Challenge Desgrange-Colombo

The Challenge Desgrange-Colombo was a season-long road bicycle racing competition between 1948 and 1958. Named after Henri Desgrange and Emilio Colombo, the competition was organised by the newspapers L'Équipe, La Gazzetta dello Sport, Het Nieuwsblad-Sportwereld and Les Sports. It marked early co-operation between L'Équipe and La Gazzetta dello Sport which lasts to this day.

Riders' performances in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Milan–San Remo, Paris–Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne, Paris–Brussels, Paris–Tours and the Giro di Lombardia counted towards the competition. The Tour de Suisse was added in 1949, Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1951, the Vuelta a España in 1958.

The first winner was Belgian Alberic Schotte (winner of the 1948 Tour of Flanders and also World road race champion that year). The 1949 version was won by the Italian Fausto Coppi while 1950 went to the Swiss Ferdi Kubler and 1951 to Louison Bobet. Kubler won the Challenge Desgrange-Colombo three times (he added victories in 1952 and 1954) - a record equalled by Fred de Bruyne, who won from 1956 to 1958.

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