Pierre Chany
Encyclopedia
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
.
Chany was born in Langeac
, Haute-Loire
, the son of a near-illiterate father who worked in the horse industry. The family then moved to Paris, to run a small bar in the rue Guillaume Bertrand, in the 11th arrondissement
. Chany grew up there and, in his teens, escaped from the city on his bicycle, sometimes riding as far as Melun
. He became interested in cycle-racing after reading L'Auto, Paris-Soir
and Match
and looking at sepia pictures of riders such as André Leducq
. He rode several races, including the Premier Pas Dunlop event which in other years showed the talent of young riders such as Louison Bobet
and Raphaël Géminiani
. In Chanaleilles, he won a cycle and a running race on the same day, winning two packets of Gauloises
cigarettes. After that he joined the CV des Marchés club in Paris.
He raced for five years and then, in 1942 when he was 20, went into hiding rather than be sent to Germany
as a worker.
He was arrested and jailed first at Puy-en-Velay and then Riom. He escaped - on his birthday - from a train taking him to Germany. He joined a branch of the Resistance
, the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans, then joined an Algerian regiment. He was wounded three times and awarded the Croix de Guerre
.
The war ended his aspirations as a cyclist and he turned to sports reporting, having briefly tried the transport business in buying two army lorries with a friend, Jacques Michelon. Encourage by another friend, Stanilas Gara, he wrote his first pieces, in 1946, for an agency which sold articles to La Marseillaise among others. It was in La Marseillaise that his first writing appeared. He then took a job with Front National, a Resistance publication edited by Jacques Debu-Bridel. He was to replace Albert Baker d'Isy (1906–1968), an author and one of France's best-known contemporary writers. Baker d'Isy was already Chany's hero and the move brought them together for the first time and led to a lifelong friendship.
From there Chany moved to Sport and to Ce Soir, publications associated with the Communist Party
but which employed journalists of various opinions. It was when Ce Soir went out of business in 1953 that he joined L'Équipe
. He was head of cycling there from 1953 to 1987.
He also wrote under the pen name Jacques Périllat for 'Miroir Sprint and 'Miroir du Cyclisme'. Chany insisted that L'Équipe's editor, Jacques Goddet
, knew Chany was doing it but chose to say nothing rather than lose his leading cycling writer.
and Jacques Anquetil
and a novel called Une Longue Échappée - A Long Break, a reference to a group of cyclists breaking away from the main field.
Chany received the Prix Martini in 1967 for the best sports article of the year and the Grand Prix of Sporting Literature in 1972 for his work on the Tour de France.
Jacques Anquetil
said of the insight of Chany's journalism: "Don't ask me to tell you what happened during the race. There's someone more competent than I am to do that... Even I will wait until tomorrow's article by Pierre Chany in L'Équipe to find what I did, why and how I did it. What gives him authority is that he is competent, that he knows me and understands me. His version will be better than mine and it will become mine."
The Prix Pierre Chany is now awarded each year to the writer of the season's best cycling work in French. It was established in 1989. It was awarded in 2008 to Philippe Bouvet for an article about the Carrefour de l'Arbre, a section of cobbles in Paris–Roubaix.
A cyclo-sportive race is held in Chany's name in Haute-Loire
him.
on 1 June and then next day went to the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. There he fell ill. He died of pleurisy
on 18 June. By then production of the book was in progress and the author and the publisher, Éditions Cristel, kept the name in homage.
Among those at his funeral was the former professional and radio and television commentator, Robert Chapatte
. It proved his last appearance in public and he died in Paris shortly afterwards.
L'Équipe said of Chany the day after his death: "Our newspaper has lost one of those who made his own history: sports journalism has lost one of its masters."
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...
49 times and was for a long time the main cycling writer for the daily newspaper, L'Équipe
L'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
.
Biography
Langeac
Langeac is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.It is located around 30 km west of Le Puy-en-Velay, and around 100 km south-west of Lyon.-See also:* Communes of the Haute-Loire department...
, Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, the son of a near-illiterate father who worked in the horse industry. The family then moved to Paris, to run a small bar in the rue Guillaume Bertrand, in the 11th arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
. Chany grew up there and, in his teens, escaped from the city on his bicycle, sometimes riding as far as Melun
Melun
Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement...
. He became interested in cycle-racing after reading L'Auto, 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...
and Match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
and looking at sepia pictures of riders such as André Leducq
André Leducq
André Leducq was a French cyclist who won the 1930 and 1932 Tour de France.-Career:...
. He rode several races, including the Premier Pas Dunlop event which in other years showed the talent of young riders such as Louison Bobet
Louison Bobet
Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955...
and Raphaël Géminiani
Raphael Geminiani
Raphaël Géminiani is a French former road bicycle racer. He had six podium finishes in the Grand Tours. He is one of four children of Italian immigrants who moved to Clermont-Ferrand. He worked in a cycle shop and started racing as a boy...
. In Chanaleilles, he won a cycle and a running race on the same day, winning two packets of Gauloises
Gauloises
Gauloises is a brand of cigarette of French manufacture. It is produced by the company Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008.- Cigarette :...
cigarettes. After that he joined the CV des Marchés club in Paris.
He raced for five years and then, in 1942 when he was 20, went into hiding rather than be sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a worker.
He was arrested and jailed first at Puy-en-Velay and then Riom. He escaped - on his birthday - from a train taking him to Germany. He joined a branch of the Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans, then joined an Algerian regiment. He was wounded three times and awarded the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
The war ended his aspirations as a cyclist and he turned to sports reporting, having briefly tried the transport business in buying two army lorries with a friend, Jacques Michelon. Encourage by another friend, Stanilas Gara, he wrote his first pieces, in 1946, for an agency which sold articles to La Marseillaise among others. It was in La Marseillaise that his first writing appeared. He then took a job with Front National, a Resistance publication edited by Jacques Debu-Bridel. He was to replace Albert Baker d'Isy (1906–1968), an author and one of France's best-known contemporary writers. Baker d'Isy was already Chany's hero and the move brought them together for the first time and led to a lifelong friendship.
From there Chany moved to Sport and to Ce Soir, publications associated with the Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
but which employed journalists of various opinions. It was when Ce Soir went out of business in 1953 that he joined L'Équipe
L'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
. He was head of cycling there from 1953 to 1987.
He also wrote under the pen name Jacques Périllat for 'Miroir Sprint and 'Miroir du Cyclisme'. Chany insisted that L'Équipe's editor, Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1986....
, knew Chany was doing it but chose to say nothing rather than lose his leading cycling writer.
Cycling writer
Pierre Chany wrote not only journalistic pieces but numerous other works, including books of cycling history which went to several new editions. He wrote a history of the Tour de France and then of the cycling classics and the world championships. He wrote a history of all cycle racing from the days of the first bicycle to his death in 1996. From 1974, he produced a roundup of each season, called L'Année du Cyclisme. He wrote biographies of Fausto CoppiFausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions...
and 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...
and a novel called Une Longue Échappée - A Long Break, a reference to a group of cyclists breaking away from the main field.
Chany received the Prix Martini in 1967 for the best sports article of the year and the Grand Prix of Sporting Literature in 1972 for his work on the Tour de France.
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...
said of the insight of Chany's journalism: "Don't ask me to tell you what happened during the race. There's someone more competent than I am to do that... Even I will wait until tomorrow's article by Pierre Chany in L'Équipe to find what I did, why and how I did it. What gives him authority is that he is competent, that he knows me and understands me. His version will be better than mine and it will become mine."
The Prix Pierre Chany is now awarded each year to the writer of the season's best cycling work in French. It was established in 1989. It was awarded in 2008 to Philippe Bouvet for an article about the Carrefour de l'Arbre, a section of cobbles in Paris–Roubaix.
A cyclo-sportive race is held in Chany's name in Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire
Haute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
him.
"The Man of 50 Tours"
Pierre Chany sat through a succession of interviews with the writer Christophe Penot, who planned to publish them under the title Pierre Chany, l'homme aux 50 Tours de France. Chany would have followed his 50th Tour in 1996. He attended the Classique des Alpes, won by Laurent JalabertLaurent Jalabert
Laurent Jalabert is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as "Jaja" , he won many one-day and stage races and was ranked number 1 in the 1990s...
on 1 June and then next day went to the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. There he fell ill. He died of pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
on 18 June. By then production of the book was in progress and the author and the publisher, Éditions Cristel, kept the name in homage.
Among those at his funeral was the former professional and radio and television commentator, Robert Chapatte
Robert Chapatte
Robert Chapatte was a former Tour de France rider, the voice of the race on television and radio and the inventor of Chapatte's Law.- Racing career :...
. It proved his last appearance in public and he died in Paris shortly afterwards.
L'Équipe said of Chany the day after his death: "Our newspaper has lost one of those who made his own history: sports journalism has lost one of its masters."