_(cropped).jpg) Darrigade at the1956 Tour de France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | André Darrigade | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Le Lévrier des Landes (TheLandes Greyhound) Le Landais bondissant (The Leaping Landais) Dédé | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1929-04-24)24 April 1929 (age 96) Narrosse, France | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Road | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rider type | Sprinter | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951–1955 | La Perle–Hutchinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1957 | Bianchi–Pirelli | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956–1957 | Helyett–Potin | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1960 | Helyett–Leroux | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1962 | Alcyon–Leroux | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1963 | Gitane–Leroux–Dunlop | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1965 | Margnat–Paloma–Dunlop | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | Kamomé–Dilecta–Dunlop | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Tours
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Medal record
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André Darrigade (born 24 April 1929)[1] is a retired French professionalroad bicycle racer between 1951 and 1966.[1] Darrigade, a roadsprinter won the 1959World Championship and 22 stages of the Tour de France. Five of those Tour victories were on opening days,[2] a record tied byFabian Cancellara in 2012 (who won 4 prologues and an individual time trial in 2009).[3]
André Darrigade was born atNarrosse, nearDax in the forestedLandes region. He came to attention at the other end of the country and on the track by beating the future world sprint champion,Antonio Maspes[4] in a meeting at theVélodrome d'Hiver the night before theSix Days of Paris race there.
His name immediately appealed to northern crowds.René de Latour said: "It is a very 'musical' name to [northern] French ears, especially when pronounced by a southerner who rolls his Rs like aScotsman to make it sound likeDarrrrrigade.[5] De Latour said:
Darrigade stayed in Paris and joined one of its leading clubs, the Vélo-Club d'Asnières-Courbevoie, at the invitation ofFrancis Pélissier, the former professional who was one of its officials. Darrigade rode again on the track at the Vél' d'Hiv, winningmadisons and sprints, and won four races on the road. He turned professional in 1951 for a salary that barely covered his rent.
Raphaël Géminiani said: "Darrigade was the greatest French sprinter of all time and he'll stay that way for a long time. The mould has been broken. But he wasn't just a sprinter. He was ananimateur who could start decisive breaks; he destroyed the image of sprinters who just sit on wheels."[7] He began his sprints from a long distance from the line, challenging others to pass him. It endeared him to the French public, said de Latour.
Darrigade wore 19 yellow jerseys and won 22 stages. He won the opening stage of theTour de France in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1961. Darrigade lost time in the mountains and his best final positions were 16th in 1956, 1959 and 1960.
In single-day races, he won the national championship in 1955 on the famousBoucles de l'Aulne inChâteaulin, beating aLouison Bobet at the top of his career (reigning world champion and winner of the Tour de France 1953, 1954 and 1955).He won the 1956Giro di Lombardia, beating the CampionissimoFausto Coppi in front of his home crowd at the Milan velodrome. A fortnight later he beat Coppi again to win theTrofeo Baracchi withRolf Graf.He won the world championship inZandvoort on 16 August 1959, dominating a breakaway of eight riders, ahead of the ItalianMichele Gismondi and the BelgianNoël Foré.
Darrigade was at his best in the middle of the season and the spring races were too early and those in autumn too late. He did, however, come fourth in the 1957Paris–Roubaix, third in the 1958Milan–San Remo and second inParis–Brussels in 1960.
He said: "I was always considered a team man. I never had any pretensions to be anything else. In the days when the Tour had national teams,Marcel Bidot [the manager] always saw me as just that. Those wins never became dull or routine. Each one was an immense pleasure. What's more, I had the chance to race alongside such great champions asLouison Bobet andJacques Anquetil." He was close to Anquetil, whom he called "bizarrely calm." He said: "Quite often, I had to say to him, 'If you don't get going, you'll lose the Tour."[3]
On 19 July 1958 the Tour finished at theParc des Princes in western Paris. The 70-year-oldsécrétaire-général[8] of the stadium, Constant Wouters[9] ran across the grass in the centre of the ground to prevent photographers encroaching on the track.[10] The journalists hid the riders and Wouters from each other and Darrigade rode into Wouters as he stepped onto the track. Darrigade was lifted from his bike and turned round and Wouters thrown into the air.[11] Both fell heavily and were taken to hospital. Wouters was treated at the nearby Boucicaut medical centre but died on 31 July.[12] Darrigade cracked his skull and broke ribs.[3] He was able to return before the end of the meeting to take a lap of honour.[13][14][15]
When Darrigade retired from cycle racing he ran a newspaper shop inBiarritz. On retiring for good, André became an ardent fan ofBiarritz Olympique, the town'srugby team, with his friendAlbaladejo. A stadium (Stade Omnisports André Darrigade) inDax is named after Darrigade .[16]
On 12 July 2017, a 6-metre-tall (20 ft) statue, designed by "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" Guy Pendanx, was unveiled in Darrigade's honour inNarrosse .
Darrigade's brother, Roger, six years younger, also rode as a professional. In 1955, both brothers were French national champions, André as a professional and Roger as an amateur. André Darrigade has two sons and two grandson and is an officer of theLégion d'honneur.
Road race, National Road Championships
Combativity award Overall
after 6 Stages after Stage 1
Road race,UCI Road World Championships after 5 Stages Road race,UCI Road World Championships
Road race,UCI Road World Championships
Points classification after 2 Stages
Road race,UCI Road World Championships Points classification after Stage 1a after 4 Stages| Event | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 World Championships | — | — | 17 | — | DNF | 13 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | DNF | 16 | 4 | DNF | — | — |
 National Championships | — | 36 | — | 15 | 1 | 21 | 10 | DNF | 7 | 3 | 14 | — | 13 | 11 | 29 | 22 |
| Grand Tour | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 Tour de France | — | — | 37 | 49 | 49 | 16 | 27 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 21 | DNF | 66 | 93 | 62 |
 Vuelta a España | Has not contested during his career | |||||||||||||||
| Monument | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 9 | 3 | 25 | — | 8 | — | 45 | 50 | — | 40 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 16 | — | — | — |
| Paris–Roubaix | 93 | 28 | — | — | 50 | — | 4 | 41 | 19 | 46 | 51 | 16 | 18 | 40 | 41 | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 22 | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
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