At the start of his cycling career René Abadie won amateur races in the Isle of Man and Paris in 1955 and 1956, respectively. These results earned Abadie a place on the French team for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where he finished 27th in the individual road race. Despite being the worst-placed French rider in the race, he won gold with his compatriots in the combined team event. After the Games he turned professional, winning two stages and the overall classification of the 1957 edition of the Circuit d’Aquitaine. Abadie then won the Tour de l’Ariège in 1960 before riding in the Tour de France in 1962 and the Vuelta a España in 1963.
France