Maurice Garin

The first Tour de France, in 1903, was won by a man from the Aosta Valley. Maurice Garin was born in 1871 in Arvier, a village in the central valley between Aosta and Morgex. He made his career in France, where he had gone very young, like many mountain children at the time.

The little chimney sweep

As an emigrant in France, Garin worked as a chimney sweep. It was a hard trade, often given to children and teenagers from the Alpine valleys. He then discovered cycling, still a very young sport. He was small but sturdy, used to hard effort since childhood. He soon proved to be one of the best riders of his day, especially over very long distances.

Paris–Roubaix, then the Tour

Before the Tour, Garin had already won several major races:

• Paris–Roubaix, two years running, in 1897 and 1898;
• Bordeaux–Paris, a race of more than 500 kilometres.

In 1903 the newspaper L’Auto organised the first Tour de France. Garin won it. He was thus the first of the riders who would later be called the “giants of the road”.

The 1904 affair

The following year Garin again finished first in the Tour. But the 1904 edition was marred by cheating. Several riders, Garin among them, were disqualified after the race. His career ended with this affair, which takes nothing away from his 1903 victory.

An endurance champion

Garin raced with great stamina and a real sense of tactics. The races of his time often lasted more than a day, on poor roads. This kind of effort suited him.

Arvier remembers

Garin lived in France, but the Aosta Valley counts him among its own. His story is that of many people from the valley who left to work elsewhere. It also made the name of Arvier known to cycling fans. More than a century later, people still tell how a former chimney sweep from the mountains won the first Grande Boucle.