Bol d'Or Bicycle Race

1909 Bol d' Or

The Bol d'Or was a bicycle track race that ran in France between 1894 and 1950. It was a paced, 24 hour endurance event. It has been won by several notable cyclists including Constant Huret (4 times), the Australian Hubert Opperman and three time hour record breaker Oscar Egg. The person with the most wins is Leon Georget (brother of Emile) with nine (including eight in a row).


The race was created on June 23 and 24, 1894 by a Monsieur Decam. It first ran at the Velodrome Buffalo in Paris and was sponsored by Chocolate Meunier.


In the early years riders were paced by tandems or triplets. In 1899 electric tandems were tried and motor (derny) pacing was used in 1950.

The race gets its name from the prize awarded to the winner - a gilded bronze bowl or cup.