Tom Simpson
, led it in the 1960s. Boyer, however, turned professional in 1977 for the smaller Lejeune-BP team, sponsored by a Parisian cycle company and an international oil giant. He first competed in the Tour in 1981, when the organiser, Félix Lévitan
, encouraged him to wear not his team jersey but a Stars and Stripes design which suggested that he was the American national champion. Many have said that Lévitan, who looked after the financial aspects of the race while his colleague Jacques Goddet
managed the sporting side, saw Boyer as a way to attract further American interest and money.
Boyer rode the Tour de France five times and finished 12th in 1983 (French Jean de Gribaldy
Sem team with Sean Kelly
). He was unusual in refusing to eat meat and became well known for the large quantities of nuts and fruit that he brought to the race. The French team manager, Cyrille Guimard
, described Boyer as "un marginal", a description hard to translate but which suggests an outsider, almost a hippie.
The British journalist Dennis Donovan, working for the London magazine Cycling
remarked on Boyer's intense religious beliefs. In the 1981 Tour, he said, English-speaking journalists felt sorry for him as a colleague in a French-speaking world and offered him a collection of girlie magazines. Boyer, said Donovan, declined politely and said he preferred to read his Bible.
Boyer also competed in and won the 1980 Coors Classic
in the USA, and the 1985 Race Across America
completing the 3,120 miles in nine days, two hours, and six minutes. His career included 87 amateur victories and 49 professional ones.
Boyer was inducted into the United States Cycling Hall of Fame in 1998.
In November, 2002, Boyer was convicted of lewd behavior with a minor. He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and 5 years probation. In January, 2006, after successful completion of his probation conditions, his probation officer recommended that Boyer be released from probation http://www.velonews.com/article/9354.
In 2006, Boyer participated in the Race Across America
again, this time in the new "Solo Enduro" category which requires all participants to use 40 hours of rest (stopping) during the race at official stations along the course. Early in the race Boyer showed he was using a different strategy from other favorites. While the two ahead of him were using minimal rests (30 minutes and 2½ hours after the first 36 hours of racing), Boyer had already used 5½ hour of off-bike time. In the end, all Enduro contenders used their required 40 hours' off-bike time well before the finish, where Boyer prevailed in the Enduro division http://stats.raceacrossamerica.org/2006/reports/overview.html.
Since 2007 Boyer has lived much of the year in Rwanda where, along with Kimberly Coats, he runs Team Rwanda, a cycling team for Rwandan cyclists, and assists with Project Rwanda, a relief agency focused on providing bicycles and other aid to people in Rwanda. For three months in mid 2010, former Team BMC Racing professional and 2008 AMGEN Tour of California King of the Mountains winner Scott Nydam and multiple national U.S. cyclo-cross champion Clark Natwick
assisted Boyer with training, logistics and testing of the Rwandan team. Adrien Niyonshuti
has earned a spot in the 2012 London Summer Olympics cross-country mountain bike race for Rwanda.
In 2009 Boyer completed a motorcycle journey from South Africa to Rwanda on a BMW motorcycle.
* 1979: GRAB-ON
* 1980: PUCH-SEM
* 1981: RENAULT-ELF
* 1981: YOPLAIT
* 1982, 1983: SEM-FRANCE LE LOIRE
* 1984: SKIL-REYDEL
* 1985, 1986, 1987: 7-Eleven Cycling Team
* 1979 2nd, Coors Classic
.
* 1980 1st, Coors Classic
.
* 1982 2nd, Druivenkoers-Overijse (Race of the Grape) and Prix d'Haaltert
.
* 1984 1st, 6th stage of the Tour de Suisse
.
* 1985 1st, the Race Across America
(RAAM), Solo
* 2006 1st, the Race Across America
(RAAM), Enduro Solo
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, USA) was a professional bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
racer who, in 1981, was the first American to participate in 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...
. Boyer grew up in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
and was a member of the Velo Club Monterey there.
Boyer raced as an amateur in Europe from 1973, after joining the ACBB club 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...
ian suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt
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....
. The club frequently provided riders for the Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
professional team, which had had English-speaking riders since the Briton, Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson
Tom Simpson was the most successful English road racing cyclist of the post-war years. He infamously died of exhaustion on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 13th stage of the Tour de France in 1967...
, led it in the 1960s. Boyer, however, turned professional in 1977 for the smaller Lejeune-BP team, sponsored by a Parisian cycle company and an international oil giant. He first competed in the Tour in 1981, when the organiser, Félix Lévitan
Félix Lévitan
Félix Lévitan was the third organiser of the Tour de France, a role he shared for much of the time with Jacques Goddet...
, encouraged him to wear not his team jersey but a Stars and Stripes design which suggested that he was the American national champion. Many have said that Lévitan, who looked after the financial aspects of the race while his colleague Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986....
managed the sporting side, saw Boyer as a way to attract further American interest and money.
Boyer rode the Tour de France five times and finished 12th in 1983 (French Jean de Gribaldy
Jean de Gribaldy
Jean de Gribaldy was a French road cyclist and directeur sportif.-Biography:Born in Besançon, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif in the mid-1960s .Called le Vicomte , he discovered Sean Kelly, Joaquim Agostinho...
Sem team with Sean Kelly
Seán Kelly (cyclist)
John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classics riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193...
). He was unusual in refusing to eat meat and became well known for the large quantities of nuts and fruit that he brought to the race. The French team manager, Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard
Cyrille Guimard is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and then a television commentator...
, described Boyer as "un marginal", a description hard to translate but which suggests an outsider, almost a hippie.
The British journalist Dennis Donovan, working for the London magazine Cycling
Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly is a British cycling magazine. It is published by IPC Media and is devoted to the sport and past-time of cycling. It is affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".-History:...
remarked on Boyer's intense religious beliefs. In the 1981 Tour, he said, English-speaking journalists felt sorry for him as a colleague in a French-speaking world and offered him a collection of girlie magazines. Boyer, said Donovan, declined politely and said he preferred to read his Bible.
Boyer also competed in and won the 1980 Coors Classic
Coors Classic
The Coors International Bicycle Classic was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor, the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1975...
in the USA, and the 1985 Race Across America
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race....
completing the 3,120 miles in nine days, two hours, and six minutes. His career included 87 amateur victories and 49 professional ones.
Boyer was inducted into the United States Cycling Hall of Fame in 1998.
In November, 2002, Boyer was convicted of lewd behavior with a minor. He was sentenced to 1 year in jail and 5 years probation. In January, 2006, after successful completion of his probation conditions, his probation officer recommended that Boyer be released from probation http://www.velonews.com/article/9354.
In 2006, Boyer participated in the Race Across America
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race....
again, this time in the new "Solo Enduro" category which requires all participants to use 40 hours of rest (stopping) during the race at official stations along the course. Early in the race Boyer showed he was using a different strategy from other favorites. While the two ahead of him were using minimal rests (30 minutes and 2½ hours after the first 36 hours of racing), Boyer had already used 5½ hour of off-bike time. In the end, all Enduro contenders used their required 40 hours' off-bike time well before the finish, where Boyer prevailed in the Enduro division http://stats.raceacrossamerica.org/2006/reports/overview.html.
Since 2007 Boyer has lived much of the year in Rwanda where, along with Kimberly Coats, he runs Team Rwanda, a cycling team for Rwandan cyclists, and assists with Project Rwanda, a relief agency focused on providing bicycles and other aid to people in Rwanda. For three months in mid 2010, former Team BMC Racing professional and 2008 AMGEN Tour of California King of the Mountains winner Scott Nydam and multiple national U.S. cyclo-cross champion Clark Natwick
Clark Natwick
- Cyclo cross champion :Clark Natwick is a former cyclocross cyclist from the United States. Natwick was the U.S. senior national cyclocross champion in 1981, 1986 and 1987. He is also the namesake for the Grand Prix Clark Natwick cyclocross race held each November in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park...
assisted Boyer with training, logistics and testing of the Rwandan team. Adrien Niyonshuti
Adrien Niyonshuti
Adrien Niyonshuti, born in Eastern Province, Rwanda on January 2, 1987, is a professional bicycle racer for South African UCI Continental team MTN Energade. Although he survived, six of Niyonshuti's brothers were killed in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994...
has earned a spot in the 2012 London Summer Olympics cross-country mountain bike race for Rwanda.
In 2009 Boyer completed a motorcycle journey from South Africa to Rwanda on a BMW motorcycle.
Pro Teams
* 1977 to 1978: LEJEUNE-BP* 1979: GRAB-ON
* 1980: PUCH-SEM
* 1981: RENAULT-ELF
* 1981: YOPLAIT
* 1982, 1983: SEM-FRANCE LE LOIRE
* 1984: SKIL-REYDEL
* 1985, 1986, 1987: 7-Eleven Cycling Team
7-Eleven Cycling Team
The 7-Eleven Cycling Team, later the Motorola Cycling Team, was a professional cycling team founded in the U.S. in 1981 by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist...
Major results
* 1977 3rd, Chateauroux and Auzances.* 1979 2nd, Coors Classic
Coors Classic
The Coors International Bicycle Classic was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor, the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1975...
.
* 1980 1st, Coors Classic
Coors Classic
The Coors International Bicycle Classic was a stage race sponsored by the Coors Brewing Company. Coors was the race's second sponsor, the first, Celestial Seasonings, named the race after its premium tea Red Zinger, which began in 1975...
.
* 1982 2nd, Druivenkoers-Overijse (Race of the Grape) and Prix d'Haaltert
Haaltert
Haaltert is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the towns of Denderhoutem, Haaltert proper, Heldergem and Kerksken. On January 1, 2006 Haaltert had a total population of 17,255. The total area is 30.30 km² which gives...
.
* 1984 1st, 6th stage of the Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
.
* 1985 1st, the Race Across America
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race....
(RAAM), Solo
* 2006 1st, the Race Across America
Race Across America
The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra marathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race....
(RAAM), Enduro Solo