Philippe Thys

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Philippe Thys


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fullname = Philippe Thys
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dateofbirth = birth date|1890|10|08
dateofdeath = death date and age|1971|01|16|1890|10|08
country = BEL
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discipline = Road
role = Rider
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majorwins = Tour de France (3x)
updated = May 23, 2008

Philippe Thys (October 8, 1890 - January 16, 1971) was a Belgian cyclist and a three-time champion of the Tour de France.

Born in Brussels, Thys in 1910 won Belgium's first national cyclo-cross championship. He went on to win the Tour de France in 1913 and 1914 and, after World War I, for a third and final time in 1920. Not until 1955 did Louison Bobet equal Thys's record, and not until 1963 did Jacques Anquetil break it with four wins. Thys also rode in the 1922 Tour, winning five stages, and in the 1924 Tour, winning two stages.

In 1917, Thys won Paris-Tours and the Giro di Lombardia. In 1918, he also captured the second and last Tours-Paris event, a race that was held from Tours to Paris in addition to the usual Paris to Tours race.

When he won the 1913 Tour, Thys was 22 years old. During the race, his bicycle fork broke and he convinced a bicycle shop owner to fix it for him en route. Although the repair cost him a 30 minute penalty, he was still able to prevail in Paris with a lead of just under two minutes. Known as an intelligent and thoughtful man who maintained a grueling training regimen, Thys was one of a generation of cyclists whose careers were disrupted by the First World War., After retiring, he recalled that he had been asked by his manager, Alphonse Baugé, to wear a yellow jersey to identify himself as the leader of the Tour, although that distinction is more commonly attributed to the Frenchman Eugène Christophe.

Major achievements

;1910:flagicon|BELBelgium National Cyclo-cross Championships;1913:1913 Tour de France – 1st overall and 1 stage win ;1914:1914 Tour de France – 1st overall and 1 stage win ;1917:Giro di Lombardia :Paris-Tours ;1918:Tours-Paris (see race notes for details) ;1920:1920 Tour de France – 1st overall and 4 stage wins ;1921:Critérium des As ;1922:1922 Tour de France – 5 stage wins ;1924:1924 Tour de France – 2 stage wins (one tied with Théophile Beeckman)