Merckx, in particular, enjoyed the refuge of the friendly team and its welcoming leader after a fall out with his previous outfit, Solo-Superia, and its chieftain Rik Van Looy.ĭespite being a team of French origins, Peugeot was headed by popular Briton Tom Simpson. This was the last year the Peugeot team riders wore this blue and yellow design before swapping to the more familiar black & white checkerboard design in 1963 that would pretty much remain unchanged until the 1987 with the arrival of the Vétements Z-Peugeot team.įrans Schoubben wearing the 1962 version of the Peugeot BP cycling team jersey. It is, however, worth pointing out that the Peugeot team jersey was not always the iconic monochrome checkerboard design that we all think of.Īs you can see from this collectible chewing gum postcard, Frans Schoubben is wearing the 1962 team jersey. Many of these (notably Eddy Merckx, Stephen Roche and Robert Millar) went on to achieve greatness sporting other colours, yet were always grateful for their youthful years spent donning the iconic checkered jersey. Robert Millar during stage 11 at the 1984 Tour de France - Pau to Gruzet Neige. In that time their stellar roster included the French talisman, Tour de France (1967) and Vuelta a España (1969) winner Roger Pingeon 1966 Gent-Wevelgem, La Fleche Wallonne, two-time San-Remo (1966, 1967) and a Giro d’Italia stage winner, a young Eddy Merckx Vuelta a España (1971) champion Ferdinand Bracke, and neo-pros Stephen Roche and Scot Robert Millar.
Starting at the turn of the century (1901), Peugeot squads performed at the very highest level for over 8 decades. Initially judged to be too harsh, the penalty was then reduced to more ‘reasonable’ 3 minutes…ĭespite Christophe never going on to win a Tour, it was these acts of cycling heroism from Peugeot riders that led the team to be ranked the most successful of all time over the forthcoming years (). After locating a forge in town, he skilfully welded the mangled forks back together before completing the stage on his wounded steed.Įventually crossing the line 3 hours after the lead pack, he was then penalised a further 10 minutes by stewards for letting a seven-year-old boy pump the bellows whilst he welded the bike. Weeping with anger, he shouldered the broken bike, watching the rest of the riders fly by whilst he descended the next 10km on foot to the nearest village.
The procession was to last mere minutes, however, when a reckless race vehicle clipped his bike, sending him sprawling into the road and clean snapping his forks (so Peugeot claim). Now, over an hour clear from the rest of the field in the general classification, he could comfortably enjoy the dramatic French mountainscape unfolding before him. After missing out on the overall Tour de France victory the previous year, he was leaving nothing to chance in 1913 attacking from the front on the low slopes of the Col du Tourmalet with his trusty bag swinging freely as he rode.Īfter launching a ceaseless barrage of attacks, Christophe’s final injection of pace proved just too much for his arch-rival Odile Defraye, causing him to retire from the competition with exhaustion. Eugène Christophe was certainly a resourceful man, meticulous in his planning, he would always be found with a 20 franc coin, chain link and spoke key in a chamois bag hung around his neck in preparation for the worst.
The first world war was yet to take place, the yellow jersey even dreamt up, and riders required resourcefulness outside the realm of cycling just to finish races. The Peugeot BP Micheling cycling team postcard from the 1974 season with French Champion Bernard Thevenet and teammates Patrick Beon, Bernard Bourreau, Jacques Esclassan et al.Ĭycling, it was a different game back when Peugeot’s star riders were first battling up the steep slopes of the Pyrenees. The Peugeot retro jersey has been a staple in the Prendas retro peloton since the very beginning - it was the very first retro jersey that we had Santini make specifically for us.įind out about the team that is as commandeered as "the most successful cycling team ever" join Pedr Charlesworth who explores the story behind the iconic French team containing Tom Simpson, Roger Pingeon, Bernard Thevenet, Eddy Merckx and Robert Millar. Eddy Merckx leads the pack in his Peugeot BP team jersey during the 1966 edition of the Tour of Lombardy.
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