Pierre Chany

Chany was born in Langeac, Haute-Loire, the son of a near-illiterate father who worked in the horse industry.

He became interested in cycle-racing after reading L'Auto, Paris-Soir and Match and looking at sepia pictures of riders such as André Leducq.

He rode several races, including the Premier Pas Dunlop event which in other years showed the talent of young riders such as Louison Bobet and Raphaël Géminiani.

[2] The war ended his aspirations as a cyclist and he turned to sports reporting, having briefly tried the transport business in buying two army lorries with a friend, Jacques Michelon.

Encourage by another friend, Stanilas Gara, he wrote his first pieces, in 1946, for an agency which sold articles to La Marseillaise among others.

From there Chany moved to Sport and to Ce Soir, publications associated with the Communist Party but which employed journalists of various opinions.

Pierre Chany wrote not only journalistic pieces but numerous other works, including books of cycling history which went to several new editions.

The Prix Pierre Chany is now awarded each year to the writer of the season's best cycling work in French.

He attended the Classique des Alpes, won by Laurent Jalabert on 1 June and then next day went to the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.