Jean de Gribaldy
Encyclopedia
Jean de Gribaldy was a French
road cyclist and directeur sportif
.
, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif
in the mid-1960s .
Called le Vicomte ("the Viscount"), he discovered Sean Kelly
, Joaquim Agostinho
and Éric Caritoux
. He gave a second chance to many riders dropped by other teams. Most saw their career take a new dimension under Jean de Gribaldy.
A street in Besançon
, city in which he was a shopkeeper, has been named Montée Jean de Gribaldy since 1994. Each July a Jean de Gribaldy cyclo-sportive is organized around Montbéliard
, (Doubs
département) . (http://www.lajeandegribaldy.com/)
Kelly : Yes, that’s true! I went to compete in France in 1976. I was there for maybe 6 months at a club in Metz, had a lot of good performances, won a lot of races. I competed in the Tour of Britain (in 1975) with the Irish national team. I got suspended from the Irish team after going to race in South Africa, so I would definitely have been in the team for the Olympics, so missed the 1976 Games. Then I decided to go to France.
Towards the end of that year in France I got offered a contract by de Gribaldy. He made contact with me through the club although I never actually met him but I said no, that I wanted to stay amateur as I was still quite young. So I came home to Ireland, and then he just arrived at my place in October with a contact.
Kelly : As a directeur, he was a long way ahead of his time. He had some great ideas. He was 10 years ahead of everyone else on diet. He was clear about what you could and couldn’t eat 10 years before the other teams started to think about it.
He was a big influence on my career. In terms of training, he was a long way ahead. In those times, riders did unbelievable miles on the bike. They’d go out and do 5 and 6 hour marathons everyday.
In my time, he was the guy who’d make you do shorter rides of quality as well as a long mid-week ride. That was 10 years before specialised training programmes – I realised this because I’d been through it already, so he had some unbelievable qualities.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
road cyclist and directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
.
Biography
Born in BesançonBesançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
in the mid-1960s .
Called le Vicomte ("the Viscount"), he discovered Sean Kelly
Seán Kelly (cyclist)
John James 'Sean' Kelly is an Irish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classics riders of all time. From turning professional in 1977 until his retirement in 1994, he won nine monument classics, and 193...
, Joaquim Agostinho
Joaquim Agostinho
Joaquim Fernandes Agostinho, OIH was a Portuguese professional bicycle racer. He was champion of Portugal in six successive years. He rode the Tour de France 13 times and finished all but once, winning on Alpe d'Huez in 1979, and finishing 3rd twice...
and Éric Caritoux
Éric Caritoux
Éric Caritoux is a French former professional road racing cyclist who raced between 1983 and 1994. He had 22 victories in his career, the highlights of which were winning the Vuelta a España in 1984 and taking the French road race championships in 1988 and 1989...
. He gave a second chance to many riders dropped by other teams. Most saw their career take a new dimension under Jean de Gribaldy.
A street in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, city in which he was a shopkeeper, has been named Montée Jean de Gribaldy since 1994. Each July a Jean de Gribaldy cyclo-sportive is organized around Montbéliard
Montbéliard
Montbéliard is a city in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.-History:...
, (Doubs
Doubs
Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...
département) . (http://www.lajeandegribaldy.com/)
Sporting career
- Champion du Doubs 1944
- Montereau-Paris 1944
- Critérium du Ballon d'Alsace 1946
- 9 ème du Paris–Nice 1946
- 2ème du championnat de France 1947
- 4 ème du Circuit du Ventoux 1947
- Tour du Doubs 1948
- 2 ème de Paris Limoges 1948
- 2 ème de la course de côte de Lausanne 1948 et 1949
- 2e dans Nice - Mont Agel (FRA)1949
- 3e dans 5e étape Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1952
- 10 ème de Liège Bastogne Liège 1952
- Tour de France
- 1947 : 46e
- 1952 : 45e
Teams (professional cyclist)
- 1945 : Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1946: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1947: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1948: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1949: Peugeot - Dunlop
- 1950: Mervil
- 1951: Terrot - Wolber / Tigra
- 1952: Terrot - Hutchinson
- 1953: Terrot - Hutchinson / Schlegel Cycles
- 1954: Terrot - Hutchinson
Teams (directeur sportif)
- 1964 : Grammont - de Gribaldy
- 1965 : Grammont - Motoconfort / Tigra-Meltina-de Gribaldy / Wolhauser Sirops Berger
- 1966 : Tigra-Meltina-de Gribaldy
- 1967 : Tigra-Grammont / Tigra-Enicar
- 1968 : Frimatic - Viva- de Gribaldy/Tigra-Enicar
- 1969 : Frimatic - Viva- de Gribaldy
- 1969 : Frimatic - Viva- de Gribaldy- Wolber (Tour de France)
- 1970 : Wolhauser - Ravis- de Gribaldy
- 1970 : Frimatic - de Gribaldy
- 1971 : Hoover-de Gribaldy
- 1972 : Van Cauter - Magniflex - de Gribaldy
- 1975 : Miko - de Gribaldy
- 1976 : Miko - de Gribaldy - Superia
- 1977 : Velda- Latina Assicurazioni - Flandria
- 1978 : Velda-Lano-Flandria
- 1979 : Flandria - CA VA SEUL
- 1980 : Puch - Sem - Campagnolo
- 1981 : Sem - France Loire-Campagnolo
- 1982 : Sem - France Loire-Campagnolo
- 1983 : Sem- France Loire-Mavic-Reydel
- 1984 : Skil - Sem - Mavic -Reydel
- 1985 : Skil - Reydel - Sem
- 1986 : Kas -Mavic- Tag Heuer
Sean Kelly about Jean de Gribaldy
- When you broke into the pro ranks, Jean de Gribaldy signed you. Is it really true that he just turned up at your parents’ farm with a contract ?
Kelly : Yes, that’s true! I went to compete in France in 1976. I was there for maybe 6 months at a club in Metz, had a lot of good performances, won a lot of races. I competed in the Tour of Britain (in 1975) with the Irish national team. I got suspended from the Irish team after going to race in South Africa, so I would definitely have been in the team for the Olympics, so missed the 1976 Games. Then I decided to go to France.
Towards the end of that year in France I got offered a contract by de Gribaldy. He made contact with me through the club although I never actually met him but I said no, that I wanted to stay amateur as I was still quite young. So I came home to Ireland, and then he just arrived at my place in October with a contact.
- He must have been an amazing guy, what was he like ?
Kelly : As a directeur, he was a long way ahead of his time. He had some great ideas. He was 10 years ahead of everyone else on diet. He was clear about what you could and couldn’t eat 10 years before the other teams started to think about it.
He was a big influence on my career. In terms of training, he was a long way ahead. In those times, riders did unbelievable miles on the bike. They’d go out and do 5 and 6 hour marathons everyday.
In my time, he was the guy who’d make you do shorter rides of quality as well as a long mid-week ride. That was 10 years before specialised training programmes – I realised this because I’d been through it already, so he had some unbelievable qualities.
External links (in French)
- Jean de Gribaldy.com : A complete site about Jean de Gribaldy
- Vidéos
- Facebook page
- http://cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=1963 /
- http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=1962
- http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=1964