Georges Passerieu Explained

George Passerieu
Full Name:George Passerieu
Nickname:l'Anglais du Paris (The Englishman from Paris)
Birth Date:18 November 1885
Birth Place:London, United Kingdom
Death Place:Épinay-sur-Orge, France
Discipline:Road
Role:Rider
Proyears1:1906 - 1908
Proteam1:Peugeot
Proyears2:1909
Proteam2:Griffon
Proyears3:1911
Proteam3:La Française
Proyears4:1913
Proteam4:Automoto
Proyears5:1914
Proteam5:Atala-Phebus-Dunlop
Majorwins:Paris–Tours
Paris–Roubaix
7 stages Tour de France

George Leon Passerieu[1] (London, 18 November 1885 - Épinay-sur-Orge, 5 May 1928)[2] was a British-born French professional road bicycle racer, who won seven stages in the Tour de France, and reached the podium twice. He also was the winner of Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Tours.

Biography

According to the 1891 UK census (available on subscription) at https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/8505606:6598, George Passerieu was born in Islington, London to French-born Auguste Passerieu and his wife Ellen (nee Acraman) from the London district of Soho.Passerieu first rode the Tour in 1906, after he had just become a professional cyclist.[3] He was strong in the mountains, finishing second to René Pottier in the third stage. Pottier was dominant in that Tour, but Passerieu was the best of the rest. Passerieu won the first stage, beating Pottier in Marseille after they had climbed the mountains together.[3] Later he also won the twelfth stage, and finished second in the general classification.[4]

In 1907, Passerieu was riding for the Peugeot team, which saw potential in Belgian cyclist Cyrille Van Hauwaert. Van Hauwaert refused requests from Peugeot to ride as helper for Passerieu, but instead signed for the La Française team. In the 1907 edition of Paris–Roubaix, Passerieu finished first, followed by Van Hauwaert.[5]

Passerieu rode the 1908 Tour de France. He was the only cyclist to climb the Ballon d'Alsace and the Chartreuse without dismounting his bicycle.[6]

Major results

1906
  • Tour de France
  • Winner stages 6 and 12
  • 2nd place overall classification
    1907
  • Tour de France
  • Winner stages 6 and 14
  • Paris–Roubaix
  • Paris–Tours
    1908
  • Tour de France
  • Winner stages 1, 5 and 13
  • 3rd place overall classification
    1909
  • Paris–Dijon

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Index entry. June 19, 2013. FreeBMD. ONS.
    2. Web site: Georges Passerieu . Memoire du Cyclisme . fr . 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110914115411/http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/palmares/passerieu_georges.php . 2011-09-14 .
    3. Book: Wheatcroft, Geoffrey. Le Tour: a history of the Tour de France, 1903-2003. Simon & Schuster. 2003. 0-7432-3110-4.
    4. Book: McGann, Bill. The Story of the Tour De France. McGann, Carol. Dog Ear Publishing. 23. 2006. 1-59858-180-5.
    5. Book: Geldhof, Patrieck. En de broodrenner, hij fietste verder: het wielrennen in België tijdens WO II. Vansayker, Dries. nl. Acco. 2005. 90-334-5815-2. 15.
    6. Web site: L'Historique du Tour: Année 1908. fr. Amaury Sports Association.