Memo(s)

He was my grand'father. He was riding as a pro (but at this time the professional category did not exist and he worked in a factory and trained on the evening) from 1900 till he got married in 1913. He won Lille-Dunkerque (Dunkirk) in 1902 and finished 19th of Paris-Roubaix on the same year.
Concerning this race my mother (who was his daughter) told me that he was living in Lille at this time and to compete in this race he made the trip from Lille to Paris (250 km) on his bike the day before, slept at his aunt's house in St-Denis (5 km north of Paris) and made the trip back in the race this time to finish 19th.
He carried on riding his bike until he died. I remembered him often starting a bike session early in the morning with some sandwiches in his back pockets moving from Lille (France) to Nederland and back late in the afternoon when he was 70 years old !!!
Daniel Schamps

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