Nicolas Frantz

Nicolas Frantz (Luxembourgish pronunciation: [nikoːlɑs ˈfʀɑnts]; 4 November 1899 – 8 November 1985) was a Luxembourgish bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career (1923 to 1934). He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.

Nicolas Frantz

Personal information
Full name	Nicolas Frantz
Nickname	Le Teinturier (The Dyer)
Born	(1899-11-04)4 November 1899 Mamer, Luxembourg
Died	8 November 1985(1985-11-08) (aged 86) Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
1923	Thomann
1924–1934	Alcyon
Major wins
Cyclo-cross National Championships (1923, 1924) Road Grand Tours Tour de France General classification (1927, 1928) 20 individual stages (1924–1929) Stage races Madrid–Santander (1913) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (1923-1934) Paris–Tours (1929) Paris–Calais (1923) GP des Ardennes (1925) Paris–Nancy (1932)
Medal record Representing Luxembourg Men's road bicycle racing World Championships 1929 Zürich Elite Men's Road Race 1932 Rome Elite Men's Road Race

Life and Career

Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous farming family. Frantz could have taken over the farm but had no interest in it. In 1914 he rode his first race. He won. That convinced him that farming was not for him. He was close to unbeatable in Luxembourg until the start of the first world war.

Frantz, a well-built man weighing 80 kg, turned professional in 1923. He had immediate success, winning Paris-Lyon and the GP Faber. His advantage in stage races was his consistent health and fitness. He rode the Tour de France for the first time in 1924, won two stages and finished second just 35 minutes and 36 seconds behind Ottavio Bottecchia. In 1925 and 1926 he won another four stages and finished fourth and second respectively.

Frantz's bicycle from the year 1927, exhibited in the National Museum of Luxembourg. In the background hangs Joseph Kutter's well-known portrait of Frantz, titled "Le Champion".

Frantz then dominated the race for two successive years. He won three stages in 1927 and won overall. He was seventeen minutes behind the race-leader Hector Martin before start of the stage to Luchon but finished in yellow. His second stage win was between Toulon and Nice and the final win was at Metz. He finished an hour and forty eight minutes ahead of second placed Maurice De Waele.

He wore the yellow jersey from the first to last day in 1928, the only rider since Ottavio Bottecchia to have done so. (Bottecchia however didn't wear the yellow jersey during the first stage in 1924). In that race, the frame of his bicycle broke on a level-crossing during the 19th stage with 100 km remaining. He borrowed an undersized, women’s bicycle and was helped back into the race by his Alcyon domestiques. He exchanged it for another Alcyon bicycle, which he rode to victory in Paris ahead of teammates Andre Leducq and De Waele.

After winning stage seven of the 1929 Tour in Bordeaux, Frantz was one of three yellow jerseys on the same time in general classification with Leducq and Victor Fontan. However, the following day, Gaston Rebry ended the embarrassment of multiple leaders. Despite leading the race at one point in stage 10, a puncture cost him the yellow jersey before the end of day and he eventually finished the Tour in fifth place. His last chance of a podium finish was gone and he entered the Tour only once more, in 1932 when he finished in a lowly 45th place.

Frantz won Paris–Brussels in 1927 and Paris–Tours in 1929. He twice finished in the first three of the world championship. He also won the championship of Luxembourg for 12 consecutive years (1923-1934). After racing, he became directeur sportif of the Luxembourg and Luxembourg Mixed teams in the Tour de France from 1949 to 1957. He was the first national team manager of Charly Gaul in the Tour de France. Frantz was succeeded by Jean Goldschmit.

Frantz was a taciturn man. He retired to the village of Mamer and died there in 1985.

Career achievements

Major results

1923

Luxembourg National road race champion

1924

Tour de France

2nd place overall classification

Winner 2 stages

Luxembourg National road race champion

1925

Tour de France

4th place overall classification

Winner 4 stages

Luxembourg National road race champion

1926

Tour de France

2nd place overall classification

Winner 4 stages

Luxembourg National road race champion

Tour of the Basque Country

1927

Tour de France

Winner overall classification

Winner 3 stages

14 days in yellow jersey

Luxembourg National road race champion

1928

Tour de France

Winner overall classification

Winner 5 stages

22 days in yellow jersey (entire Tour)

Luxembourg National road race champion

1929

Tour de France

Winner 2 stages

5th place overall classification

1 day in yellow jersey (together with André Leducq and Victor Fontan)

Luxembourg National road race champion

Paris–Tours

1930

Luxembourg National road race champion

1931

Luxembourg National road race champion

1932

Luxembourg National road race champion

Tour de France

45th place overall classification

1933

Luxembourg National road race champion

1934

Luxembourg National road race champion

Grand Tour results timeline

	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932
Giro d'Italia	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE	DNE
Stages won	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	2	4	2	1	1	5	DNE	DNE	45
Stages won	2	4	4	3	5	2	—	—	0
Vuelta a España	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Stages won

Legend

1	Winner
2–3	Top three-finish
4–10	Top ten-finish
11–	Other finish
DNE	Did not enter
DNF-x	Did not finish (retired on stage x)
DNS-x	Did not start (not started on stage x)
HD	Finished outside time limit (occurred on stage x)
DSQ	Disqualified
N/A	Race/classification not held
NR	Not ranked in this classification

Literature

• François Guillaume, Du Tour de Frantz au Tour de Gaul (2nd ed.; Diekirch (Luxembourg): Editions APESS, 2006)