Roger Walkowiak

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Lore & Background

Walkowiak's 1956 Tour de France victory is one of the most surprising in the race's history. From 1930 the Tour had been contested by national and regional teams. 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 Gilbert Bauvin, who had been promoted to France's main team. On stage 7 from Lorient to Angers, Walkowiak escaped in a group of 31 riders that won that day by over 18 minutes. The advantage was enough to give him the yellow jersey. 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 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 (Turin–Grenoble), climbing specialist Charly Gaul attacked; Wagtmans lost 16 minutes and Walkowiak took back the yellow jersey after losing only 8 minutes to Gaul. For the last four stages, Walkowiak defended his lead, reaching the finish at the Parc des Princes on 28 July just over a minute ahead of Gilbert Bauvin. The race was won at a then record speed of 36.268 km/h. Walkowiak became the second rider to win the Tour without winning any individual stage. Jacques Goddet always considered Walkowiak his favourite winner, calling him an all-rounder who used his legs to win and his head to secure his position. France remained unimpressed, and for many years, doing something "à la Walko" meant to succeed unexpectedly or without panache.

In Their Own Story

The reaction to Walkowiak's win depressed him. He rode the Tour the following year, but slipped from top of the field to almost the bottom. He rode the Vuelta a España in 1957 and won a stage, raced a further two years, then retired to run a bar in the area from which he had left as an unknown to win the Tour de France. When even his customers teased him about winning the Tour, he lost confidence still more and went back to working on a lathe in the car factory in Montluçon that had employed him as a young man. It took many years to persuade Walkowiak that there was merit in what he had done. Though he lived quietly in south-west France, he did talk about the day he became the unknown who won the world's greatest cycling race. After the death of Ferdi Kübler on 29 December 2016, Walkowiak was for a short while the oldest Tour de France winner still alive. Following his death on 6 February 2017, the oldest living Tour winner was Federico Bahamontes, who won the Tour in 1959.

Reader's Guide

Walkowiak's Tour de France results: 1951 – 57th; 1953 – 47th; 1956 – 1st; 1958 – 75th. His 1956 victory stands out because he won without winning any individual stage, only the second rider to do so. The win came at a record average speed of 36.268 km/h. His margin of victory over Gilbert Bauvin was just over a minute. The key moment was stage 7, where a 31-rider break gained over 18 minutes, giving Walkowiak the yellow jersey. In the Alps on stage 18, Charly Gaul's attack split the field; Wout Wagtmans lost 16 minutes while Walkowiak lost only 8, reclaiming the lead. Walkowiak then defended it through the final four stages. His career as a professional spanned 1950 to 1960. After retirement, he ran a bar and later returned to work at the car factory in Montluçon.

Did You Know?

• Walkowiak was a late replacement for Gilbert Bauvin on the Nord-Est-Centre team for the 1956 Tour.
• He won the 1956 Tour without winning any individual stage, only the second rider to do so.
• His victory speed of 36.268 km/h was a Tour record at the time.
• After retiring, he ran a bar but returned to work on a lathe at the car factory in Montluçon when customers teased him about his win.
• For a short while after Ferdi Kübler's death in December 2016, Walkowiak was the oldest living Tour de France winner.