Léon Scieur
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Léon Scieur |
| Born |
18 March 1888 Florennes, Namur, Belgium |
| Died | 7 October 1969 (aged 81) Florennes, Namur, Belgium |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Major wins | |
|
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Léon Scieur (pronounced: [le.ɔ̃ sjœʁ]; 19 March 1888 – 7 October 1969) was a Belgian cyclist who won the 1921 Tour de France, along with stages 3 and 10. His first great victory was the 1920 Liège–Bastogne–Liège; he won a stage and finished fourth in the 1919 and 1920 Tours de France.
Léon Scieur was the son of a farmer in Florennes, near Charleroi in Belgium. He began work as a glassmaker before being introduced to cycling by his neighbour, Firmin Lambot, who taught him to ride a bike at the age of 22.
Scieur turned professional in 1913 and rode his first Tour de France that year, without finishing. He didn't win in 1914 either - he came 14th - but Florennes celebrated nevertheless because Philippe Thys won for the second time. Thys was born in Brussels but lived in the town. Firmin Lambot came eighth.
After working as a mechanic in World War I Scieur rode the revived Tour de France in 1919 placing in fourth. He had punctured four or six times, according to reports, between Le Havre and Cherbourg. The weather was foul and he had no more spares so had to huddle in a doorway to repair one of the punctures. Mending a race tyre involved taking it from the rim, cutting the stitching that held the base together, mending the inner tube, then sewing up the tyre before replacing it. Scieur had acquired a needle and thick thread from the woman in whose doorway he was sheltering but his fingers grew too cold to use them. He asked the woman to help but the chief official, Lucien Cazalis, told him: "It's forbidden to receive help; you'll be penalised if madame threads the needle for you." Scieur completed the repair but lost the Tour to Lambot by about the time it had taken. He rode three more years after his victory but without finishing. He came fourth again in 1920, once more behind Thys.
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