Roger Walkowiak
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Walkowiak in 2008
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Roger Walkowiak |
| Nickname | Walko |
| Born |
2 March 1927 Montluçon, Allier, France |
| Died | 6 February 2017 (aged 89) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | All-rounder |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1951–1952 | Gitane-Hutchinson |
| 1953–1954 | Peugeot-Dunlop |
| 1955 | Gitane-Hutchinson |
| 1956 | Saint-Raphael-Geminiani |
| 1957–1959 | Peugeot-BP |
| 1960 | Saint-Raphael-Geminiani |
| Major wins | |
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Roger Walkowiak (pronounced: [ʁɔ.ʒe wal.kov.jak]; 2 March 1927 – 6 February 2017) was a French road bicycle racer who won the 1956 Tour de France. He was a professional rider from 1950 until 1960. He died on 6 February 2017 at the age of 89.
From 1930 the Tour de France had been contested by national and regional teams. Roger Walkowiak was recruited for the French regional Nord-Est-Centre team, representing the North-east and Centre of France, despite coming from Montluçon in the South-West. He was the only rider available at late notice to replace an original team member, Gilbert Bauvin, who had been promoted to France's main team.
Walkowiak escaped on the 7th stage from Lorient to Angers in a group of 31 riders that won that day by over 18 minutes. The advantage was enough to give him the yellow jersey of the overall race lead. At this stage the race's stars did not consider this 'insignificant' rider to be a risk.
Walkowiak lost the jersey to Gerrit Voorting at the end of stage 10 which took some of the pressure off his shoulders. In the Pyrenees Belgium's Jan Adriaensens took the lead. At Aix-en-Provence (stage 15) Dutchman Wout Wagtmans took the jersey, but Walkowiak was still well placed.
On the Alpine stage 18 (Torino–Grenoble), the climbing specialist Charly Gaul (Luxembourg), who had lost a lot of time in the flat stages, attacked to try and win the King of the Mountains competition (which he eventually did, beating Federico Bahamontes). Gaul's attack split the field; Wagtmans lost 16 minutes and Walkowiak took back the yellow jersey after losing only 8 minutes to Gaul on the day.
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