Elsy Jacobs

Elsy Jacobs, 1958

Elsy Jacobs' racing bike at the Center Sportif in Garnich

Elsy Jacobs (born March 4, 1933 in Luxembourg - Pfaffenthal ; † February 28, 1998 in Loudéac ) was a Luxembourgish cyclist and in 1958 the first women's cycling world champion.

Life

As the youngest of seven siblings, Elsy Jacobs grew up in Garnich . She came into contact with cycling through her brothers, who took part in cycling races as young people. Jacobs began to train with them, but could not start in Luxembourg because women were not allowed to take part in cycling races back then. She raced in Belgium and France , where her license was recognized. It was not until 1955 that the Luxembourg Cycling Federation changed its statutes to include Elsy Jacobs and enable her to participate in races in Luxembourg.

On August 30, 1958, Elsy Jacobs won the first women's road cycling world championships in Reims , ahead of the favored Soviet riders. A few months later, on November 9th, Elsy Jacobs set a new hour record on the Vigorelli Velodrome in Milan . The record of 41.347 km was only broken in 1972 by the Italian Maria Cressari in Mexico .

After the success of Jacobs, women's races were also held in Luxembourg. Jacobs was able to defend the national champion's jersey from 1959 to 1974.

In 1974 there were disputes between Jacobs and the national association, which had not registered them for the World Cup. Since the association cited financial problems, Elsy Jacobs offered to pay for her participation out of pocket. When that didn't work out either, she left Luxembourg, took French citizenship and moved to Paris . She later went to Loudéac in Brittany , where she coached a youth team until 1996 and died on February 28, 1998.

various

Since 2001, the Randonnée Elsy Jacobs Jedermannrennen has been held annually on May 1st in Garnich . To mark the 50th anniversary of her world title and the hour record, the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs was held in Garnich for the first time on April 26, 2008 , and since then the race has taken place annually as part of the Festival luxembourgeois du Cyclisme Féminin Elsy Jacobs .

For the 40th anniversary of the world championship, the Schifflingen sculptor Yvette Gastauer-Claire created a medal in honor of Elsy Jacobs.

Familiar

Elsy was the sister of Edmond , Raymond and Roger Jacobs , who were all cyclists.

literature

• Zangerlé, Gaston: Elsy Jacobs - "grande-duchesse" de la petite reine , 2000

Movie

• Michele Tereba: Grouss-Duchess vum Velosport , documentary, 23 min.

Web links

• Elsy Jacobs biography on www.cid-femmes.lu
• Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs

Individual evidence

1. ^ Henri Bressler, Fernand Thill: The history of Luxembourg cycling . tape 2 . Editions Schortgens, Esch-sur-Alzette, ISBN 978-2-87953-115-1 , p. 135-137 .
2. ^ Elsy Jacobs: A cinematic monument. In: wort.lu. April 29, 2012, accessed November 2, 2019 .