Benoit Faure Paris-Brest-Paris 1948
" The organizers of Paris - Brest - Paris, run every ten years but interupted by the war, had a harder and harder time to convince racers of the value of the ride.
The hero of the first part of the course was Benoit Faure, nicknamed “The Mouse” in the thirties, who, at 49 years old, succeeded in holding off the peloton for 540 kilometers. At the Brest turnaround, four riders - Hendrickx, Tacca, Neuville, and Fazio - looked like possible winners. Pierre Tacca made a break at Pontchartrain but a flat slowed him at Versailles. While fixing his bike he saw the Belgians Francois Neuville and Albert Hendrickx roll past.
A heavy rain made the finish on the dirt track of the velodrome of the Parc des Princes impractical. An alternative on a boulevard in the Bois de Boulogne was hastily put in place. Hendrickx beat Neuville by a half-wheel after 1200 kilometers of riding."
From Randonneurs Ontario
This photo from the 6 Sept. 1948 Miroir-Sprint
Benoit Faure Paris-Brest-Paris 1948
" The organizers of Paris - Brest - Paris, run every ten years but interupted by the war, had a harder and harder time to convince racers of the value of the ride.
The hero of the first part of the course was Benoit Faure, nicknamed “The Mouse” in the thirties, who, at 49 years old, succeeded in holding off the peloton for 540 kilometers. At the Brest turnaround, four riders - Hendrickx, Tacca, Neuville, and Fazio - looked like possible winners. Pierre Tacca made a break at Pontchartrain but a flat slowed him at Versailles. While fixing his bike he saw the Belgians Francois Neuville and Albert Hendrickx roll past.
A heavy rain made the finish on the dirt track of the velodrome of the Parc des Princes impractical. An alternative on a boulevard in the Bois de Boulogne was hastily put in place. Hendrickx beat Neuville by a half-wheel after 1200 kilometers of riding."
From Randonneurs Ontario
This photo from the 6 Sept. 1948 Miroir-Sprint