View source for Louison Bobet

{{short description|French cyclist}}
{{Infobox cyclist
| name          = Louis Bobet
| image         = Louison Bobet (1951).jpg
| image_size    =
| caption       = Bobet at the [[1951 Tour de France]]
| fullname      = Louis Bobet
| nickname      = Louison<br>Zonzon<br>''Le boulanger de Saint-Méen'' (The baker from Saint-Méen)
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1925|3|12|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Saint-Méen-le-Grand]], France
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1983|3|13|1925|3|12|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Biarritz]], France
| height        =
| weight        =
| currentteam   =
| discipline    = Road
| role          = Rider
| ridertype     =
| amateuryears1 =
| amateurteam1  =
| proyears1     = 1946–1954
| proteam1      = [[Stella (bicycle company)|Stella]]
| proyears2     = 1955–1960
| proteam2      = {{UCI team code|Mercier|1955}}
| proyears3     = 1961
| proteam3      = {{UCI team code|Ignis|1961}}
| majorwins     = '''[[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tours]]'''
:'''[[Tour de France]]'''
::'''[[General classification in the Tour de France|General classification]]''' ([[1953 Tour de France|1953]], [[1954 Tour de France|1954]], [[1955 Tour de France|1955]])
::[[Mountains classification in the Tour de France|Mountains classification]] ([[1950 Tour de France|1950]])
::11 individual stages<br>([[1948 Tour de France|1948]], [[1950 Tour de France|1950]], [[1951 Tour de France|1951]], [[1953 Tour de France|1953]], [[1954 Tour de France|1954]], [[1955 Tour de France|1955]])
:'''[[Giro d'Italia]]'''
::[[Mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia|Mountains classification]] ([[1951 Giro d'Italia|1951]])
::2 individual stages ([[1951 Giro d'Italia|1951]], [[1957 Giro d'Italia|1957]])
:'''[[Vuelta a España]]'''
::1 TTT stage ([[1956 Vuelta a España|1956]])
'''[[Race stage|Stage races]]'''
:[[Paris–Nice]] ([[1952 Paris–Nice|1952]])
:[[Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré]] ([[1955 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré|1955]])
'''[[Classic cycle races|One-day races and Classics]]'''
:[[UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|World Road Race Championships]] ([[1954 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|1954]])
:{{nowrap|[[French National Road Race Championships|National Road Race Championships]] (1950, 1951)}}
:[[Milan–San Remo]] ([[1951 Milan–San Remo|1951]])
:[[Giro di Lombardia]] ([[1951 Giro di Lombardia|1951]])
:[[Tour of Flanders (men's race)|Tour of Flanders]] ([[1955 Tour of Flanders|1955]])
:[[Paris–Roubaix]] ([[1956 Paris–Roubaix|1956]])
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalCountry|{{flagu|France}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[road bicycle racing]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[UCI Road World Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold |[[1954 UCI Road World Championships|1954 Solingen]]|[[1954 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]]}}
{{MedalSilver |[[1957 UCI Road World Championships|1957 Waregem]]|[[1957 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]]}}
{{MedalSilver |[[1958 UCI Road World Championships|1958 Reims]]|[[1958 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]]}}
}}
'''Louis "Louison" Bobet''' ({{IPA|fr|lwi.zɔ̃ bɔ.be|pron}}; 12 March 1925 – 13 March 1983<ref name="l'Equ Bob">[https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/CyclismeFicheCoureur1583.html L'Equipe, Cycling database, Louison Bobet]</ref>) was a French professional [[road racing cyclist]]. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the [[Tour de France]] in three successive years, from [[1953 Tour de France|1953]] to [[1955 Tour de France|1955]].

==Origins==
Louis Bobet was born one of three children above his father's baker's shop in the rue de Montfort,<ref>It is no longer a bakery. The Bobet family left and most recently it is a driving school, the road having been renamed rue Louison Bobet. A plaque on the wall marks it as Bobet's birthplace.</ref> [[Saint-Méen-le-Grand]], near [[Rennes]]. His father gave him a bicycle when he was two and after six months he could ride it 6&nbsp;km.<ref name="Ont'Wheel">On the Wheel, USA, undated cutting</ref> Bobet's father was also called Louis and the son was called Louison – little Louis – to avoid confusion The ending ''-on'' is a diminutive in French but outside Brittany Louison refers more usually to a girl. He was known as Louis in his early years as a rider, even as a professional, until the diminutive Louison gained in popularity.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

His sister played [[table tennis]], his brother [[Jean Bobet|Jean]] [[association football|football]], although he also became a professional cyclist. Louison played both table tennis<ref name="The Bicycle, UK, 4 July 1951, p24">The Bicycle, UK, 4 July 1951, p24</ref> and football and became Brittany champion at table tennis.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/> It was his uncle, Raymond, who was president of a cycling club in Paris who persuaded him to concentrate on cycling.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

Bobet's first race was a 30&nbsp;km event when he was 13. He came second in a sprint finish.<ref name="The Bicycle, UK, 4 July 1951, p24"/> He raced in his local area and won four events for unlicensed riders<ref>Unlicensed riders did not have a licence from the national cycling organisation</ref> in 1941. He qualified for the final of the unofficial youth championship, the Premier Pas [[Dunlop Rubber|Dunlop]] in 1943 at [[Montluçon]] and came sixth. The winner was [[Raphaël Géminiani]], who would become a professional team-mate and rival.

Bobet is said to have carried messages for the [[French Resistance|Resistance]] during the [[Second World War]]. After [[D-Day]] he joined the army and served in eastern France. He was demobilised in December 1945.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

==Racing career==
Bobet applied for racing licence on leaving the army and by error was sent one for an independent, or semi-professional. He benefited from the right to compete against professionals as well as amateurs. He came second in the Brittany championship and rode the national championship in Paris. There he came up against a veteran professional, [[Marcel Bidot]], who on retirement became Bobet's manager in the national team. Bobet left the field to catch two riders who had broken clear. He dropped one and outsprinted the other to become national champion. He turned fully professional for [[Stella (bicycle company)|Stella]], a bicycle factory in [[Nantes]].<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

===Tour de France 1947===
Stella was a small team that rode mainly in Brittany. In May 1947, however, two from the team rode the Boucles de la [[Seine]] race in Paris. He won alone by six minutes. It brought him an invitation to ride the Tour de France, at that time disputed by national and regional teams. The unexpected toughness of the race forced him to go home on the ninth day, in the [[Alps]] and to cry when the going got hard. It brought him the nickname "cry-baby" in the bunch<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/> and [[René Vietto]] referred to him as ''La Bobette'', a mock feminisation of his name, for his tears and complaining. The historian Dick Yates wrote:

:He brought down the scorn of the press and everyone quickly wrote off this 'cry-baby'. [[René Vietto]] was in the yellow jersey as leader of the [[General classification in the Tour de France|general classification]] and he looked like he was going to win – he was a real man. As France forgot about him, Bobet went home to lick his wounds and listen to words of advice from his father.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

===Tour de France 1948===
The former rider, [[Maurice Archambaud]], took over management of the team from Léo Véron and took a chance on Bobet. Much had changed since the previous summer and he took the lead after the third stage, which finished near Stella's factory in Nantes. Bobet lost the yellow jersey the following day but regained it by winning the sixth stage, to [[Biarritz]]. He had 20 minutes' lead over the veteran Italian, [[Gino Bartali]] as the race entered the Alps. And then happened one of the most outstanding periods in the history of the Tour.

(''See [[Gino Bartali]] for full story.'')

A political crisis in Italy threatened to overthrow the government and bring the country to anarchy. The prime minister asked Bartali to distract Italians by dominating the Tour.<ref name="McGann 158">McGann, Bill and Carol (2006), The Story of the Tour de France, Dog Ear, US, p158</ref> Bartali won three stages in a row and the Tour by 14 minutes. Bobet's 20 minutes on Bartali was cut to a 32-minute deficit by the time the race finished in Paris. Bobet had twice worn the yellow jersey and won two stages, however, and with the money he won he moved to Paris and bought a [[drapery]] shop for his wife.

===Tour de France 1950===
Bobet did not finish in 1949, struggling from the start. He dropped out on the first day in the mountains, along with four other members of the national team. In 1950 he won the national championship at [[Montlhéry]] south of Paris the week before the Tour and rode in the national team with Géminiani, the rider who had beaten him as a boy in the Premier Pas Dunlop. He and Bobet developed a rocky friendship, Géminiani's rough, instinctive character a contrast to the more thoughtful, quieter Bobet. The two argued frequently but remained friends. Géminiani, following the French habit of creating [[nicknames]] by doubling a syllable of a name<ref>Raymond Poulidor, named Poupou by the journalist Émile Besson, is the most prominent example</ref> referred to Bobet as ''Zonzon'',<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/><ref>Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, Nathan, France</ref> a name that Bobet hated but tolerated. Géminiani had the confidence that Bobet lacked.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/>

Bobet and Géminiani were second and third early in the race. Both hoped to profit from the absence of [[Fausto Coppi]], who was injured, but found themselves instead up against an unbeatable [[Ferdinand Kübler]]. Bobet finished third, winning the mountain competition.

===Tour de France 1953===
{{Quote box
| quote  = Bobet is a good climber and time-triallist who rides with authority and intelligence. He is careful with his preparation, careful with his efforts and totally serious. An outstanding rider but has a lack of confidence [''morale'']. He is extremely nervous, sensitive, worried and susceptible. But with experience he will overcome the problems. A charming friend, happy, often joking and with spirit, but some days he shuts himself off, wrapped in his worries.
| source = Jean Bidot, team manager<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/> 
| width  = 25%
 | align  =right
}} 
Bobet rode the 1951 Tour in the blue-white-red of national champion again but cracked in the mountains. Jean Bidot, the manager, sent riders to help him but in the end abandoned him to concentrate on Géminiani, the best placed. Bobet came 20th, although with a stage win. He lost 40 minutes on the last day in the mountains even though the race was taking it easy, [[Hugo Koblet]] already being unbeatable. Dick Yates said:

<blockquote>It was a terrible performance for a man of his class, but although he had suffered and suffered he had not given up the struggle. While this showed character, nobody was prepared to make allowances for it. 'He is just not a stage rider,' they said. 'He'll never win the Tour. No matter how brilliant you may be, if you're not consistent you haven't got a chance.' The sensitive Bobet was stung by this criticism. He had given his all for the Tour but everyone had turned against him. Even Jean Robic, who was not really in Bobet's class, was now more popular and it really hurt.<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/></blockquote>

And then in 1953, after a year without the Tour, Bobet left the field behind on a stage that crossed the [[Col de Vars|Vars]]. He climbed the [[Col d'Izoard]] alone on roads still rutted and strewn with stones and when the gearing on his bicycle forced him to fight to keep it moving.<ref>[http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.php?vue=notice&from=fulltext&full=izoard&num_notice=1&total_notices=16 INA, National archives, Television pictures ]</ref>  The historian Bill McGann wrote:
<blockquote>Stage 18 is etched in the history of the Tour. It was 165km from [[Gap, Hautes-Alpes|Gap]] to [[Briançon]]... Bobet knew this was the time to strike. One of Bobet's team-mates, [[Adolphe Deledda]], went clear on the Vars with two other riders. Bobet stayed with the other leading climbers as they ascended the Vars. Spanish rider [[Jesús Loroño]] attacked. The alert and very capable Bobet jumped on his wheel and the pair disappeared up the mountain. Bobet was a good descender and dropped Lorono on the way down the Vars. Meanwhile, Deledda, upon being told that Bobet was on his way, eased up and waited for his captain. The two hooked up and took off across the 20km valley floor leading to the Izoard. In doing so they caught and then dispatched Deledda's two original breakaway companions. Bobet and Deledda, knowing the importance of the moment, were men on a mission. Deledda, fulfilling the team contract in both letter and especially in spirit, buried himself towing Bobet to the great mountain. Bobet flew up the Izoard as if he had wings. Bobet had finally arrived as the premier stage racer in the world. As he crested the Izoard there was a very well known cycling fan by the side of the road. Fausto Coppi with his mistress, Giulia Locatelli (the "woman in white"), was watching the race. As he rode past the great man, Bobet shouted thanks to Coppi for coming.<ref name="Mcgann 197">McGann, Bill and Carol (2006), The Story of the Tour de France, Dog Ear, USA pp196-197</ref></blockquote>

He won that day by more than five minutes in [[Briançon]], took the yellow jersey as leader of the [[General classification in the Tour de France|general classification]], then won the [[time trial]] and finished the Tour with 14 minutes' lead. He was greeted in Paris by [[Maurice Garin]],<ref name="Mcgann 197"/> winner of the first Tour in 1903, celebrating the Tour's 50th anniversary. He had, however, won a Tour without stars. Kübler was not riding and nor was Coppi, who was standing on the Izoard to watch Bobet pass.<ref>Cycle Sport, UK, November 1996</ref><ref>[http://www.ina.fr/archivespourtous/index.php?vue=notice&from=fulltext&full=izoard&num_notice=1&total_notices=16 Ina.fr]</ref><ref>The pictures taken that day of Coppi with his mistress were printed without comment next day but soon became part of the "Woman in White" scandal that harmed Coppi's career and reputation.</ref> Koblet was riding badly and dropped out after a crash. Bartali was too old. Yates' assessment is that "Bobet had won the Tour and won it well but the opposition was hardly top drawer.

===Tour de France 1954===
[[File:Louison Bobet, Tour de France 1954.jpg|thumb|Bobet at the [[1954 Tour de France]]]]
The 1954 race was different, without Italians but with a strong team from Belgium. The race started fast and didn't ease up. Bobet took the lead after four days, then lost it on day  eight. The jersey changed hands until Bobet again dominated on the Izoard. Winning the time-trial cemented his lead and he got to Paris 15 minutes before Kübler A few weeks later he became world champion in Germany. He left Stella after eight years to ride for [[Mercier (cycling team)|Mercier]], the team riding bicycles carrying Bobet's name and sold by him but made in the Mercier factory in [[St-Étienne]].

===Tour de France 1955===
Bobet completed his hat-trick of successive wins in 1955, having that year won the Tour of Flanders and [[Critérium du Dauphiné|Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré]]. The strongest French rider at first was [[Antonin Rolland]] and the manager, Marcel Bidot, asked the team to ride for him. Rolland, however, grew weaker as the race approached the Pyrenees. Bobet won the Tour but with a saddle boil that needed surgery. "His flesh was full of holes", said a report. "Dead tissue had to be removed to within several millimetres of vital organs. Nobody dared speak the word '[[cancer]]'"<ref name="JodeF">[[Jours de France]], France, 28 June 1958</ref> Bobet believed that enduring the sores during the Tour made him a lesser rider for the rest of his life.<ref>McGann, Bill and Carol (2006), The Story of the Tour de France, Dog Ear, USA pp213</ref>

He learned to fly a plane while forced not to ride.

===Tour de France 1958===
The 1958 was the last that Bobet finished. One account said:

<blockquote>He has 400,000 kilometres in his legs. He has conquered glory and fortune but he is badly ill. Despite the formal advice of his doctor, he has decided to ride the 1958 Tour de France. He will suffer. He knows that. In the heart of the gigantic rocks of the Cassé Déserte, Bob is arced on his bicycle, his kidneys crushed by the effort and his head, like a heavy, painful balance, oscillates above his handlebars. The sun beats down on him. Around him, the whole mountain smokes like a giant witch's cauldron. As he breathes, what burns his throat and his lungs is the dust that rises around him... Abandoned, alone, without help, streaming with sweat, he has no other weapon against his adversaries but the mountain, the bad weather and his crazy willpower.<ref name="JodeF"/></blockquote>

He came seventh.

{{Quote box
| quote = Those who knew Bobet well stayed out of his way during the week before a big race, as he was neurotic and totally unbearable. Normally urbane, charming, interesting and witty, he could become vindictive, spiteful, mean and petty towards those devoted to his cause, and he never hesitated to get rid of a team-mate if he upset him.

That he relied enormously on the help of Marcel Bidot, Géminiani and his brother, Jean, is without question, but really the story of Bobet is the story of a man who conquered himself. Divorced from his first wife and separated from his second, Louison was obviously not the easiest man to get on with – but what a champion!
| source = Dick Yates<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/> 
| width  = 25%
 | align  =right
}}

==Personality==
The most striking feature of Bobet the man rather than rider was his ambition to behave like a Hollywood matinée idol, a sort of [[David Niven]] character in a dinner suit [[tuxedo]]. It brought him much ribbing from other French riders. Géminiani says Bobet's diffident and elegant manner made him less popular even in his own [[Brittany]] than the more rustic, forthright manners of other [[Breton people]] such as [[Jean Robic]].<ref>L'Équipe, 9 July 2006</ref> The British professional [[Brian Robinson (cyclist)|Brian Robinson]] called Bobet "a private man and a little moody" and said he would sulk if things went wrong. The French journalist [[René de Latour]] said of Bobet in [[Sporting Cyclist]] that "he didn't look good on a bike" and that he had "the legs of a football [soccer] player".

Bobet spoke out against French involvement in a war against [[communists]] in [[Indo-China]]. He said he wasn't a [[Marxist]] but a [[pacifist]]. Géminiani said Bobet lacked humility. "He really thought that, after him, there'd be no more cycling in France", he said.<ref name="L'Équipe 9 July 2003">L'Équipe, France, 1 July 2003</ref> Bobet occasionally talked of himself in the third person.<ref name="L'Équipe 9 July 2003"/>

Bobet was driven by personal hygiene and refused to accept his first yellow jersey because it had not been made with the pure wool he believed the only healthy material for a sweating and dusty rider. Synthetic thread or blends were added in 1947 following the arrival of Sofil as a sponsor. Sofil made artificial yarn.<ref name="Goddet">Goddet, Jacques, ''L'Équipée Belle'', Laffont, France</ref> The race organiser, [[Jacques Goddet]] wrote:
<blockquote>It produced a real drama. Our contract with Sofil was crumbling away. If the news had got out, the commercial effect would have been disastrous for the manufacturer. I remember debating it with him a good part of the night. Louison was always exquisitely courteous but his principles were as hard as the granite blocks of his native Brittany coast.<ref name="Goddet"/></blockquote>

Goddet had to get Sofil to produce another jersey overnight, its logo still visible but artificial fabric absent. 
Bobet's concern with hygiene and clothing was accentuated by frequent problems with saddle sores.<ref name="Mcgann 197"/>

==Raymond Le Bert==
Bobet was one of the first riders to employ a personal [[soigneur]], taking his lead from Coppi. He took on Raymond Le Bert, a [[physiotherapist]] from [[St-Brieuc]], as well as a secretary and a driver.<ref name="L'Équipe 9 July 2003"/> Le Bert booked him hotel rooms between half-stages of the Tour, against the Tour's rules. Riders were supposed to use a dormitory provided for them. When the Tour insisted riders carry spare tyres, usually round their shoulders, Le Bert gave Bobet tubulars with the inner tubes taken out, useless to ride on but lighter to carry if that's what the rules insisted.<ref name="L'Équipe 9 July 2003"/>

Le Bert said he had met Coppi, whom Bobet admired for his "modern" techniques but refused to have anything to do with the Italian's suitcase of drugs.<ref>de Mondenard, Pierre (2000), Dopage, l'imposture des Performances, Charron, France, p111</ref> Bobet insisted he never took drugs. But the journalist and race organiser, Jean Leulliot, remembered a dinner organised by [[Jacques Goddet]] and [[Félix Lévitan]], the organisers of the Tour de France, for the race's former winners. Leulliot wrote:

<blockquote>One table attracted particular attention. Around it were Anquetil, Merckx and Bobet, 13 victories in the Tour between them. The conversation at the table was particularly lively and Louison Bobet was being challenged for saying that he had never taken the slightest drug or stimulant. He was obliged to admit that he had drunk the small bottles prepared for him by his soigneur at the time without knowing exactly what they contained. Which produced laughter from [[Jacques Anquetil]] and [[Eddy Merckx]].<ref>Sud-Ouest, France, 24 July 1978, cited de Mondenard, Pierre (2000), Dopage, l'imposture des Performances, Charron, France, p111</ref></blockquote>

==Bobet and Britain==
Bobet presented prizes at the annual presentation of the [[British Best All-Rounder]] time-trial competition at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], London, in 1954.<ref name="SportingCyc">Sporting Cyclist, UK, November 1966, p19</ref> He gave a yellow jersey to a veteran competitor, Vic Gibbons.<ref>Journal, Fellowship of Cycling Old-Timers, UK, vol 141</ref> Bobet flew from Paris to London in a [[de Havilland]] Dove chartered by a London timber-merchant and cycling enthusiast, Vic Jenner.<ref>Jenner put up the money to launch ''[[Sporting Cyclist]]'' and was about to contract Jacques Anquetil to ride a time-trial under British rules when he died.</ref> Jock Wadley, the editor of ''[[Sporting Cyclist]]'' was with Jenner. He remember that the two Britons arrived at [[Le Bourget]] airport without having brought passports – but that immigration staff gave them no attention because they were too busy trying to get an autograph from Bobet.<ref name="SportingCyc"/>

==Retirement and death==
[[File:Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (Avenue Louison Bobet).JPG|thumb|right|250px|Road named for the cycling great]]
Bobet's career effectively ended when the car carrying him and his brother [[Jean Bobet|Jean]] crashed outside Paris in the autumn of 1960.

Louison Bobet had a succession of businesses after he stopped racing, including a clothes shop, but he became best known for investing in and developing the seawater health treatment of [[thalassotherapy]]. He had used it when recovering from his car crash. He opened the Louison Bobet centre beside the sea at [[Quiberon]].<ref>It still exists, now known as Miramar Crouesty</ref> The Quiberon centre was purchased by [[Accor]] in 1984 and became the flagship of its [[Thalassa Sea & Spa]] brand.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://group.accor.com/en/group/who-we-are/our-history|title=Accor – Our history|website=group.accor.com|access-date=2020-01-09}}</ref> He fell ill, however, and died of cancer<ref name="Ont'Wheel"/> the day after his 58th birthday. Cancer had been speculated during the operation for his saddle boils. Bobet is interred in the cemetery of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, and there is a museum to his memory in the town,<ref>[http://www.cityzeum.com/musee-louison-bobet Musée Louison Bobet], 5 rue de Gael, Saint-Méen-le-Grand</ref> the idea of village postmaster Raymond Quérat.

==Major results==
{{div col|colwidth=25em}}
;1947
: 1st [[:fr:Circuit des Boucles de la Seine|Circuit des Boucles de la Seine]]
;1948
: 4th Overall [[1948 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::1st Stages 6 & 12
::Held {{cjersey|yellow}} after Stages 3 & 6–13
;1949
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[Tour de l'Ouest]]
: 1st [[Critérium des As]]
: 4th [[À travers Lausanne]]
: 8th [[Grand Prix des Nations]]
: 9th [[1949 La Flèche Wallonne|La Flèche Wallonne]]
;1950
: 1st {{cjersey|france}} [[French National Road Race Championships|Road race]], National Road Championships
: 1st [[Critérium des As]]
: 1st [[:fr:Grand Prix de l'Écho d'Alger|Grand Prix de l'Écho d'Alger]]
: 3rd Overall [[1950 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::1st [[Mountains classification in the Tour de France|Mountains classification]]
::1st Stage 18
: 3rd Overall [[Roma–Napoli–Roma]]
: 5th [[1950 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1950 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 9th [[1950 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]]
;1951
: 1st {{cjersey|france}} [[French National Road Race Championships|Road race]], National Road Championships
: 1st [[1951 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]]
: 1st [[1951 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]
: 1st [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 1st [[:fr:Grand Prix du Locle|Grand Prix du Locle]]
: 1st Stage 17 [[1951 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
: 2nd [[1951 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 3rd [[Coppa Bernocchi]]
: 3rd [[Critérium des As]]
: 4th [[1951 La Flèche Wallonne|La Flèche Wallonne]]
: 6th Overall [[Roma–Napoli–Roma]]
: 7th Overall [[1951 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]
::1st [[Mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia|Mountains classification]]
::1st Stage 17 
: 7th Overall [[1951 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
::1st Stages 2 & 4b
: 7th [[1951 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
;1952
: 1st {{cjersey|white}} Overall [[1952 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
::1st Stages 2, 3, 5 & 6
: 1st [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 1st [[Grand Prix des Nations]]
: 2nd [[Grand Prix du Midi Libre]]
: 2nd [[Critérium des As]]
: 3rd [[Gran Premio di Lugano]]
: 4th [[1952 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
: 4th [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Jean Bobet]])
: 5th [[1952 Paris–Tours|Paris–Tours]]
: 6th [[1952 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
: 7th [[1952 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 8th [[1952 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1952 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 9th [[1952 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]
;1953
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[1953 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::1st Stages 18 & 20 ([[Individual time trial|ITT]])
: 1st [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
: 1st [[Critérium des As]]
: 3rd [[French National Road Race Championships|Road race]], National Road Championships
: 3rd Overall [[1953 Tour de Romandie|Tour de Romandie]]
::1st Stage 4
: 4th [[1953 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 4th [[1953 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
: 5th [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 6th [[Mont Faron#Hill climb|Mont Faron Hill Climb]]
: 8th [[1953 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1953 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
;1954
: 1st {{cjersey|rainbow}} [[1954 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1954 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[1954 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::1st Stages 2, 18 & 21b ([[Individual time trial|ITT]])
: 1st [[:fr:Grand Prix cycliste d'Espéraza|Grand Prix cycliste d'Espéraza]]
: 1st [[Critérium des As]]
: 2nd [[1954 Paris–Tours|Paris–Tours]]
: 2nd [[Mont Faron#Hill climb|Mont Faron Hill Climb]]
: 2nd [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Jacques Anquetil]])
: 5th Overall [[1954 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré|Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré]]
::1st Stage 7
: 9th [[Grand Prix de Monaco (cycling)|Grand Prix de Monaco]]
;1955
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[1955 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
::1st Stages 3 & 11
: 1st {{cjersey|Dauphine}} Overall [[1955 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré|Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré]]
::1st Stages 3, 5 & 6b ([[Individual time trial|ITT]])
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[Tour de Luxembourg]]
::1st Stages 2 & 3
: 1st [[1955 Tour of Flanders|Tour of Flanders]]
: 1st Stage 3 [[1955 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
: 2nd [[French National Road Race Championships|Road race]], National Road Championships
: 3rd [[1955 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 4th [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
;1956
: 1st [[1956 Paris–Roubaix|Paris–Roubaix]]
: 1st Stage 10a ([[Team time trial|TTT]]) [[1956 Vuelta a España|Vuelta a España]]
: 2nd [[Paris–Camembert]]
: 2nd [[:fr:Circuit des Boucles de la Seine|Circuit des Boucles de la Seine]]
: 3rd [[French National Road Race Championships|Road race]], National Road Championships
: 3rd [[1956 Paris–Tours|Paris–Tours]]
: 4th [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 5th [[Critérium des As]]
: 7th [[1956 Giro di Lombardia|Giro di Lombardia]]
: 8th [[1956 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1956 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
;1957
: 1st [[Genoa–Nice]]
: 2nd [[File:Silver medal uci.svg|15px]] [[1957 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1957 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 2nd Overall [[1957 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]
::1st Stage 15
::Held {{cjersey|pink}} after Stages 2–7, 12, 13 & 15
: 2nd [[1957 Paris–Tours|Paris–Tours]]
: 2nd [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 2nd [[Grand Prix Stan Ockers]]
: 2nd [[Grand Prix de Monaco (cycling)|Grand Prix de Monaco]]
: 3rd [[Critérium des As]]
: 4th [[Tre Valli Varesine]]
: 5th Overall [[1957 Paris–Nice|Paris–Nice]]
: 6th [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Albert Bouvet]])
: 8th [[Mont Faron#Hill climb|Mont Faron Hill Climb]]
: 9th [[1957 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
;1958
: 2nd [[File:Silver medal uci.svg|15px]] [[1958 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|Road race]], [[1958 UCI Road World Championships|UCI Road World Championships]]
: 3rd [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
: 4th Overall [[1958 Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]
: 4th [[:fr:Circuit des Boucles de la Seine|Circuit des Boucles de la Seine]]
: 6th [[Brussels Cycling Classic|Paris–Brussels]]
: 7th Overall [[1958 Tour de France|Tour de France]]
: 8th [[Critérium International|Critérium National de la Route]]
: 9th Overall [[Four Days of Dunkirk]]
: 10th [[1958 Milan–San Remo|Milan–San Remo]]
: 10th [[Giro di Toscana]]
;1959
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[Roma–Napoli–Roma|Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico]]
::1st {{cjersey|green}} Mountains classification
::1st Stages 1, 2, 3, 5b & 9
: 1st [[Bordeaux–Paris]]
: 2nd [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
: 5th Overall [[Giro di Sardegna]]
: 5th [[Trofeo Baracchi]] (with [[Fausto Coppi]])
: 10th [[Brussels Cycling Classic|Paris–Brussels]]
;1960
: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall [[Roma–Napoli–Roma|Gran Premio Ciclomotoristico]]
::1st Stages 1b, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b & 7b ([[Individual time trial|ITT]])
: 4th [[Bordeaux–Paris]]
: 6th [[Manx Trophy]]
: 7th [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
: 8th [[Grand Prix Stan Ockers]]
: 10th [[Elfstedenronde|Circuit des Onze Villes]]
;1961
: 2nd [[Bordeaux–Paris]]
: 5th [[Genoa–Nice]]
: 6th [[Boucles de l'Aulne|Circuit de l'Aulne]]
: 7th Overall [[Grand Prix du Midi Libre]]
: 9th Overall [[Tour de l'Aude (men's race)|Tour de l'Aude]]
::1st Stage 3
: 10th [[Mont Faron#Hill climb|Mont Faron Hill Climb]]
{{div col end}}

===Grand Tour general classification results timeline===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grand Tour]]
! scope="col" | 1946
! scope="col" | 1947
! scope="col" | 1948
! scope="col" | 1949
! scope="col" | 1950
! scope="col" | 1951
! scope="col" | 1952
! scope="col" | 1953
! scope="col" | 1954
! scope="col" | 1955
! scope="col" | 1956
! scope="col" | 1957
! scope="col" | 1958
! scope="col" | 1959
! scope="col" | 1960
! scope="col" | 1961
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | {{cjersey|yellow}} [[List of Vuelta a España general classification winners|Vuelta a España]]
| [[1946 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1947 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1948 Vuelta a España|—]]
| style="color:#4d4d4d;"|NH
| [[1950 Vuelta a España|—]]
| style="color:#4d4d4d;" colspan=4 |Not held
| [[1955 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1956 Vuelta a España|DNF]]
| [[1957 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1958 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1959 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1960 Vuelta a España|—]]
| [[1961 Vuelta a España|—]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | {{cjersey|pink}} [[General classification in the Giro d'Italia|Giro d'Italia]]
| [[1946 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1947 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1948 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1949 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1950 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1951 Giro d'Italia|7]]
| [[1952 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1953 Giro d'Italia|DNF]]
| [[1954 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1955 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1956 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1957 Giro d'Italia|'''2''']]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1958 Giro d'Italia|4]]
| [[1959 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1960 Giro d'Italia|—]]
| [[1961 Giro d'Italia|—]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | {{cjersey|yellow}} [[General classification in the Tour de France|Tour de France]]
| style="color:#4d4d4d;"|NH
| [[1947 Tour de France|DNF]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1948 Tour de France|4]]
| [[1949 Tour de France|DNF]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1950 Tour de France|'''3''']]
| [[1951 Tour de France|20]]
| [[1952 Tour de France|—]]
| style="background:yellow;"|[[1953 Tour de France|'''1''']]
| style="background:yellow;"|[[1954 Tour de France|'''1''']]
| style="background:yellow;"|[[1955 Tour de France|'''1''']]
| [[1956 Tour de France|—]]
| [[1957 Tour de France|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1958 Tour de France|7]]
| [[1959 Tour de France|DNF]]
| [[1960 Tour de France|—]]
| [[1961 Tour de France|—]]
|}

===Classics results timeline===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Monument
! scope="col" | 1946
! scope="col" | 1947
! scope="col" | 1948
! scope="col" | 1949
! scope="col" | 1950
! scope="col" | 1951
! scope="col" | 1952
! scope="col" | 1953
! scope="col" | 1954
! scope="col" | 1955
! scope="col" | 1956
! scope="col" | 1957
! scope="col" | 1958
! scope="col" | 1959
! scope="col" | 1960
! scope="col" | 1961
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Milan–San Remo]]
| [[1946 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1947 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1948 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1949 Milan–San Remo|18]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1950 Milan–San Remo|9]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1951 Milan–San Remo|'''1''']]
| [[1952 Milan–San Remo|DSQ]]
| [[1953 Milan–San Remo|53]]
| [[1954 Milan–San Remo|13]]
| [[1955 Milan–San Remo|11]]
| [[1956 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1957 Milan–San Remo|17]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1958 Milan–San Remo|10]]
| [[1959 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1960 Milan–San Remo|—]]
| [[1961 Milan–San Remo|20]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Tour of Flanders (men's race)|Tour of Flanders]]
| [[1946 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1947 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1948 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1949 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1950 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1951 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1952 Tour of Flanders|6]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1953 Tour of Flanders|4]]
| [[1954 Tour of Flanders|14]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1955 Tour of Flanders|'''1''']]
| [[1956 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1957 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1958 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1959 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1960 Tour of Flanders|—]]
| [[1961 Tour of Flanders|—]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Paris–Roubaix]]
| [[1946 Paris–Roubaix|—]]
| [[1947 Paris–Roubaix|—]]
| [[1948 Paris–Roubaix|—]]
| [[1949 Paris–Roubaix|32]]
| [[1950 Paris–Roubaix|15]]
| style="background:silver;" |[[1951 Paris–Roubaix|'''2''']]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1952 Paris–Roubaix|7]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1953 Paris–Roubaix|4]]
| [[1954 Paris–Roubaix|38]]
| style="background:#C9AE5D;"|[[1955 Paris–Roubaix|'''3''']]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1956 Paris–Roubaix|'''1''']]
| [[1957 Paris–Roubaix|65]]
| [[1958 Paris–Roubaix|27]]
| [[1959 Paris–Roubaix|21]]
| [[1960 Paris–Roubaix|—]]
| [[1961 Paris–Roubaix|—]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Liège–Bastogne–Liège]]
| [[1946 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1947 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1948 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1949 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1950 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1951 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|7]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1952 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|4]]
| [[1953 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1954 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1955 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1956 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1957 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|9]]
| [[1958 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1959 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1960 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
| [[1961 Liège–Bastogne–Liège|—]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | [[Giro di Lombardia]]
| [[1946 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1947 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1948 Giro di Lombardia|12]]
| [[1949 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1950 Giro di Lombardia|33]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1951 Giro di Lombardia|'''1''']]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1952 Giro di Lombardia|9]]
| [[1953 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1954 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1955 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1956 Giro di Lombardia|7]]
| [[1957 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1958 Giro di Lombardia|24]]
| [[1959 Giro di Lombardia|21]]
| [[1960 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
| [[1961 Giro di Lombardia|—]]
|-
|}

===Major championships results timeline===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | 1946
! scope="col" | 1947
! scope="col" | 1948
! scope="col" | 1949
! scope="col" | 1950
! scope="col" | 1951
! scope="col" | 1952
! scope="col" | 1953
! scope="col" | 1954
! scope="col" | 1955
! scope="col" | 1956
! scope="col" | 1957
! scope="col" | 1958
! scope="col" | 1959
! scope="col" | 1960
! scope="col" | 1961
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | {{cjersey|rainbow}} [[UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|World Championships]]
| [[1946 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| [[1947 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| [[1948 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| [[1949 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1950 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|5]]
| [[1951 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|14]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1952 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|8]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1953 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|8]]
| style="background:gold;"   |[[1954 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|'''1''']]
| [[1955 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|DNF]]
| style="background:#ddf;"   |[[1956 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|8]]
| style="background:silver;" |[[1957 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|'''2''']]
| style="background:silver;" |[[1958 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|'''2''']]
| [[1959 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| [[1960 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|—]]
| [[1961 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race|DNF]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="row" | {{cjersey|france}} [[French National Road Race Championships|National Championships]]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| style="background:gold;"   |'''1'''
| style="background:gold;"   |'''1'''
| —
| style="background:#C9AE5D;"|'''3'''
| —
| style="background:silver;" |'''2'''
| style="background:#C9AE5D;"|'''3'''
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Legend
|-
! scope="row" | —
| Did not compete
|-
! scope="row" | [[Did not finish|DNF]]
| Did not finish
|-
! scope="row" | DSQ
| Disqualified
|-
! scope="row" | NH
| Not Held
|}

==See also==
*[[Jean Bobet]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183059/http://www.biciclopedia.com/mediawiki-1.4.0/index.php?title=Louison_Bobet Complete Palmarès]}}
*[http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=32 Cycling Hall of Fame Profile]

{{UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race}}
{{Tour de France general classification winners}}
{{Tour de France mountains classification winners}}
{{French National Road Race Championships (men)}}
{{Milan–San Remo winners}}
{{Tour of Flanders winners}}
{{Paris–Roubaix winners}}
{{Paris–Nice winners}}
{{Giro di Lombardia winners}}
{{UCI Hall of Fame}}
{{Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobet, Louison}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1983 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in France]]
[[Category:French male cyclists]]
[[Category:French Tour de France stage winners]]
[[Category:French Giro d'Italia stage winners]]
[[Category:Cyclists from Ille-et-Vilaine]]
[[Category:Tour de France winners]]
[[Category:UCI Road World Champions (elite men)]]
[[Category:Challenge Desgrange-Colombo winners]]
[[Category:20th-century French sportsmen]]