Daily Cycling Facts 25.01.2014

Denis Menchov

Denis Menchov
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

Born on this day 1978 in Oryol, USSR, Denis Menchov began his professional career with Banesto and, almost always a sign of a great-rider-to-be, won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2001. The following year he took the Mountains Classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, thus revealing himself as having the potential to become a Tour de France contender. He moved on to Rabobank in 2004 and became the team's leader following the departure of American Levi Leipheimer, remaining with them for two seasons and serving as their main General Classification rider in the 2005 Tour; but finished in 85th place due to a chest infection contracted during the race. However, he had made a full recovery by the time of the Vuelta a Espana, repaying Rabobank's faith with his first Grand Tour win, the Combination classification and two stages.

Menchov won one stage and finished in 6th position at both  the 2006 Tour and Critérium du Dauphiné, then concentrated on the Vuelta for 2007 where he won the Mountains and Combination classifications, a stage and the General Classification. He was back at the Tour in 2008 and managed 4th overall, having already finished 5th at the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year; then at the Giro the next year and won two stages and the overall General Classification, also coming second in the Points competition and third in the King of the Mountains - a considerable achievement. In 2010, his last year with Rabobank, he came 2nd in the Vuelta a Murcia and Tour di Romandie, then moved his Tour record up another notch by coming 3rd overall. For 2011, he went to Geox-TMC but didn't have such a good year, his only podium finish being 3rd at the Vuelta a Murcia. He rode the Vuelta a Espana again but this time came 5th, his team mate Juan José Cobo winning overall after a fabulous ascent of Alto de l'Angliru in which he made the infamously hard climb - the steepest in any Grand Tour - look easy.

At the end of the 2011 season sponsor Geox suddenly announced that it would be withdrawing from cycling immediately, leaving the team unable to continue. Menchov was fortunate enough to find a space with Katusha and enjoyed a good season with decent showings at the Vuelta a Andalucia and Volta a Cicilista Catalunya, victory at the National Individual Time Trial Championship, four top ten stage finishes (best: eighth, Prologue and Stage 8) followed by 11th place overall at the Tour de France and Stage 20 victory at the Vuelta a Espana. Katusha was denied a World Tour licence at the end of 2012, leaving it looking as though it would compete as a ProContinental team in 2013, but in February 2013 the Court for Arbitration in Sport ruled that the UCI had to grant it the licence. Menchov was, therefore, able to ride the Grand Tours and showed good form at the Volta ao Algarve in February when he finished in fourth place; however, when he suffered a knee injury during the Giro d'Italia, he retired from professional cycling.

On Menchov's birthday in 2013, the British Guardian newspaper published an article on Team Sky rider Chris Froome. In it, Menchov was incorrectly termed "a formidable climber and doper." In fact, he has never failed an anti-doping test and his 2005 Vuelta victory was awarded restrospectively following the disqualification of initial winner Roberto Heras; the newspaper later corrected its mistake.

From The Guardian, 25.01.2013

Rene Pottier, 1879-1907

René Pottier
By all accounts, René Pottier was the finest climber of his day and was the fastest man up the 1,171m Ballon d'Alsace when he entered the Tour in 1905, beating Hippolyte Aucouturier, Louis Trousellier and Henri Cornet to the summit - the first time that a mountain had featured in the race. Despite his climbing ability, he lost his lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after a puncture in his only remaining spare tyre caused by fans who had spread 125kg nails on the road - but fortunately for him, Aucouturier was a gentleman and generously handed over one of his own even though the puncture would have put his closest rival out of the race and so he was able to finish. The next day, he abandoned after a crash.

Pottier entered for a second time in 1906 and won five stages  from the total thirteen. He led the race after Stage 1, having wrested it away from Emile Georget and was once again the first man up Ballon d'Alsace - but this year luck was on his side and he finished the stage a full 48 minutes ahead of the next rider. He remained race leader throughout the remainder of the event.

With the Tour won, he competed in the Bol d'Or 24 hour race at the famous Buffalo Stadium (so named because the first velodrome on the site had once hosted Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling Wild West Show) and completed 925.29km to win. However, life was to take an awful plunge for Pottier - some time early in the next year, he learned that while he'd been away winning the Tour his wife had been unfaithful to him. He entered a deep depression and, on this day in 1907, he hanged himself from the hook upon which he usually hung his bike at their home in Lavallois-Perret. He was 27.

There is a memorial to Pottier, erected by Henri Desgrange, at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.


British mountain biker Dan Atherton was born today in 1982 near Salisbury. Originally interested in BMX, Atherton took up mountain biking when he was 16 and, by 2004, was National 4X Champion. He came 2nd in a round of the World Downhill Championship a year later before adding numerous good results over the next two seasons. In 2008, he became the World 4X Champion. Dan is the older brother of  World Downhill Champions Gee (2010) and Rachel (2008).

Other cyclists born on this day: Brett Aitken (Australia, 1971); Luke Roberts (Australia, 1977); Elisabet "Elsbeth"van Rooy-Wink (Netherlands, 1973); Alan Danson (Great Britain, 1933); Sandra Temporelli (France, 1969); Alayna Burns (Australia , 1980); Harrie Jansen (Netherlands, 1947); Tomokazu Fujino (Japan, 1967).

Daily Cycling Facts 05.06.2013

The eleventh edition of La Flèche Wallonne took place on this day in 1947, the last time that the race was ever held in June and the longest since the Second World War at 276km - modern editions are around 200km. It began for the eighth consecutive year at Mons and ended for the second consecutive year at Liège. The winner was Ernest Sterckx, who would also become the first - and, so far, only - rider to win three editions of the Omloop Het Volk.

Pottier

René Pottier
René Pottier, who was born in Moret-sur-Loing, Seine-et-Marne on this day in 1879, was by all accounts the finest climber of his day. He was the fastest man up the 1,171m Ballon d'Alsace when he entered the Tour in 1905, beating Hippolyte Aucouturier, Louis Trousellier and Henri Cornet to the summit - the first time that a mountain had featured in the race. Despite his climbing ability, he lost his lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after a puncture in his only remaining spare tyre caused by fans who had spread 125kg nails on the road - but fortunately for him, Aucouturier was a gentleman and generously handed over one of his own, even though the puncture would have put his closest rival out of the race. The next day, Pottier abandoned after a crash.

Pottier, nearest the camera

He entered for a second time in 1906, won five stages from the total thirteen and was once again the first man up Ballon d'Alsace - but this year luck was on his side and he finished the stage a full 48 minutes ahead of the next rider. He remained race leader throughout the remainder of the event.

With the Tour won, he competed in the Bol d'Or 24 hour race at the famous Buffalo Stadium (so named because the first velodrome on the site had once hosted Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling Wild West Show) and completed 925.29km to win. However, life was to take an awful plunge for Pottier - some time early in the next year, he learned that while he'd been away winning the Tour his wife had been unfaithful to him. He entered a deep depression and, on the 25th of January in 1907, he hanged himself from the hook upon which he usually hung his bike at their home in Lavallois-Perret. He was 27.

There is a memorial to Pottier, erected by Henri Desgrange, at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.

Jesper Worre
Jesper Worre, born in Frederiksberg on this day in 1959, became Junior Road Race Champion of Denmark in 1977 and in 1984 he was the winner of Stage 1 at Tirreno-Adriatico. He went on to win the Post Danmark Rundt in 1986, when he was also third on Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia, and he won both the Postgirot Open and the Tour of the Americas in 1988. That earned him a place at the Tour de France in 1989, but he was never rider with any hope of doing well at that level and came 88th overall. In 1990 he was the surprise winner of Stage 6 at the Vuelta a Espana, then Stage 11 at the Vuelta a Argentina one year later. The Argentine victory was to be his last, however - his powers were fading and he turned to doping in an attempt to squeeze out another couple of years, but he was caught and given a conditional ban as he made a full confession without prompting.

Today, Worre is the president of the Danmarks Cykle Union and is known for the zero-tolerance line he takes against doping.

Kenny de Ketele

Kenny de Ketele, born in Oudenaarde on this day in 1985, got his first taste of cycling glory in 2003 when he won the Under-19 Championships for both the Pursuit and the Points race. A year later, he was National 1km and Pursuit Champion as well as European Madison Champion (shared with partner Iljo Keisse), which he then lost in 2005 but won back in 2006. Just in case anyone hadn't noticed his arrival on the European track racing scene, in 2007 he was  U23 European Points race Champion and Belgian Points, Derny, Team Pursuit, Madison, Kilometre and Omnium Champion. De Ketele has not been so successful since, but in 2012 he took his first World Champion title, for Madison and shared with partner Gijs Van Hoecke.

Australian Ronald Baensch, born in Melbourne on this day in 1939, was a track cyclist who specialised in sprint events and represented his country at the 1960 Olympics, where he finished fourth. He had better luck in the World Championships, winning a bronze medal as an amateur in 1961; then after he turned professional a silver in 1964, a bronze in 1965 and another silver in 1966. The following year, he was disqualified and fined 2,000 guilder after testing positive for ephedrine. Baensch remained in Europe for a while after retiring from competition and, having never made much of a living from cycling, found work as a truck driver. He returned to Australia in 1974 and worked on oil rigs, but still found the time to enter a few amateur races right up until he decided to give up racing altogether in 1980. He won his final race.

Frederick Henry "Harry" Wyld was born in Mansfield on this day in 1900. In 1924 he was selected to ride for Britain at the Olympics, where he won a bronze medal; he rode again in 1928 in the Team Pursuit, this time with his two brothers Percy and Lewis (who preferred to be known by his middle name, Arthur) and George Southall, brother of Frank Southall who also rode in the Individual Road Race (where he won a silver) and in the Team Road Race where he teamed up with Jack Lauterwasser (see yesterday's Daily Facts for more on the remarkable life of that very remarkable character) and won another silver - though only after the Italian team had been disqualified. They set a new Team Pursuit World Record that year, beating the previous one by 9.2 seconds, but another team shaved another second off that the following day. Ralph, an older brother, set up a bike shop at 61 Nottingham Road in Mansfield in 1928 and all the brothers worked there, as they would continue to do after it moved up the road to 95 five years later. Harry Wyld died on the 5th of April, 1976; the shop outlived him by almost 20 years and shut down in 1995. The building is still there and is now occupied by a carpet shop.

It was on this day in 2008 that Shane Perkins, a successful professional track rider, was found guilty of "misconduct to the detriment of Cycling Australia and the good reputation of the sport of cycling" after he'd been involved in a drunken fight outside a pub in Adelaide just over a year earlier. Three days later, the Australian Federation banned him from competition for three months, fined him Aus$1,000 and barred him from the Victorian Institute of Sport for a period of six months, later reduced to four.

Other births: Fabio Taborre (Italy, 1984); Tang Kam Man (Hong Kong, 1955); Theo Polhaupessy (Indonesia, 1933); Alberny Vargas (Colombia, 1969); Martin McKay (Ireland, 1937); Francesco Malatesta (Italy, 1907); Dušan Popeskov (Yugolavia, 1969).

Daily Cycling Facts 25.01.2013

Denis Menchov

Denis Menchov
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

Born on this day 1978 in Oryol, USSR, Denis Menchov began his professional career with Banesto and, almost always a sign of a great-rider-to-be, won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2001. The following year he took the Mountains Classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, thus revealing himself as having the potential to become a Tour de France contender. He moved on to Rabobank in 2004 and became the team's leader following the departure of American Levi Leipheimer, remaining with them for two seasons and serving as their main General Classification rider in the 2005 Tour; but finished in 85th place due to a chest infection contracted during the race. However, he had made a full recovery by the time of the Vuelta a Espana, repaying Rabobank's faith with his first Grand Tour win, the Combination classification and two stages.

Menchov won one stage and finished in 6th position at both  the 2006 Tour and Critérium du Dauphiné, then concentrated on the Vuelta for 2007 where he won the Mountains and Combination classifications, a stage and the General Classification. He was back at the Tour in 2008 and managed 4th overall, having already finished 5th at the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year; then at the Giro the next year and won two stages and the overall General Classification, also coming second in the Points competition and third in the King of the Mountains - a considerable achievement. In 2010, his last year with Rabobank, he came 2nd in the Vuelta a Murcia and Tour di Romandie, then moved his Tour record up another notch by coming 3rd overall. For 2011, he went to Geox-TMC but didn't have such a good year, his only podium finish being 3rd at the Vuelta a Murcia. He rode the Vuelta a Espana again but this time came 5th, his team mate Juan José Cobo winning overall after a fabulous ascent of Alto de l'Angliru in which he made the infamously hard climb - the steepest in any Grand Tour - look easy.

At the end of the 2011 season sponsor Geox suddenly announced that it would be withdrawing from cycling immediately, leaving the team unable to continue. Menchov was fortunate enough to find a space with Katusha and enjoyed a good season with decent showings at the Vuelta a Andalucia and Volta a Cicilista Catalunya, victory at the National Individual Time Trial Championship, four top ten stage finishes (best: eighth, Prologue and Stage 8) followed by 11th place overall at the Tour de France and Stage 20 victory at the Vuelta a Espana. Katusha was denied a World Tour licence at the end of 2012, leaving it looking as though it would compete as a ProContinental team in 2013 - whether Menchov, who at 34 must be drawing towards the end of his years at the top level of the sport, will remain with them of break his contract and move to another team remains to be seen.

On Menchov's birthday in 2013, the British Guardian newspaper published an article on Team Sky rider Chris Froome. In it, Menchov was incorrectly termed "a formidable climber and doper." In fact, he has never failed an anti-doping test and his 2005 Vuelta victory was awarded restrospectively following the disqualification of initial winner Roberto Heras.

From The Guardian, 25.12.2013

Rene Pottier, 1879-1907

René Pottier
By all accounts, René Pottier was the finest climber of his day and was the fastest man up the 1,171m Ballon d'Alsace when he entered the Tour in 1905, beating Hippolyte Aucouturier, Louis Trousellier and Henri Cornet to the summit - the first time that a mountain had featured in the race. Despite his climbing ability, he lost his lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after a puncture in his only remaining spare tyre caused by fans who had spread 125kg nails on the road - but fortunately for him, Aucouturier was a gentleman and generously handed over one of his own even though the puncture would have put his closest rival out of the race and so he was able to finish. The next day, he abandoned after a crash.

Pottier entered for a second time in 1906 and won five stages  from the total thirteen. He led the race after Stage 1, having wrested it away from Emile Georget and was once again the first man up Ballon d'Alsace - but this year luck was on his side and he finished the stage a full 48 minutes ahead of the next rider. He remained race leader throughout the remainder of the event.

With the Tour won, he competed in the Bol d'Or 24 hour race at the famous Buffalo Stadium (so named because the first velodrome on the site had once hosted Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling Wild West Show) and completed 925.29km to win. However, life was to take an awful plunge for Pottier - some time early in the next year, he learned that while he'd been away winning the Tour his wife had been unfaithful to him. He entered a deep depression and, on this day in 1907, he hanged himself from the hook upon which he usually hung his bike at their home in Lavallois-Perret. He was 27.

There is a memorial to Pottier, erected by Henri Desgrange, at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.


British mountain biker Dan Atherton was born today in 1982 near Salisbury. Originally interested in BMX, Atherton took up mountain biking when he was 16 and, by 2004, was National 4X Champion. He came 2nd in a round of the World Downhill Championship a year later before adding numerous good results over the next two seasons. In 2008, he became the World 4X Champion. Dan is the older brother of  World Downhill Champions Gee (2010) and Rachel (2008).

Other cyclists born on this day: Brett Aitken (Australia, 1971); Luke Roberts (Australia, 1977); Elisabet "Elsbeth"van Rooy-Wink (Netherlands, 1973); Alan Danson (Great Britain, 1933); Sandra Temporelli (France, 1969); Alayna Burns (Australia , 1980); Harrie Jansen (Netherlands, 1947); Tomokazu Fujino (Japan, 1967).

Daily Cycling Facts 05.06.12

The eleventh edition of La Flèche Wallonne took place on this day in 1947, the last time that the race was ever held in June and the longest since the Second World War at 276km - modern editions are around 200km. It began for the eighth consecutive year at Mons and ended for the second consecutive year at Liège. The winner was Ernest Sterckx, who would also become the first - and, so far, only - rider to win three editions of the Omloop Het Volk.

Pottier

René Pottier
René Pottier, who was born in Moret-sur-Loing, Seine-et-Marne on this day in 1879, was by all accounts the finest climber of his day. He was the fastest man up the 1,171m Ballon d'Alsace when he entered the Tour in 1905, beating Hippolyte Aucouturier, Louis Trousellier and Henri Cornet to the summit - the first time that a mountain had featured in the race. Despite his climbing ability, he lost his lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after a puncture in his only remaining spare tyre caused by fans who had spread 125kg nails on the road - but fortunately for him, Aucouturier was a gentleman and generously handed over one of his own, even though the puncture would have put his closest rival out of the race. The next day, Pottier abandoned after a crash.

Pottier, nearest the camera

He entered for a second time in 1906, won five stages from the total thirteen and was once again the first man up Ballon d'Alsace - but this year luck was on his side and he finished the stage a full 48 minutes ahead of the next rider. He remained race leader throughout the remainder of the event.

With the Tour won, he competed in the Bol d'Or 24 hour race at the famous Buffalo Stadium (so named because the first velodrome on the site had once hosted Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling Wild West Show) and completed 925.29km to win. However, life was to take an awful plunge for Pottier - some time early in the next year, he learned that while he'd been away winning the Tour his wife had been unfaithful to him. He entered a deep depression and, on the 25th of January in 1907, he hanged himself from the hook upon which he usually hung his bike at their home in Lavallois-Perret. He was 27.

There is a memorial to Pottier, erected by Henri Desgrange, at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.

Jesper Worre
Jesper Worre, born in Frederiksberg on this day in 1959, became Junior Road Race Champion of Denmark in 1977 and in 1984 he was the winner of Stage 1 at Tirreno-Adriatico. He went on to win the Post Danmark Rundt in 1986, when he was also third on Stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia, and he won both the Postgirot Open and the Tour of the Americas in 1988. That earned him a place at the Tour de France in 1989, but he was never rider with any hope of doing well at that level and came 88th overall. In 1990 he was the surprise winner of Stage 6 at the Vuelta a Espana, then Stage 11 at the Vuelta a Argentina one year later. The Argentine victory was to be his last, however - his powers were fading and he turned to doping in an attempt to squeeze out another couple of years, but he was caught and given a conditional ban as he made a full confession without prompting.

Today, Worre is the president of the Danmarks Cykle Union and is known for the zero-tolerance line he takes against doping.

Kenny de Ketele

Kenny de Ketele, born in Oudenaarde on this day in 1985, got his first taste of cycling glory in 2003 when he won the Under-19 Championships for both the Pursuit and the Points race. A year later, he was National 1km and Pursuit Champion as well as European Madison Champion (shared with partner Iljo Keisse), which he then lost in 2005 but won back in 2006. Just in case anyone hadn't noticed his arrival on the European track racing scene, in 2007 he was  U23 European Points race Champion and Belgian Points, Derny, Team Pursuit, Madison, Kilometre and Omnium Champion. De Ketele has not been so successful since, but in 2012 he took his first World Champion title, for Madison and shared with partner Gijs Van Hoecke.

Australian Ronald Baensch, born in Melbourne on this day in 1939, was a track cyclist who specialised in sprint events and represented his country at the 1960 Olympics, where he finished fourth. He had better luck in the World Championships, winning a bronze medal as an amateur in 1961; then after he turned professional a silver in 1964, a bronze in 1965 and another silver in 1966. The following year, he was disqualified and fined 2,000 guilder after testing positive for ephedrine. Baensch remained in Europe for a while after retiring from competition and, having never made much of a living from cycling, found work as a truck driver. He returned to Australia in 1974 and worked on oil rigs, but still found the time to enter a few amateur races right up until he decided to give up racing altogether in 1980. He won his final race.

Frederick Henry "Harry" Wyld was born in Mansfield on this day in 1900. In 1924 he was selected to ride for Britain at the Olympics, where he won a bronze medal; he rode again in 1928 in the Team Pursuit, this time with his two brothers Percy and Lewis (who preferred to be known by his middle name, Arthur) and George Southall, brother of Frank Southall who also rode in the Individual Road Race (where he won a silver) and in the Team Road Race where he teamed up with Jack Lauterwasser (see yesterday's Daily Facts for more on the remarkable life of that very remarkable character) and won another silver - though only after the Italian team had been disqualified. They set a new Team Pursuit World Record that year, beating the previous one by 9.2 seconds, but another team shaved another second off that the following day. Ralph, an older brother, set up a bike shop at 61 Nottingham Road in Mansfield in 1928 and all the brothers worked there, as they would continue to do after it moved up the road to 95 five years later. Harry Wyld died on the 5th of April, 1976; the shop outlived him by almost 20 years and shut down in 1995. The building is still there and is now occupied by a carpet shop.

It was on this day in 2008 that Shane Perkins, a successful professional track rider, was found guilty of "misconduct to the detriment of Cycling Australia and the good reputation of the sport of cycling" after he'd been involved in a drunken fight outside a pub in Adelaide just over a year earlier. Three days later, the Australian Federation banned him from competition for three months, fined him Aus$1,000 and barred him from the Victorian Institute of Sport for a period of six months, later reduced to four.

Other births: Fabio Taborre (Italy, 1984); Tang Kam Man (Hong Kong, 1955); Theo Polhaupessy (Indonesia, 1933); Alberny Vargas (Colombia, 1969); Martin McKay (Ireland, 1937); Francesco Malatesta (Italy, 1907); Dušan Popeskov (Yugolavia, 1969).

Daily Cycling Facts 25.01.12

Denis Menchov

Denis Menchov
(image credit: Petit Brun CC BY-SA 2.0)

Born on this day 1978 in Oryol, USSR, Denis Menchov began his professional career with Banesto and, almost always a sign of a great-rider-to-be, won the Tour de l'Avenir in 2001. The following year he took the Mountains Classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, thus revealing himself as having the potential to become a Tour de France contender. He moved on to Rabobank in 2004 and became the team's leader following the departure of American Levi Leipheimer, remaining with them for two seasons and serving as their main General Classification rider in the 2005 Tour; but finished in 85th place due to a chest infection contracted during the race. However, he had made a full recovery by the time of the Vuelta a Espana, repaying Rabobank's faith with his first Grand Tour win, the Combination classification and two stages.

He won one stage and finished in 6th position at both  the 2006 Tour and Critérium du Dauphiné, then concentrated on the Vuelta for 2007 where he won the Mountains and Combination classifications, a stage and the General Classification. He was back at the Tour in 2008 and managed 4th overall, having already finished 5th at the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year. He went back to the Giro the next year and won two stages, the Points classification and overall. In 2010, his last year with Rabobank, he came 2nd in the Vuelta a Murcia and Tour di Romandie, then moved his Tour record up another notch by coming 3rd overall. For 2011, he went to Geox-TMC but didn't have such a good year, his only podium finish being 3rd at the Vuelta a Murcia. He rode the Vuelta a Espana again but this time came 5th, his team mate Juan José Cobo winning overall after a fabulous ascent of Alto de l'Angliru in which he made the infamously hard climb - the steepest in any Grand Tour - look easy.

At the end of the 2011 season sponsor Geox suddenly announced that it would be withdrawing from cycling immediately, leaving the team unable to continue. Riders have since been trying to obtain new contracts elsewhere and Menchov has been fortunate enough to find a space with Katusha.

Rene Pottier, 1879-1907

René Pottier
By all accounts, René Pottier was the finest climber of his day and was the fastest man up the 1,171m Ballon d'Alsace when he entered the Tour in 1905, beating Hippolyte Aucouturier, Louis Trousellier and Henri Cornet to the summit - the first time that a mountain had featured in the race. Despite his climbing ability, he lost his lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after a puncture in his only remaining spare tyre caused by fans who had spread 125kg nails on the road - but fortunately for him, Aucouturier was a gentleman and generously handed over one of his own even though the puncture would have put his closest rival out of the race and so he was able to finish. The next day, he abandoned after a crash.

Pottier entered for a second time in 1906 and won five stages  from the total thirteen. He led the race after Stage 1, having wrested it away from Emile Georget and was once again the first man up Ballon d'Alsace - but this year luck was on his side and he finished the stage a full 48 minutes ahead of the next rider. He remained race leader throughout the remainder of the event.

With the Tour won, he competed in the Bol d'Or 24 hour race at the famous Buffalo Stadium (so named because the first velodrome on the site had once hosted Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling Wild West Show) and completed 925.29km to win. However, life was to take an awful plunge for Pottier - some time early in the next year, he learned that while he'd been away winning the Tour his wife had been unfaithful to him. He entered a deep depression and, on this day in 1907, he hanged himself from the hook upon which he usually hung his bike at their home in Lavallois-Perret. He was 27.

There is a memorial to Pottier, erected by Henri Desgrange, at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.


British mountain biker Dan Atherton was born today in 1982 near Salisbury. Originally interested in BMX, Atherton took up mountain biking when he was 16 and, by 2004, was National 4X Champion. He came 2nd in a round of the World Downhill Championship a year later before adding numerous good results over the next two seasons. In 2008, he became the World 4X Champion. Dan is the older brother of  World Downhill Champions Gee (2010) and Rachel (2008).

Other births: Brett Aitken (Australia, 1971); Luke Roberts (Australia, 1977); Elisabet "Elsbeth"van Rooy-Wink (Netherlands, 1973); Alan Danson (Great Britain, 1933); Sandra Temporelli (France, 1969); Alayna Burns (Australia , 1980); Harrie Jansen (Netherlands, 1947); Tomokazu Fujino (Japan, 1967).