Nicolas Frantz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolas Frantz Road cycling
Nicolas Frantz (around 1930)
Nicolas Frantz (around 1930)
To person
Date of birth November 4, 1899
date of death November 8, 1985
nation LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg
discipline Street
End of career 1934
Last updated: May 21, 2020
Frantz (2nd from left) after crossing the finish line of the Tour de France 1924 in the Parc des Princes
Nicolas Frantz's monument in his hometown of Mamer

Nicolas Frantz (born November 4, 1899 in Mamer ; † November 8, 1985 in Luxembourg ) was a Luxembourgish cyclist . He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928 . Alongside François Faber , Charly Gaul and the brothers Fränk and Andy Schleck, he is one of the most successful racing cyclists in his home country.

Athletic career

Nicolas Frantz, the Wewesch Nik , grew up on his parents' farm in Mamer. His goal was to take it over himself later. After his brother Jean-Pierre received a bicycle for his 16th birthday, he too began to enjoy cycling. At the age of 13 he became a member of the Velo-Club Mamer , but initially started as a runner . He won his second race and received a pocket knife as a prize. He also played football in this club. A year later he bought his first bike; he had saved the money for it as an altar boy . At first, his parents forbade him to race until they gave in. On June 24, 1914, Nicolas Franz competed in his first official race, which he won.

When the First World War broke out , Frantz had to put aside his cycling ambitions. In 1920 he switched from amateurs to independents (professionals without a contract), became national champion for the first time in the same year and won his first major international race as an independent in the Tour of Belgium in 1922 . In 1924 he signed his first professional contract with the French racing team Alcyon .

In 1924, Nicolas Frantz started the Tour de France for the first time and immediately finished second; In 1925 he was fifth and in 1926 again second. In 1927 he won the tour in a superior manner: from the eleventh stage he wore the [[yellow jersey <Maillot Jaune]] to Paris and won the overall standings 1:48 minutes ahead of second. In his Tour victory in 1928 , Frantz broke the bicycle frame around 100 kilometers before the finish of the nineteenth stage. He covered the rest of the distance on the too small ladies' bike of a spectator. He lost 28 minutes but kept the lead and won again. Along with Ottavio Bottecchia (1924) and Romain Maes (1935), he is one of three drivers who wore the yellow jersey on the Tour from the first to the last stage.

Nicolas Frantz achieved a total of 59 victories in the course of his active career, including 20 stage victories on the Tour. Eleven years in a row (1923 to 1934) he was the Luxembourg road racing champion . With a final victory at the national road championship, he ended his cycling career.

Miscellaneous

In Luxembourg, his popularity was so great that many Luxembourgers who were ignorant of French said that the Tour de France was called the "Tour de Frantz" because of Nic. "Wewesch Nik" or "Nic le Wewesch", as the French called him, failed two successes: he never became world champion (second in 1929 behind Georges Ronsse ), and as a "directeur technique" he was unable to lead Charly Gaul to victory . This was only achieved in 1958 by his successor in this office, Jean Goldschmit .

After the end of his active cycling career, Nicolas Frantz opened a bicycle shop in his home town of Mamer. He was involved as chairman of the Velo-Club Mamer . His daughter Nicole was married to the Luxembourg national soccer player Leon Letsch .

The local sports hall is named after Frantz Hall Sportif Nicolas Frantz . In front of the town hall is the Barthel-Frantz monument , which shows him and the runner and Olympic champion Josy Barthel , who also comes from Mamer . A cycle path also bears his name: the Nicolas Frantz cyclable slope .

Successes (selection)

1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
Grand Tour 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932
Vuelta a España
Maglia Rosa Giro d'Italia
Yellow jersey Tour de France 2 4th 2 1 1 5 - - 45

Web links

Commons : Nicolas Frantz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Petz Lahure: De Frantz vu Mamer. In: tageblatt.lu. June 30, 2017, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Armin Gibis: Show of strength on the ladies bike . June 20, 2013, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Andreas Adam: Luxembourg entrepreneurs and their hobby: Cactus boss is firmly in the saddle. In: wort.lu. July 12, 2014, accessed May 21, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Footballeur originaire de Mamer - Léon Letsch Retrieved May 20, 2020 (pdf)
  5. ↑ La Maison communale - Mamer. In: mamer.lu. Retrieved May 21, 2020 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Frantz, Nicolas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Luxembourgish cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH November 4, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Mamer , Luxembourg
DATE OF DEATH November 8, 1985
Place of death Luxembourg