Maurice Garin

Arvier, in the Aosta Valley, the birthplace of Maurice Garin

Garin was born the son of Maurice-Clément Garin and Maria Teresa Ozello in Arvier, in the French-speaking Aosta Valley in north-west Italy, close to the French border. The name Garin was the most common in the native village of Maurice, called "Chez-les-Garin",[7] belonging to five of the seven families.[8] They had four daughters and five sons, of whom Maurice was the first son.[8]

In 1885 the family left Arvier to work on the other side of the Alps, almost to the Belgian border.

Garin worked as a chimney sweep.[9] He later moved to France. By the age of 15, he was living in Reims as a chimney sweep.[8][9] He moved to Charleroi in Belgium but by 1889 he was back in France, at Maubeuge.

Garin's younger brother, Joseph-Isidore, died in 1889. The father died shortly afterwards in Arvier. Garin's brothers François and César stayed in northern France and, with Maurice, opened a cycle shop in the lower end of the boulevard de Paris[7] in Roubaix in 1895. Brothers César and Ambroise also competed as professional cyclists.

Garin moved to Lens, Pas-de-Calais in 1902 and lived there the rest of his life.[8][9] He bought his first bicycle for 405 francs, twice what a forge worker would earn in a week of 12-hour days, in 1889.[9] Racing did not interest him but he did ride round the town fast enough to be called a madman — le fou.[9]

Until 2004, it was said that Garin had taken French nationality when he was 21, in 1892[3][8] but in 2004, the reporter Franco Cuaz found the naturalizing act and Garin took French nationality 21 December 1901.[10]

He began racing in northern France in the same year when the secretary of the cycling club at Maubeuge persuaded him to enter a regional race, Maubeuge-Hirson-Maubeuge, over 200 km. Garin finished fifth despite suffering from the sun[9] and decided to ride more.

His first win was in 1893, in Namur-Dinant-Givet in Belgium. He had sold his first bike and bought a lighter one — still 16 kg but with pneumatic tyres — for 850 old French francs (approx €3,000 at 2008 values).[11] The race was over 102 km. He was leading by Dinant when he punctured. Spotting a soigneur waiting with a spare bike for a rival, Garin rested his own against the wall of a bridge, grabbed the soigneur's spare bike and rode off. At the finish, winning with ten minutes over the field, he gave back the bike and recovered his own the next day where he had left it.

Garin became a professional by chance. He planned to ride a race at Avesnes-sur-Helpes, 25 km from where he lived. He arrived to find it was only for professionals. Not allowed to compete, he waited until the riders had left, raced after them and passed them all. He fell off twice but finished ahead of the racers. The crowd was enthusiastic but the organisers less so. They refused to pay him the 150 francs (approx €525 at 2008 values)[11] due to the real winner, so spectators raised 300 francs (approx €1,050 at 2008 values)[11] among themselves. Garin became a professional.

His first true professional win was in a 24-hour race in Paris in 1893.[n 1] It was held on the Champ de Mars, site of the Eiffel Tower. The riders competed, as was the custom, behind a succession of pacers. The event took place in February and the cold drove out riders one after the other. Garin rode 701 km in 24 hours, beating the only other rider to finish by 49 km. While other riders would consume much strong red wine, Garin chose a more apt diet, and said he had survived on:[9]

In 1894 he won a 24-hour race in Liège, Belgium, and the following year set an hour record for cycling behind pacers.

1901 Advertisement with Paris–Brest–Paris winner Maurice Garin for "La Française"

The first Paris–Roubaix was in 1896; Garin came third, 15 minutes behind Josef Fischer. He would have come second had he not been knocked over by a crash between two tandems, one of them ridden by his pacers. Garin "finished exhausted and Dr Butrille was obliged to attend the man who had been run over by two machines," said the race historian, Pascal Sergent.[12]

In 1897 he won Paris–Roubaix, beating the Dutchman Mathieu Cordang in the last two kilometres of the velodrome at Roubaix.[n 2] Sergent said:

As the two champions appeared they were greeted by a frenzy of excitement and everyone was on their feet to acclaim the two heroes. It was difficult to recognise them. Garin was first, followed by the mud-soaked figure of Cordang. Suddenly, to the stupefaction of everyone, Cordang slipped and fell on the velodrome's cement surface. Garin could not believe his luck. By the time Cordang was back on his bike, he had lost 100 metres. There remained six laps to cover. Two miserable kilometres in which to catch Garin. The crowd held its breath as they watched the incredible pursuit match. The bell rang out. One lap, there remained one lap. 333 metres for Garin, who had a lead of 30 metres on the Batave.

A classic victory was within his grasp but he could almost feel his adversary's breath on his neck. Somehow Garin held on to his lead of two metres, two little metres for a legendary victory. The stands exploded and the ovation united the two men. Garin exulted under the cheers of the crowd. Cordang cried bitter tears of disappointment.[12]

In 1898 he won Paris–Roubaix again, this time by 20 minutes, and in 1901 he won the second edition of Paris–Brest–Paris, finishing almost two hours ahead of Gaston Rivierre after covering 1,208 km in 52h 11m 1s.[13] He started by chasing another Frenchman, Lucien Lesna, who rode the first 600 km at 28kmh and had two hours' lead at Brest. At Rennes he stopped for a bath to recover from the tiredness, filth and heat, then found he could not get racing again into the headwind. Garin passed him at Mayenne and Lesna gave up shortly afterwards with 200 km to go. Garin finished 19h 11m better than Charles Terront ten years earlier.[14]

In 1902 Garin won Bordeaux–Paris, a race of 500 km from south-west France.

Garin retired from cycling and ran his garage in Lens until his death. The garage is still there, although wholly changed from Garin's era. An unnamed writer recalled:

I remember Maurice Garin well. I met him and talked to him almost every day because we lived in the same area, 200 m from each other, at Lens. Le Père Garin, as my father and grandfather called him[n 4] used to bring out a chair in fine weather and sit in the doorway of the little office of the service station he owned at 116 rue de Lille in Lens, under the sign for Antar fuel and oil. My barber was in the neighbouring house and I used to go there once a month to have a crew cut, [couper en brosse] which was the fashion in those days. My friends and I were aged seven to ten and on our one-speed bikes we used to pin numbers on our back... and we never missed riding past Maurice Garin in a tight group so that he would see. It's strange that nobody thought to take a picture of me, the little kid, alongside the first great champion of the biggest race in the world. But life's like that.[29]

Maurice Garin was far from an adulated hero, even less a rich champion (he spent his retirement running the service station), and I don't remember any special celebration in his honour. Television crews didn't come from home and abroad to interview him. [They showed no interest] until he died in 1957. And the rue de Lille, where he lived, still hasn't been renamed the rue Maurice Garin.[29]

Garin kept his interest in cycling. He returned just once to his birthplace, in 1949, to see the Tour pass through. He began a professional team under his name after the second world war. The Dutchman Piet van Est won Bordeaux–Paris in 1950 and 1952 in the team's red and white jersey. On the Tour's 50th anniversary in 1953, Garin was among several old stars waiting at the finish as part of a celebration.

In 1933 the Stade Vélodrome Maurice Garin was built in Lens, and named in his honour.[1][n 5]

In 1938 Garin was awarded the gold medal of Physical Education by the Minister of Sport for France, Leo Lagrange.[2]

Garin is remembered as a short, determined man, even authoritarian. As an old man he became confused. His biographer, Franco Cuaz, said:

... He [Garin] wandered through Lens asking "Where is the control? Where is the control?" as his mind brought back images of the hotels where riders signed check sheets in the first Tours.[9][22]

... He regularly ended up at the town's police station, from where he was escorted back home. Often he was far from home, without knowing where he was or where he was going.[8][22]

In 2003 a street was named after him in Maubeuge on the 100th anniversary of his 1903 win in the Tour de France.

In 2004 Les Amis de Paris–Roubaix placed a cobblestone on his grave, a traditional trophy for winners of the Paris–Roubaix race.[7]

In Arvier, the village in Italy where he was born, there is a monument in his honour. His biographer, Franco Cuaz, said: "Every year, the municipality sends me French people who want to see the house where he was born. It's like a pilgrimage."[8]

Source: Maurice Garin at Cycling Archives

• Maurice Garin at Cycling Archives