A photo from Bordeaux-Paris 1912, team cars and bikes at the start. It’s amazing that how many bikes the team cars could carry in those years.
First held on 23 May 1891, The Bordeaux-Paris was one of Europe’s Classic cycle races, and one of the longest in the professional calendar, covering approximately 560 km (350 mi) – more than twice the most modern single-day races.
1912 edition won by a Frenchman: Émile Georget of the La Française team.
Bordeaux–Paris began to lose prestige in the 1980s. It required special training and clashed with riders’ plans to compete in the Vuelta a España or the Giro d’Italia. Fields began to dwindle and the last motor-paced version was 1985; three non-paced versions were held from 1986 but 1988 proved the last as a professional race. The last Bordeaux-Paris was held in 1988, won by Jean-François Rault.
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