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Hippolyte Aucouturier Photo Gallery

Major victories and high placings | professional teams | nickname | photos |

Hippolyte Aucouturier (October 17, 1876 - April 22, 1944) was one of the pioneer era's great cyclists, with two Paris-Roubaix and five Tour de France stage victories (nine if you count 1904). He probably owned cycling's finest moustache.

His 1903 Paris-Roubaix victory could not have happened today, at least the way it went in 1903. Back then, when riders arrived at the Roubaix velodome they would switch to a fixed-gear track bike to ride the final three laps on the track. Aucouturier had been in a breakaway with two other riders, Louis Trousselier and Claude Chapperon. While the Chapperon and Trousselier squabbled over who owned which track bike after Chapperon grabbed Trousselier's, Aucouturier mounted his bike and rode away for his first of his two consecutive Paris-Roubaix wins.

The first edition of the Tour de France in 1903 was supposed to be a shoot-out between Maurice Garin and Aucouturier. But Aucouturier had violent stomach cramps partway through the first stage and had to quit the stage. Rules in force then allowed Aucouturier to continue racing for stage victories, but he was unable to compete for the general classification, which Garin easily won.

Aucouturier was caught up in the 1904 Tour de France cheating scandal. He originally finished fourth, almost three hours behind Maurice Garin, but Maurice Garin, Lucien Pottier, César Garin and Aucouturier were disqualified for various infractions and first place was awarded to the man who had finished fifth, Henri Cornet. Aucouturier came back and finished second to Louis Trousselier in the 1905 Tour.

Aucouturier raced professionally from 1900 to 1908.

Major victories and high placings:

1900: