Grand Prix des Nations

Infobox Cycling race
name = Grand Prix des Nations
current_event =


date = September
region = France
english = Grand Prix of the Nations
localnames = Grand Prix des Nations fr icon
nickname =
discipline = Road
competition =
type = Individual time-trial
organiser =
director =
first = 1932
number = 70
last = 2004
firstwinner = flagicon|FRA Maurice Archambaud
mostwins = flagicon|FRA Jacques Anquetil ( 9 wins)
mostrecent = flagicon|GER Michael RichThe Grand Prix des Nations was an individual time trial (a race against the clock or "contre la montre") for Europe's leading professional racing cyclists. Held annually in France, it was instituted in 1932 and was often regarded as both the unofficial time trial championship of the world and as a Classic cycle race. The race was the idea of a Parisian newspaper editor called Gaston Bénac. The beret-wearing sports editor was looking for a race to make a name for "Paris-Soir", the biggest French evening paper before the war.

He and his colleague Albert Baker d'Isy had been inspired by watching the world road race championship in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1931. That, unusually, had been run as a time trial, and the two were impressed and also, they said, aware that a time-trial cost less to organise than a conventional road race. It was Baker d'Isy who decided on the name Grand Prix des Nations.

There is a dispute over who devised the first route. The American-French writer René de Latour said in the UK magazine Sporting Cyclist that he did; Baker d'Isy says that he did. The route started near the Versailles château and ran round a triangle through Rambouillet, Maulette, Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse, Versailles and Boulogne to finish on the Vélodrome Buffalo where the founder of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange, had become the world's first hour record holder in 1893. There were three hills, one in the first 100km, plenty of cobbles, and the last 40km went through the woods of the Vallée de Chevreuse, a popular area for bike riders. The distance was 142km.

The introduction of an official time trial champion at the UCI Road World Championships (in 1994) and an Olympic Individual Time Trial championship (1996) reduced its importance. With the introduction of the UCI ProTour in 2005, the event was removed from the calendar.

History

Race distances have varied over the years. Until 1955, it was usually run over a course of approximately 140 km; six years later, the distance was 100km; from 1965 onwards the distance rarely exceeded 90 km, with many events run over a course of around 75 km.

The early events were run in the Vallée de Chevreuse in the Paris area, then near Cannes on the French Riviera; for five years from 1993, it was held at the Madine Lake in the Meuse region; from 1998, it has taken place in Seine-Maritime "département", being two circuits of a 35 km course around Dieppe.

The roll of honour for the event includes many of professional cycling's greatest time trialists, but the event's history was dominated by two Frenchmen: Jacques Anquetil won the event nine times, Bernard Hinault achieved five victories.

Top British amateur woman racing cyclist Beryl Burton competed in the 1967 edition, finishing only minutes behind her male professional rivals.

Winners