René Pottier (FRA), 1906 Tour de France Winner

Pottier won Bordeaux-Paris in 1903 before turning professional. He came second in Paris-Roubaix 1905 and Bordeaux-Paris 1905, then third in 1906’s Paris–Roubaix, before winning the Tour de France in 1906.

Pottier was an excellent climber. In the 1905 Tour de France, he was first up the  Ballon d’Alsace but lost the lead to Hippolyte Aucouturier after nails punctured his final spare tire. He finished the stage only when Aucouturier gave him one of his spare tires. Injury due to a fall on the next stage to Grenoble caused him to abandon the 1905 Tour.

At the 1906 Tour de France, he took five stage wins out of thirteen and overall victory with 31 points. Again he was first up the Ballon d’Alsace but this time he stayed ahead, finishing in Dijon 48 minutes before his nearest competitor. He also won in Grenoble by fifteen minutes and in Nice by 26 minutes. He completed the 4,546 km long Tour de France in 189 hours, 34 minutes at an average 23.98kmh.

In September 1906 he won the Bol d’Or 24-hour race at the  Buffalo Velodrome in Paris with 925.290 km.

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Size 9 x 14 cm  (3.5 x 5.5 inches)