Porte D'Italie: Cognaisson (left) and Petit roll side by side
Well escorted, Petit crosses the finish line. Inset: The smile of the victor
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Porte D'Italie: Cognaisson (left) and Petit roll side by side |
Well escorted, Petit crosses the finish line. Inset: The smile of the victor |
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The champion of the triporteurs, Petit, in full effort |
Petit will deliver with speed, the winner of the Championnat des Triporteurs 1933 |
Cognaisson is the winner, is he not?
No, he is only second, the winner is Petit...
Come on, you're pulling my leg!
And the young cyclist who, at place de la Concorde, guessing we were returning from the Championnat des Triporteurs, had asked us the final result to clear his conscience, disappeared convinced we were spinning a yarn.
It is necessary to acknowledge that Cognasson's defeat appeared completely improbable. Having won the test six times since 1926, the uncontested champion of the triporteurs, well equipped and carefully trained as always, would logically triumph again. It was for everyone an absolute certainty, as in the first hundred of meters of the race, the powerful Cognasson, moving his heavy vehicule, loaded with 65 kilos, with amazing ease, had already taken a decisive lead, towing in his wake one competitor. The tough and courageous Robert Petit, who, with head lowered and hunched back, clung with a savage energy.
But the "roi du tri" was to know horrible bad luck. Near the Porte de Pantin, a large bump made him make an abrupt turn, and his machine hung up on that of his companion on the road. But whereas Petit escaped without damage from the incident, Cognasson, noted with bitterness that one of his front wheels, suddenly deprived of eight spokes, was abdly out of true. He continued courageously, but obviously the part was lost for him, and his followers feared any moment they would see the wheel twisting and breaking down definitively.
Having finished his tour of Paris without any ill luck, it remained only for Robert Petit to cross the finish line as the winner, and this completely unexpected success,, plunged him into moving joy and contemplation.
Let us note that Petit is a well-known independant rider. He is a member of Velo-Club 15e, and notably this year won Paris-Bourges and the Grand Prix de Saint-Denis.
1. R. Petit, 39 km in 1h 26m 15s (27.122 km/h) ; 2. Cognasson, 1h 28m 54s ; 3. Dedooy, 1h 39m 9s ; 4. Maillard, 1h 43m 16s ; 5. Bonnaud, 1h 43m 21s, etc.
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Here we see the compact peloton of racers shortly after the start, which was held on the quai de Grenelle |
And here we see, in the foreground, R. Petit, who won the race, battling wheel to wheel with Cognasson, the winner in previous years |
Cognasson made a mess of his seventh Championnat des Triporteurs. One accident contributed to his defeat. But, at the time when it occurred, Petit, who was to become the victor, did not rid himself of Cognasson. He not so much dropped him as he hooked up with him as he came by.
As well, Petit, defends himself quite handily on a bike. He is one of the champions of C.V. XIXe, and his palmares this season would have been better filled without a doubt if an accident had not immobilized him for a while.
There was truly only Cognasson and Petit in the race. This is quite necessary to say in a race when one records, for these triporteurs, an average speed in excess of 27 km/h over a time which surely burnt off some of the speed of the courageous racers.
There was no doubt that Petit would establish himself as a true adversary for Cognasson. But the result of the race, if it shows the strength of Petit, also allows the thought that he has enough resilience to show us, in the course of next season on road, that the road does not wear him out. And it is a discovery which it is necessary to state because it is not often conceived. It is rare, as we know, that the bike finds, in a practitioner of the triporteur, one of its champions.
We shall undoubtedly see Cognasson again in the Critérium des Porteurs de Journaux, organized by l'Intran, which promises to be more interesting than ever. Everything increases - the interest in the competitions as well.
The start on the Quai de Grenelle |
Robert Petit after the finish |
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