Firmin Lambot facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Firmin Lambot

Firmin Lambot, c. 1920
Personal information
Nickname	L'Homme de Florennes (The Man from Florennes)
Born	(1886-03-14)14 March 1886 Florennes, Belgium
Died	19 January 1964(1964-01-19) (aged 77) Borgerhout, Belgium
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France General classification (1919, 1922) Mountains classification (1914, 1920) 6 individual stages (1913, 1914, 1919-1921) One-day races and Classics National Interclubs Championships (1919)

Firmin Lambot (born March 14, 1886 – died January 19, 1964) was a famous Belgian bicycle racer. He is best known for winning the challenging Tour de France race twice.

Firmin was born in a small town called Florennes. When he was young, he worked as a saddler, making and repairing saddles for horses. He worked long hours, starting at 6 AM and working for 12 hours a day. When he was 17, he bought his first bicycle. He would ride 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) every day to get to and from his job. His first bike race was in a local village, and he won five francs, which was the first prize. After that, he bought a special racing bike.

Becoming a Professional Cyclist

Firmin Lambot started racing professionally in 1908. In his first year as a pro, he won the championships of Flanders and Belgium. He competed in the Tour de France from 1911 to 1913. However, the First World War stopped the race for the next five years.

Winning the Tour de France

The Tour de France returned in 1919 after the war. It was a very tough race because the roads were damaged from the war. Also, it was hard to get supplies, and many strong riders had not survived the war. Only 11 cyclists managed to finish the race that year. Firmin was asked to join the Globe Cycles team for the Tour. He was in second place for most of the race. He took the lead when another rider, Eugène Christophe, had a problem with his bike's front fork. Many people felt that Firmin won because of Christophe's bad luck. People even collected money for Christophe because his prize money was less than what Firmin received. Firmin's victory helped him get a contract with a bigger team, Peugeot. He was paid 300 francs a month just to race in the Tour de France.

Lambot in the Parc des Princes, after winning the 1919 Tour de France

Firmin continued to do well in the Tour de France in 1920 and 1921. In 1922, he won the Tour for the second time. This happened after another rider, Hector Heusghem, received a one-hour penalty. Heusghem had changed his bicycle after its frame broke, which was against the rules at the time. Firmin Lambot became the first person to win the Tour de France without winning any individual stage during that race.

When he won in 1922, Firmin was 36 years old. This made him the oldest winner of a cycling grand tour at that time. He held this record for over 90 years! In 2013, a 41-year-old rider named Chris Horner broke his record by winning the Vuelta a España. However, Firmin Lambot is still the oldest winner of the Tour de France itself.

By the end of his cycling career, his team paid him 1,800 francs a month. After he retired from racing, he went back to working as a saddler.

Career Achievements

Major Results

See also

In Spanish: Firmin Lambot para niños