[3][4] Lucien Michard was the son of a garage owner—"a stocky, severe-looking man whose bowler hat could be spotted a mile away"—in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis[5] He worked for his father but spent much of his time training at the Parc des Princes or the Cipale velodrome in Vincennes.

He started racing in 1921, winning the Médaille competition for novices at the Vélodrome d'Hiver, "a frail and timid lad of 17...who would dominate the world scene for many years", as René de Latour described him.

René de Latour wrote in Sporting Cyclist: Michard won the world professional championship in four successive years, starting at Cologne in 1927.

Michard beat Jef Scherens in the semi-final of the championship at Copenhagen in 1931 and reached the final against the local rider, Willy Falk Hansen.

He did, however, win national championships in 1933, 1934 and 1935, before a strike with other riders against what they saw as poor payments at the Parc des Princes and Vélodrome d'Hiver led to a newspaper campaign which prompted his retirement.

[10] He began selling bicycles made under his name[2] and sponsored a professional team in 1939 along with the tyre maker, Hutchinson.