Jean Robic

Jean Robic (; 10 June 1921 – 6 October 1980) was a French road racing cyclist who won the 1947 Tour de France. Robic was a professional cyclist from 1943 to 1961. His diminutive stature (1.61m, 60 kg) and appearance "I was born in the Ardennes by mistake", Robic always insisted

Early career The outbreak of war in 1939 and then the German invasion of 1940 made cycle-racing possible but difficult in France. Robic rode cyclo-cross races and as many of the big road races that were still run. He turned professional in 1943.

Tour de France The Tour de France restarted after the war and Robic — still largely unknown — was selected for the regional team from north-west France, which meant largely from Brittany.

The first stage, from Paris to Lille was won by Ferdinand Kübler of Switzerland. Robic came ninth at 2m 9s. Robic won the stage on the fourth day, from Luxembourg to Strasbourg, then rode well through the Alps. René de Latour said:

And yet the journalists—I among them—still didn't think Robic a Tour winner. We thought so more than ever when, the next day, the route included the great Galibier, and Robic was out of the picture, with the Franco-Italian Camellini unapproachable up there in the snows. It seemed that Robic could not ride well two days running—and consistency is the biggest quality needed in the Tour. The leader was Pierre Brambilla and tradition had it that the race leader was left unchallenged to win the Tour when it reached Paris. Robic, however, attacked at half-distance on the two-kilometre hill to the village of Bonsecours, outside Rouen. Another Frenchman, Édouard Fachleitner, went with him. So too did Brambilla, only to become sick from the effort. The main field was uncertain what to do and unfavourable to Brambilla so soon after the war because he was riding for a team of Italians living in France. It was then, Fachleitner said, that Robic told him:

That seemed straightforward (C'était honnête) to Fachleitner, "So I rode. In my head I was thinking: 'If he cracks or if he crashes, it'll be me who wins the Tour...' But he didn't crack and he didn't crash. He paid the 100,000 francs, not to me but to the French national team [for which Fachleitner was riding], which was the rule. Which brought me another outburst from René Vietto. 'You poor fool [fada],' he said to me, 'you should have asked for a lot more! What's this going to be worth once we've shared it between us?' Right up until his death, he kept saying to me 'You didn't ask enough.'"

Robic, who until then had never led the race, reached the finish at the Parc des Princes 13 minutes ahead of Brambilla. The stage was so fast that it finished an hour ahead of schedule. Legend has it that Brambilla buried his bike in his garden in disgust. More certain is that Robic gave his only yellow jersey to the Sainte-Anne-d'Auray basilica, where it still is, in thanks to Anne, patron saint of Bretons.

The twist to Robic's victory is that he wasn't the fastest rider in the race. Fachleitner had taken 3m 32s less to complete the Tour. and the Tour de Haute-Savoie and Polymultipliée in 1952.

Personality and appearance

Robic was one of the shortest riders; 1m 61 in 1947 and 1m 59 in 1959. He weighed 60 kg.

Robic won few friends with his bad language and quick temper. He was at war with everyone, said the journalist Jacques Augendre.

Robic said doping had always existed but that the most he had taken was a bottle of coffee mixed with "calva"—(Calvados).

Personal life In 1943 Robic met Raymonde Cornic, whose father owned the Rendez-vous des Bretons bar near the Gare Montparnasse in Paris. and bought his mother a mercery shop there. His family still live in the region and have attended ceremonies in Robic's memory.

At 40, Robic took over the family bar.

Retirement and death

Jock Wadley wrote:Puteaux was where Robic had scored an important cyclo-cross win at the beginning of his main career. Robic's popularity has always been enormous. At his farewell, he was given a great reception. On the course was a very steep hill, which had to be covered 20 times. Robic, at 40, could have been dropped and nobody would have accused him of not trying. But he hung on with a grimace to show how he could suffer to finish his career en beauté. As he crossed the line, he was surrounded by riders less than half his age. — He rode local races and lived from the start money he was offered. He also went back to cyclo-cross, riding throughout the winter. Robic rode his last race in 1967, in the Puteaux suburb of Paris. He was congratulated at the finish by his old rival, Louison Bobet. He is buried in the cemetery at Wissous A room in the town hall in Radenac is a museum in his memory.

Career achievements Major results

1945 National cyclo-cross championship 1947 Critérium International de cyclo-cross Tour de France: Winner stages 4, 7 and 15

1948 À travers Lausanne 1949 Tour de France: Winner stage 11 4th place overall classification 1950 1st World cyclo-cross championship Roma–Napoli–Roma 1952 Bol d'Or des Monédières Chaumeil Polymultipliée Etten-Leur Tour de France: Winner stage 15 5th place overall classification 1953 Tour de France: Winner stage 11

Grand Tour results timeline