René Pottier

René Pottier was a French racing cyclist, born on 5 June 1879 in Moret-sur-Loing, who won the Tour de France in 1906 and is regarded as the first great climber of the race. He won the amateur category of Bordeaux-Paris in 1903, turned professional, and finished second in Paris-Roubaix in 1905 and third in 1906. In the 1906 Tour he took five of the thirteen stages, was first over the Ballon d'Alsace, the first climb ever offered to the riders, and won overall with 31 points. In September 1906 he won the Bol d'Or 24-hour race at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris. He died on 25 January 1907 by hanging himself, and the Tour's patron Henri Desgrange had a memorial stele put up at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace.