Tour de France history is filled with legendary cyclists whose stories are passed down from generation to generation. This is not one of those cyclists.
Aloïs Catteau (11 August 1877 – 2 November 1939) was an early twentieth century Belgian road racing cyclist who participated in the 1903 Tour de France and finished tenth. His best result was the 1904 Tour de France, where he finished 3rd. Hey, the man finished third in the second Tour de France ever, how obscure can he be you may ask? Well my fine cycling friend, keep reading below and all will be revealed.
The 1904 Tour de France was the second Tour de France, held from 2 to 24 July. With a route similar to its previous edition, 1903 Tour de France winner Maurice Garin seemed to have repeated his win by a small margin over Lucien Pothier, while Hippolyte Aucouturier won four of the six stages. But the race became a victim of its own success, plagued by scandals (scandals and the tour are like peanut butter and jelly if you are an obese Honey Boo Boo and you just don’t care anymore); cyclists were accused of having taken trains during the race. Twelve cyclists, including the first four of the final classification and all stage winners, were disqualified. Henri Cornet, originally the fifth-place finisher, was awarded the victory four months after the race. Our man Alois finished in eighth place originally, but was then moved up to third after much time and deliberation.
Major Competitions by Alois Catteau
1903 7th in Stage 1 Tour de France, Lyon (FRA)
1903 27th in Stage 2 Tour de France, Marseille (FRA)
1903 9th in Stage 3 Tour de France, Toulouse (FRA)
1903 9th in Stage 4 Tour de France, Bordeaux (FRA)
1903 11th in Stage 5 Tour de France, Nantes (FRA)
1903 15th in Stage 6 Tour de France, Paris (FRA)
1903 10th in General Classification Tour de France, Paris (FRA)
1904 3rd in General Classification Tour de France, Paris(Ville-d’Avray) (FRA)
1905 11th in General Classification Tour de France, Paris (parc des Princes) (FRA)
1906 6th in General Classification Tour de France, Paris (FRA)
1906 3rd in Paris – Tourcoing (FRA)
1907 9th in General Classification Tour de France, Paris (FRA)
1908 21st in General Classification Tour de France, Paris (FRA)
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