Jules Patou

Jules Patou was a well-known Belgian cyclist in the period before World War I, excelling on the track as well as on the road. Initially competing for the UBSSA (Belgian Union of Athletic Sports Societies), he later joined the LVB (Belgian Cycling League).

Patou’s first notable result on the road came in 1906, when he finished second overall in the two-day Paris–Brussels race, winning the opening stage and placing second on the final day. A year later, he took third in the Leuven–Brussels race, and in 1913, he secured runner-up honours at the Belgian road championship. At the 1912 Olympic Games, no track races were held, and Patou did not finish the road race. But Patou was more at home on the cycling track. In the sprint, he was national champion in 1911, placed second in 1909 and third in 1907, winning the Belgian Grand Prix in the same year. At the sprint world championships, he was eliminated in the heats in 1902, 1903 and 1905. Eventually, in 1911, he advanced to the semi-final of the world championships.

At the 1908 London Olympics, Patou was defeated by the eventual gold medallist, the Briton Victor Johnson in round one. In the tandem race, he won the heat with his teammate Léon Coeckelbergh but was eliminated in the semi-final.

In 1904, Patou claimed his first Belgian championship title, winning the race over one mile and additionally placing second in the 25 km. His most successful year was 1909, when he took bronze in the middle-distance world championship. In 1914, he won his last sprint race in Bruxelles (Brussels) before he suddenly died under unknown circumstances around the turn of the year 1914/15.