Paul Guignard (FRA)

Paul Guignard was a French professional cyclist who mainly specialized in motor-paced racing.  In this discipline, he won a gold, silver and bronze medal at the worlds in 1913, 1905 and 1921, as well as European titles in 1905, 1906, 1909 and 1912.

Guignard began his cycling career as a road racer and in 1895 won the Paris-Besancon 417 km race. After completing his military service he briefly raced as a pilot and won the “Grand Prix of Algiers”. He returned to cycling in 1904 and on 8 April 1905 set a new world record in the one-hour race at 89.904 km (behind a pacer). He won his last medal at the UCI Motor-paced World Championships in 1921, aged 45.

At the beginning of the 20th century, motor-paced racing was all the rage. Tucked close behind the big motors, the “stayer” riders -forks turned backward and gears impossibly high- absolutely flew. Once pneumatic tires came to being, speed records shot up significantly. From 1895 to 1905 the maximum speed records rose from 46km to 89km per hour.  Image going that fast on the bike in the photo!

All of the postal cards on our site are original, no reproductions.

As many if the cards are quite old and one of a kind, please look carefully a the photos to determine condition.

Size 9 x 14 cm  (3.5 x 5.5 inches)