Stories posted under Pinkbike Community blogs are not edited, vetted, or approved by the Pinkbike editorial team. These are stories from Pinkbike users.
If a blog post is offensive or violates the Terms of Services, please report the blog to Community moderators.
The Legend of Eugene Christophe
Eugene Christophe was a French cyclist born on 22nd January 1885 in Paris.
Nicknamed "le vieux gaulois" ("the old Gaul").
He won the Milan-San Remo in 1910 with a lead of several hours, finishing the race half frozen after riding in 30cm of snow.
His fame increased in the 1930 Tour de France.
While leading the race he was hit by a car at the top of the "col du Tourmalet", the impact snapping his fork. After walking for 9 miles, he found a blacksmith and repaired his fork himself in order to resume the race.
In 1919 he became the first racer ever to wear the yellow jersey.
He is also viewed as the inventor of the toe clip.
In 1925, he sold his invention to the company Poutrait Morin-now known as Zefal.
Eugene Christophe was a Director of Poutrait Morin until his death in 1970.
His mode of transport when attending board meetings, in Aubervilliers (near Paris) was always his bicycle.
Since then Zefal has never stopped selling these legendary clips and straps.
www.zefal.com
(Another bit of interesting info from the Seadevil).
Author Info:
Member since Oct 19, 2009
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
unbound.com/books/ghosts-on-the-road
Hard to believe they even agreed to ride those Tours... now to find some Christophe clips