Odiel Defraeye

Odiel Defraeye

Odilon "Odiel" Defraeye (also Odile Defraye ; born July 14, 1888 in Rumbeke ; † August 20, 1965 in Bierges ) was a Belgian cyclist. He was the first Belgian Tour de France winner in 1912 .

Odiel Defraeye, a trained brush maker , was a professional racing driver from 1909 to 1914. He was a protégé of the Belgian cycling idol Cyrille Van Hauwaert , who was hoping for the first tour victory for a Belgian from him. He achieved this victory in 1912. In 1909, 1913, 1914, 1919, 1920 and 1924 he started again on the Tour, but had to give up every time. He also won the classic Milan – Sanremo bike race in 1913, becoming the second Belgian after his mentor Van Hauwaert. After the First World War he was again a professional from 1919 to 1924, but could no longer build on his old successes.

After his victory in the Tour de France , Defraeye convinced the Belgian publisher of Sportwereld , Karel Van Wijnendaele , to organize his own tour based on their example: the first tour of Flanders started in 1913 .

In 1924 Odiel Defraeye ended his active cycling career, first moved to the French Côte d'Or , but later returned to Belgium and opened a café that was doing well; however, he himself mourned the old days and began to drink. In 1965 the first Belgian tour winner died forgotten in a retirement home in Bierges.

In 2012, the Nationaal Wielermuseum in Roeselare, Belgium, dedicated its event program to Odiel Defraeye under the heading In het wiel van Odiel , on the occasion of the centenary of his tour victory.

The Radrennbahn in Rumbeke is named after him.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Laitem / Hamels write: Zijn grafsteen Kreeg zelfs een fout geboortejaar. De relativiteit kon not groter zijn. (Dutch = even on his tombstone there is a wrong year of birth. The relativity couldn't be greater. )
2. ↑ wielermuseum.be ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

literature

• Herman Laitem, Jozef Hamels: De Tricolore Trui. 1882-2007. 125 Jaar Belgian Campaign Schappen. Pinguin Productions et al., Balegem et al. 2008, ISBN 978-90-73322-21-9 , pp. 44f.
• Herman Laitem: Fenomeen Odiel Defraeye. Het pakkende leven van de eerste Belgian Tourwinnaar . 2012. ISBN 978-94-01402972

Web links

Commons : Odiel Defraeye  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Palmarès - List of achievements and placements
• Odiel Defraeye in the Radsportseiten.net database
• Odiel Defraeye in the Tour de France database(French / English )
• odieldefraeye.be
• fenomeendefraeye.be