Bernard Gauthier

Bernard Gauthier (born September 22, 1924 in Beaumont-Monteux / Drôme ; † November 23, 2018 ) was a French cyclist . He drove most of his professional time for the Mercier team.

"Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris"

Bernard Gauthier was a professional racing driver from 1947 to 1961 and one of the most successful French road cyclists in the decade after the Second World War . Although he did not reach the success and fame of his contemporaries Louison Bobet and Raphaël Géminiani , he made a name for himself in particular with his four victories in the Bordeaux-Paris long-distance journey , which earned him the name Monsieur Bordeaux-Paris . He was also the French road champion in 1956 and achieved numerous podium places in classic cars , including second places in the Tour of Flanders , Paris-Brussels and Milan-San Remo . At the road world championship in 1956 , he finished 16th.

Participation in the Tour de France

Gauthier took part in the Tour de France ten times . At the Tour de France 1948 he won the penultimate stage (finish at the Roubaix cycle track ) and finished 24th in the overall standings among 120 riders who started. In 1950 he wore the Maillot jaune of the overall leader during seven of the 22 stages and ended up in 17th place. Since no company teams, but only national and regional teams, were allowed on the tour in the post-war period, Bernard Gauthier rode in the team during these two years Sud-Est de France ; In 1949 and 1951 to 1953 he was even a member of the French A tour team.

Other participations in the Grande boucle : 1947 (finished 22nd), 1949 (exclusion after the 10th stage), 1951 (overall placement: 26th), 1952 (63rd place), 1953 (75th), 1955 (46th) , 1959 (abandoned after the 13th stage) and 1960 (79th).

Palmarès

Victories

• Tour de France :
  • 20th stage (1948)
  • 7 days in the yellow jersey (1950)
• French Road Championship: 1956 (and third in 1952)
• Bordeaux – Paris : 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957
• Challenge Sédis: 1956
• Critérium des As : 1956
• Tour du Sud-Est: 1952, 1958
• Grand Prix du Pneumatique: 1953
• Grand Prix d'Alger: 1952
• Grand Prix d'Oran: 1953
• Trophée Marseillaise: 1954
• Miniac-Morvan: 1961
• Bourg-Genève-Bourg: 1947
• Circuit de Lyon: 1947

Podiums

• Second Tour of Flanders : 1951 (and third 1953)
• Second Milan-San Remo : 1955
• Second Paris-Brussels : 1951, 1956
• Second Boucles de la Seine: 1949, 1950
• Third place: Paris – Nice : 1955
• Third place: Critérium National: 1955

Web links

• Data sheet on "Mémoire du cyclisme"
• Palmarès by Gauthier
• Bernard Gauthier in the Tour de France database(French / English )
• Bernard Gauthier in the Radsportseiten.net database
• Une Pléiade de Champions on lavoixdunord.fr v. June 25, 2012 (French)