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| Francois Faber Commemoration Basilica Notre Dame de Lorette |
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| Basilica Of Notre Dame de Lorette |
Francois Faber was
born 26th January 1887. He was a Luxembourg national through his fathers nationality, his
mother was French. The family lived in France.
He became a
professional cyclist in 1906 and that year rode for the first time in the Tour de France
but did not finish. The following year he was seventh. In 1908 he came second
winning four stages.
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| Francois Faber |
He won the Tour De France in 1909, the first non-French
national to do so, and his record of winning five consecutive stages
remains up to 2016.
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| Francois Faber Tour de France Winner 1909 |
He was leading the
1910 Tour when a collision with a dog left him injured, though he still managed
to finish 2nd. He was unable to
repeat his earlier successes. In 1912 he did not finish, but won 2 stages. 1913
he was 14th, winning no stages, and 1914 9th winning 1 stage. During his career
he won 19 stages. He also won classic road races, Giro di Lombardia (1908), Paris-Tours
(1909 / 1910), Bordeaux- Paris (1911), and Paris-Roubaix (1913).
On the outbreak of the
First World War Francois volunteered for the Army and being a foreign national
he was enlisted into the French Foreign Legion on 22nd August 1914.He rose to the
rank of Corporal.
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| Francois Faber French Foreign Legion |
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| Francois Faber Régiment de Marche Legion Étrangère Tour de France winner 1909 KIA 9th May 1915 |