Buffalo Velodrome
The Buffalo cycle track (French: Vélodrome Buffalo ) in Paris existed from 1893 until the First World War . The name "Buffalo" goes back to Buffalo Bill , whose Wild West Show had appeared several times on the track.
The cycling track
The Buffalo Velodrome was located near Porte Maillot in Neuilly-sur-Seine on Rue Parmentier; It was built on the initiative of the British cycling pioneer Herbert Duncan . On the day of its opening on May 11, 1893, the later founder of the Tour de France , Henri Desgrange, set a new hour record without a pacemaker over 35.325 kilometers. In 1895 the writer and sports journalist (editor-in-chief of the Journal des Vélocipédistes ) Tristan Bernard became its director. He is credited with inventing the bell sign at the beginning of the last lap of a bike race.
Also in May 1893, racing cyclist Georges Cassignard set a new world record over 1 km with a standing start (1:28 min.). On September 27, after a long-distance journey from Saint Petersburg , cyclist Charles Terront arrived at the Buffalo Velodrome. In the years 1894 to 1887, 1902 to 1904, 1906, 1907 and 1909 to 1911 the 24-hour race Bol d'Or was held there.
In 1902 the track was renewed and shortened from 333 to 300 meters and seats for 8,000 spectators were created. On October 2, 1905, two spectators were killed when their heads were crushed by a pacemaker on a motorcycle while they were racing by. The runway was then closed for some time and rebuilt again. In the First World War it was demolished to make room for an aircraft factory.
The later Buffalo Stadium in the suburb of Montrouge was named in memory of this cycling track.
References and comments
- ↑ This show will be re-enacted today (2011) at Disneyland Paris with the show “La Légende de Buffalo Bill”. See archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 18, 2011 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.
- ↑ Herbert Duncan on lepetitbraquet.free.fr ( Memento from February 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Augustin d'Ollone: Tristan Bernard on laconference.typepad.fr (PDF; 95 kB)
- ↑ That same year, Cassignard was killed in a fall from a horse at the age of 20. See: radsportseiten.net
- ↑ lepetitbraquet.fr: Chapeau Monsieur Charles Terront ( Memento from September 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
literature
- Pascal Sergent: Le temps des vélodromes . Edition Alain Sutton 2008
Web links
- Le Vélodrome Buffalo on mapage.noos.fr ( Memento of March 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
Coordinates: 48 ° 53 ′ 7.4 " N , 2 ° 16 ′ 59.6" E