Jules Deloffre

Jules Deloffre (22 April 1885 to 13 October 1963) was a French racing cyclist best remembered for the number of times he started the Tour de France. He rode fourteen editions of the race between 1908 and 1928 and finished seven of them, and he was the sole holder of the record for the most participations until André Darrigade made his fourteenth start in 1966. Nicknamed The Acrobat, he turned somersaults for the crowds at stage finishes and sang for them, so that many French spectators associated the Tour with him. He also rode the classics, finishing 22nd in Paris-Roubaix in 1908 and sixth in Bordeaux-Paris in 1924. He served in the infantry at Verdun in the First World War, and a street in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, where he is regarded as a local hero, bears his name. He died in 1963 after being run over by a car while riding home from a race.