CONTENTSForeword 7A life of thirty years 9At that time 12All in one go 33

First portrait

41Duel on the Tour 50Paris–Brest–New York 79A tense atmosphere 93Three in a row 109

Second portrait

1221914, and then… 129

Final portrait

150Octave Lapize

Palmarès

157Bibliography 159

122

Second portrait

It was the end of 1913.Since 6pm on 24 October, Octave was 26 years old. Only 26,with all his future ahead of him.Everything moved quickly with Lapize. Since he had burstonto the track at Roubaix in 1909, it had only taken him fouryears to establish his supremacy on the road and, at the sametime, his presence on the track. At 26, he was a champion at thepeak of his powers. He was also a champion apart, in that heenjoyed more notoriety than popularity. Yes, there were timeswhen he was called ‘le Frisé’ by the papers or his rivals, or‘Tatave’ by the inner circle of his family and the top echelonsof the Vel’ d’Hiv’, but he did nothing to make himself morepopular. And he was not really popular: he was too much topof the class, too clever, too lucky, too strong to be idolized.Above all, he was too sober. He never showed off, or evenreally put on a show. Apart from the ‘Murderers’ episode on theAubisque, he never raised his voice and never moaned. If heever allowed himself a touch of malice, it was in private. Thus,



to the interviewer and answered as it suited him. With just thehint of a tease, he thanked the speechless journalist for havinggiven him an interview.Lapize’s greatest asset as a racer was his intelligence. Heinstinctively adapted to the innovations in cycling equipment.

123

He devloped the cycling shoes, toe-clips and straps that were



cyclist, Émile Georget, he was shrewd enough to exploit the



than others and to conserve muscle power, managing his rest



was too astute to stick with the ‘slave wheel’. The freewheelwas his thing, and dare I suggest that Lapize was a kind of



Octave had given a good deal of thought to his profession.He had signed, and therefore approved (if not written himself)a long text on the subject of road cycling printed in a specialedition of

La Vie au Grand Air

. This article set out his thinkingabout diet and training. With his rather brutal frankness, heweighs straight in: ‘There is no such thing as a special diet forthe road racer.’ Strike one! Further on, he declares that traininghas to be an ‘obligatory, extremely strict, exacting preparation‘.Strike two! Next comes the critical analysis. ‘A diet involvesfollowing the principle of rigorously worked-out food intakeand great regularity in the taking of meals. However, in realityyou are woken each day in time for the start of races at different



to mention the climatic variations which are at work from oneday to the next on individuals experiencing great nervoustension, and pyschologically susceptible to sudden changes inthe weather.’ Neither does Octave Lapize advocate a strict dietin the run-up to a race. He is mistrustful of ‘acquired habitsgoverning every aspect of life (sleep, food, rest) because, to be blunt, circumstances will force you to abandon them. Andthen a new sort of life begins, regulated differently or rather,not regulated at all. No diets, then, during races because it isnot possible; no diets beforehand in order to avoid having tosuddenly change your habits.’The Lapize Method is quite simple: keep to your own diet,every day (his weight only ever varied by two kilogrammesat the very most). ‘The best way is to listen to Nature. You just