Paris-Brest-Paris Results

Paris-Brest-Paris Race (1891-1951) and Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur (1931-2023)

  1. Reading the Palmarès
  2. Palmarès

Reading the Palmarès

To fully understand these palmarès – etymologically the French word “palmarès” means “those who deserve the palm” – here is some useful information.

ABBREVIATIONS 

For all editions, the abbreviations are:

  • hh:mm = time in hours and minutes (real time with possible penalties or corrections)
  • AB = did not finish 
  • AB† = death during PBP
  • HD = finished over time limit
  • NH = excluded, following a violation of the regulations
  • NP = did not start

The editions of the race often include (in 1901, 1911 and 1921) a double component depending on the category of the participant:

  • CV = speed runner
  • TR = road tourist

For the randonneurs’ editions, we find the following machines:

  • TC = tricycle
  • TF = women tandem
  • TH = men tandem
  • TM = mixed tandem
  • TR = triplet
  • VE = bicycle
  • VS = special machine
  • VT = mountain bike

For nationality, this is the nationality declared by the participant. It can of course be different from that of his place of residence or that of his club. The two-letter abbreviations are those of the ISO 3166-1 standard.

Finally, the sex of the participant:

  • F = female
  • M = male
  • N = other

Order of Presentation

The order is always the same: first the homologated ones, then the NH, the HD, the AB†, the AB and finally the NP.

Regarding race, the classification of those homologated is based on time. This is the ranking published by the organizing newspaper after examining all complaints. A competitor may be classified in last place (sanction for illicit aid for example) despite his time.Regarding randonneurs, the classification of homologated people is in alphabetical order based on first and last names. The times displayed are the times used for approval (without taking seconds into account), i.e. the actual times recorded, possibly corrected for penalties imposed or additional time granted for rescuing an injured person.

Misses

For all homologated people, whether runners or randonneurs, the list is deemed accurate and complete. On the other hand, for those who have not been homologated, there are two editions for which it was not possible to find the list of entrants. So on, a few people are missing. It concerns:

  • the 1956 edition of PBP Randonneur with approximately 20 NP and 15 AB missing,
  • the 1961 edition of PBP Randonneur with approximately 10 NP and 10 AB missing.

Name-First name: in 1891 there remained a few names or first names replaced by an initial. Note that for the first editions of the race, the fashion was for the nickname. When this was the case, the nickname appears first then the real name or first name afterwards, placed between two brackets, for example: RALENTI [RENAULT] Jules. There are also around ten randonneurs whose first name remains unknown.

Frame plates: first of all, the term is incorrect for 1891, since the competitors had armbands. The plates only came later. Here too, there remain some gaps for randonneurs in 1931 and 1961, and more for those in 1956.

Anyone who discovers an error or who could provide information aimed at filling the remaining gaps is invited to do so by sending an email to the ACP. Thanks in advance.

Finally, one last remark regarding these palmares. The PBP results also appear on the brochures that the ACP publishes every four years. It may happen that errors are discovered after the publication of these brochures and that it is therefore no longer possible to correct them. Please note that in this case, the palmarès are updated to correct these errors, and that they therefore constitute the only information that is certified by the ACP.

Sources

For the race, these are mainly the organizing newspapers, which the BNF (Gallica) website allows you to easily consult:

  • Le Petit Journal in 1891
  • L’ Auto-Vélo in 1901 then L’Auto from 1911 to 1931
  • L’Équipe in 1948 and 1951

Finally, we will mention the site “Mémoire du Cyclisme” whose enthusiast forum contains treasures, as well as the special issue of the magazine “Coups de pédale” produced by Michel Dargenton (Paris-Brest-Paris, history of a ten-year race).

For randonneurs there are of course the ACP archives. Since 1991 and computerization there has been no problem. From 1971 to 1987 the ACP results brochures and especially many paper registers and documents, carefully kept by Suzanne Lepertel, are very precious. Before 1971 the ACP archives were poor, even non-existent, particularly in 1956 and 1961. It was necessary to resort to the specialized press:

  • L’Écho des Sports
  • Le Cycliste
  • Cyclo-Sport
  • Cyclo-Magazine
  • Vélo Journal
  • La Pédale and la Pédale touristique
  • Route et Piste
  • The book by Bernard Déon (Paris-Brest and return)
  • The three books (2007, 2011 and 2015) by Jacques Seray dedicated to Paris-Brest-Paris
  • The numerous club bulletins (ACP, US Métro, UV Argenteuil, ASPTT Paris, Gambetta CT, UAF, etc.)

We will of course add the memories of the elders, like Gilbert Bulté, Ernest Csuka, Roger Baumann, Raymond Henry, whom I had the chance to know well and who never refused their help. Finally, it would take too long to list all the people I contacted, often by email or telephone, and who were always extremely kind enough to help me compile and enrich these lists. May they all be warmly thanked.

Ownership of Information

The information published in these rankings is public and made available to all those who are interested. Please note that they only constitute part of the information held by the ACP. For reasons of privacy, not all of them can be communicated. 

However, they are essential to us, because they allow, for example, to get around the obstacle of “name-first name” homonyms which, among more than 32,000 participants, are numerous – there are, for example, seven different Michel MARTIN – and accurately identify true recidivists. Conversely, they also allow us to know that two different “last name-first name” are nevertheless one and the same person, as can happen following a marriage, a divorce or by a simple change of last name or first name. 

These data concern, after the 2023 edition, more than 54,500 registrations for PBP (1008 for PBP course and 53,524 for PBP randonneur). They also allow multiple statistics, by department, by region, by club country, by age, by recidivism rate, etc.

Alain COLLONGUES
Audax Club Parisien
December 2023

Palmarès