Critérium des As

The Critérium des As (Race of the Aces) was a cycle race that was generally held at the end of the season, with entry by invitation only, for the leading riders of the season. Competitors rode behind pacers on tandems or motorcycles. It was held from 1921 until 1990, mostly in Paris, France but also in Switzerland and Holland.[1] The last Critérium des As was held in 1990 and was replaced by the Roue d'Or des As the following year.[1][2]

Critérium des As

Race details
English name	Race of the Aces
Discipline	Road
History
First edition	1921
Editions	61
Final edition	1990
First winner	Philippe Thys
Most wins	Rik Van Steenbergen (5 wins)
Final winner	Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle

History

In 1920 the Critérium de la résistance was run from Bordeaux to Paris (Longchamp) and back to Bordeaux, and is regarded as the forerunner of Critérium des As. The 1,208 kilometres (751 mi) paced event was won by Louis Mottiat of Belgium, in 56 hours and 48 minutes.[2]

In 1921 the best riders of the season were invited to enter the Critérium des As, 27 laps of a 3.63 km circuit around Longchamp. They rode alone except for pacers who helped on occasional laps, not being fast enough to last longer.[2][3]

Crowds of up to 6,000 watched in the years before the World War II.[3] The individual pacers were replaced by tandems, triplets, motorcycles and finally specialist Derny lightweight motorcycles in 1947. René de Latour, a journalist who organised the race in 1943, when the inside of the circuit included flak guns to defend the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt, said:

The tandems gave more shelter and the race became more and more spectacular. Each of the selected riders had four or five tandems at his disposal, and it was a lovely sight to see the relieving tandem taking over from the 'double' that had just completed its allotted spell. If you talk to the older bike fans, they will tell you regretfully that racing was really beautiful to watch in the days of tandem-pacing and that nothing had ever really replaced them. I must say that I think that way, too." René de Latour[3]

The most prolific winner was Rik Van Steenbergen of Belgium, with five wins.[4]

Winners

1921 Philippe Thys 1922 René Vermandel 1923 Jules van Hevel 1924 Jules van Hevel 1925 Achille Souchard 1926 Francis Pélissier 1927 Gabriel Marcillac 1928 Charles Lacquehay 1929 Georges Wambst 1930 Camille Foucaux 1931 Jean Marechal 1932 Ernest Terreau 1933 Charles Pélissier 1934 André Leducq 1935 Ernest Terreau 1936 Ernest Terreau 1937 Georges Paillard 1938[n 1] Gerrit Schulte 1943 Raoul Lesueur 1944–1946 - (not held) 1947 Emile Carrara 1948 Rik Van Steenbergen 1949 Louison Bobet

1950 Louison Bobet 1951 Hugo Koblet 1952 Rik Van Steenbergen 1953 Louison Bobet 1954 Louison Bobet 1955 Rik Van Steenbergen 1956 Bernard Gauthier 1957 Rik Van Steenbergen 1958 Rik Van Steenbergen 1959 Jacques Anquetil 1960 Jacques Anquetil 1961 Rik Van Looy 1962 Rudi Altig 1963 Jacques Anquetil 1964 Peter Post 1965 Jacques Anquetil 1966 Gerben Karstens 1967 Eddy Merckx 1968 Felice Gimondi 1969 Walter Godefroot

1970 Eddy Merckx 1971 Not held 1972 Raymond Poulidor 1973 Gerben Karstens 1974 Eddy Merckx 1975 Roger De Vlaeminck 1976 Freddy Maertens 1977 Francesco Moser 1978 Michel Laurent 1979 Joop Zoetemelk 1980 Joop Zoetemelk 1981 Daniel Willems 1982 Bernard Hinault 1983 Greg LeMond 1984 Sean Kelly 1985 Sean Kelly 1986 Sean Kelly 1987 Charly Mottet 1988 Claude Criquielion 1989 Laurent Fignon 1990 Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle

Venues

The race was held at:

1913-1966: Longchamp 1967: Lac Daumesnil (Bois de Vincennes) 1968-1969: Le Havre 1970: Lac Daumesnil 1972: Felletin

1974: Nogaro 1975: Belfort 1976: Valkenburg aan de Geul, Holland 1977: Châteaulin 1978: Orchies

1979-1982: La Défense 1983: Geneva, Switzerland 1984-1988: Montreuil 1989: Port-Lecaute 1990: Daumesnil

Notes

1. The 1938 race was not called the Critérium des As. It was held at Longchamp to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dunlop tyre company.

References

1. Memoire du Cyclisme, Results Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. Velo Archive - Critérium des As
3. Sporting Cyclist, UK, undated cutting
4. James, Tom (2003), "Critérium des As", VeloArchive, Slough: veloarchive.com