Jean Bobet, “the man with a brother’s mask” in the words of Antoine Blondin, died at the weekend at 92. The announcement of his death was made this Saturday by the National Union of Professional Cyclists (UNCP), of which he was one of the founders.
The Breton, originally from Saint-Méen-le-Grand (Ille-et-Vilaine), was world university champion, then professional cyclist from 1951 to 1959, twice participant in the Tour de France (14e in 1955, 15e in 1957), winner of Paris-Nice 1955, Genoa-Nice in 1956, Circuit du Morbihan 1953, 3e de Milan – San Remo 1955. He was subsequently a journalist (at L’Equipe, RTL), then a talented writer, author of numerous books (he was awarded the Grand Prize for Sports Literature). In 1977, his name even circulated to take the direction of the Tour de France.
“I was a special cyclist”
Jean Bobet was also obviously the brother of Louison, the first man to win the Tour three times in a row between 1953 and 1955. “I was a special cyclist”, admitted this younger brother born in 1930, five years after Louison. “First, I was a curiosity that was described as an intellectual. It was written on my face: I wore glasses. And then, I was the brother of the other…”
A brother he loved so much, whose memory “never left him, sometimes even to excess, according to Jean-Marie Leblanc, former director of the Tour. “The greatest service he has rendered to Louison is not so much to have ridden for him on the flat or in the mountains, but to have always protected and watched over his memory after his death in 1983” , continues Christophe Penot, writer, publisher, who knew him well. “He was a great support for his brother in difficult times,” thinks Bernard Hinault, five-time winner of the Tour.
In the world of cycling, Jean Bobet had the image of an elegant soul. Sometimes on the margins, a little, in the middle. “He arrived in the aggregate English platoon!, says Christophe Penot. He was genuinely intelligent, he was sensitive. Above all, he has become an immense writer. His book “Cyclisme de Plaisance”, in which he notably recounts his ascent of Ventoux on the Tour, is for me one of the masterpieces of sports literature. »
“The first intellectual of the peloton”
“He was basically the first intellectual in the peloton. It was the head and the legs”estimates Daniel Mangeas, former mythical announcer of the Tour. “He was a man always clear-sighted, lucid, sensitive. It was always relevant, says former rider Stéphane Heulot, who shared many moments with him. He was intellectually honest. He still had that keen eye. He had warned me, sometimes, about people in the industry, and he had seen everything before anyone else… He’s one of the nicest people I’ve met on the bike. “He was a gentleman of great quality, with a real character it must be said”underlines Christian Prudhomme, current director of the Tour. “He was a character in the bike! »loose Bernard Hinault.
Jean-Marie Leblanc: “Jean was about moral integrity, intellectual rigor. He was demanding. Demanding with him, and therefore with others too. His attention was constantly shifting. But he wasn’t a flatterer, a demagogue, he didn’t make concessions…” “He wasn’t the kind of person you greet with a pat on the back! » jokes Daniel Mangeas. “He was unfamiliarconfirms Jean-Marie Leblanc. It was a Bobet, what! »
After his career, Jean Bobet also ran a thalassotherapy center in Quiberon, founded a few years earlier by his brother. “With this retraining, Jean and Louison were actually fifty years ahead”, says Christian Prudhomme. In 1996, he returned to live in Rennes, continuing to write and follow cycling news. His funeral will be celebrated Tuesday, August 2, at 2:30 p.m., in the Toussaint church in Rennes.
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