François Lafourcade
 François Lafourcade at the finish of the 1911 Bordeaux–Paris, where he placed 4th. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | François Lafourcade |
| Born | 8 November 1881 Lahontan, France |
| Died | 10 August 1917 (aged 35) Eu, France |
| Height | 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 1907 | Montabro |
| 1908 | Alcyon–Dunlop |
| 1909 | Biguet–Dunlop |
| 1910 | Panneton–Leman |
| 1911 | Monteil–Russian–America |
| 1912 | Automoto–Persan |
| 1913 | Celer–Continental |
François Lafourcade (8 November 1881 – 10 August 1917) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He rode seven times the Tour de France and had among others five podium finishes in Bol d'Or and five top-10 achievements in Bordeaux–Paris. He was involved in the first known doping case in Tour de France history.
Career
Lafourcade competed professionally from 1906 to 1912. His brother Ferdinand (born 1885) was also a professional cyclist from 1908 to 1911.[1]
In the 1910 Tour de France, during the first major mountain stage (stage 9, Luchon to Bayonne), riders had to climb the Col de Peyresourde, Col d'Aspin, Tourmalet, and Aubisque. A local to the region, Lafourcade achieved a remarkable feat by reaching the summit of the Aubisque first, with a 15-minute lead over Octave Lapize. Exhausted by the effort, he stopped at the bottom of the descent, was caught by others, and finished fifth in the stage.[2]
After his death, it was revealed that he had inadvertently poisoned fellow French rider Paul Duboc during the 1911 Luchon–Bayonne stage. The beverage was intended as a performance enhancer, a primitive form of what is now known as doping. This incident is considered the first known doping case in Tour de France history.[3][4][1]
Personal life
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Lafourcade was born in Lahontan. He was a pilot during World War I. He died in Eu during the War.[5][6]
Major results
- 1907
- 3rd – Bol d'Or
- 1908
- 3rd – Bol d'Or
- 9th – Bordeaux–Paris
- 1909
- 3rd – Bol d'Or
- 6th – Bordeaux–Paris
- 1910
- 2nd – Bol d'Or
- 5th – Bordeaux–Paris
- 1911
- 4th – Bordeaux–Paris
- 8th - Paris-Brest-Paris
- 1912
- 2nd – Bol d'Or
- 10th – Bordeaux–Paris
| Grand Tour general classification results | |||||||
| Race | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tour de France
|
DNF | 13th | DNF | DNF | 14th | DNF | 29th |
| Major Classic results | ||||||
| Monument | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris–Tours | — | — | — | 13th | — | |
| Paris–Roubaix | 18th | 33th | — | — | 38th | |
| Classic | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | |
| Bordeaux–Paris | 9th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 10th | |
| Paris–Brussels | 17th | — | — | — | — | |
| Paris–Brest–Paris | — | — | — | 8th | — | |
References
- ^ a b "Fallen and Forgotten Cyclists". The Inner Ring. 9 November 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
- ^ Tour de France by Daniel Pautrat, 1990, Éditions de l'Aurore
- ^ "The History Of Cheating In The Tour De France". Active Traveller. 10 December 1914. Retrieved 2025-08-02.
- ^ Whitney, John (22 June 2012). "Who needs doping? Most creative Tour de France cheats". BikeRadar. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
- ^ François Lafourcade at memoiredeshommes
- ^ Clemitson, Suze (1 July 2014). "Remembering the Tour de France riders who died in the first world war". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
External links
Media related to François Lafourcade at Wikimedia Commons- François Lafourcade at Cycling Archives
- François Lafourcade at ProCyclingStats