The first Dernys were built by "Roger Derny et Fils" of Paris, France in 1938. That firm is no longer in business and any motorised bicycle for pacing is called a "Derny".
The rider of the derny usually sits upright, this makes it easier for the cyclist by reducing wind resistance.
The photographers' motorbikes used to help riders in ordinary races. That is why they were banned from riding in front of the cyclists.
Escopetarra
An escopetarra is a guitar made from a rifle; it is used as a symbol of peace. The name is a combination of the Spanish words "escopeta" (meaning shotgun/rifle) and "guitarra" (meaning guitar).
"Escopetarras" were invented in 2003 by a Colombian peace activist named César López. At a gathering after the El Nogal Club bombing in Bogotá, he noticed a soldier holding a gun like a guitar and got the idea for it. The first "escopetarra" in 2003 was made from a Winchester rifle and a Stratocaster electric guitar.
López made five "escopetarras", four of which were given to Colombian musician Juanes, Argentine musician Fito Páez, the United Nations Development Program, and the city government of Bogotá, while one was kept for himself. Juanes later sold his "escopetarra" for US$17,000 at a Beverly Hills fundraiser held to help victims of anti-personnel mines, while the "escopetarra" given to the UN was exhibited at the June 2006 of the UN Conference on Disarmament.
In 2006, López got 12 more decommissioned AK-47s from Colombia's peace commissioner's office. After they are turned into guitars, he plans to give them to popular musicians such as Shakira, Carlos Santana, and Paul McCartney, as well as political figures such as the Dalai Lama. However, a member of the Dalai Lama's staff rejected López' offer, saying it is not appropriate to give a weapon as a gift; López has said he will try to explain his purpose more clearly.
Sylvère Maes
Sylvère Maes (born August 27, 1909 in Zevekote – died December 5, 1966 in Ostend) was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.
Maurice Garin
Maurice Garin (March 3 1871 - February 19 1957) was a road bicycle racer. He is best known for winning the 1903 Tour de France - the very first running of the race.
Garin was born in Arvier in the Aosta Valley in north-west Italy. He became a naturalized French citizen only in December 1901, when he was already a champion cyclist, winner of the second Paris-Roubaix.
He was declared the winner of the 1904 Tour de France, but was later disqualified. The Tour de France organisation and the French cycling authorities have not said why. They were said to have taken a train through part of the route. In the early days stages were much longer than today, sometimes starting in the dark.
When he retired from professional cycling he ran a small garage in Lens until his death.
He is buried in the Cimetière Est in the neighbouring suburb of Sallaumines.
Spiracle
Insects have small holes in their bodies that allow them to breathe. These holes are called spiracles. Air comes in the spiracles and goes to invertebrate trachea, or tubes.
These tubes take the oxygen to other parts of the insect body. Because insects have no lungs, air comes in and goes out of the spiracles passively (by itself). Some insects can open and close the spiracles to keep water out.
Some spiders also have spiracles.
Sharks and rays have a spiracle behind each eye. When the shark is not moving, the spiracle helps the shark to breathe.
Henri Cornet
Henri Cornet (born Henri Jardry 4 August 1884 - 18 March 1941) was a French cyclist who won the second Tour de France in 1904.
Born in Desvres, Pas-de-Calais, France, he was 18 years old when he raced in the Tour de France. The race was spoiled by many problems including irate spectators throwing nails on the road in the final stage that forced Henri Cornet to ride the last 40 kilometres with two flat tyres. There were a lot of complaints about cheating, the top four finishers were disqualified by a special committee of the French cycling union. Although his overall time was three hours behind the first place rider, race officials declared Henri Cornet the winner in November 1903, when he was 19 years and 3 months old. He is the youngest ever winner.
Such was the commotion over the 1904 race that Tour founder Henri Desgrange said it was probably the last time the race would ever be run. The race winner Maurice Garin was suspended from competition for two years (he retired), and the second place finisher was banned for life. In all
nine cyclists were excluded because of illegal use of cars or trains and all of the stage winners were disqualified because of illegal agreements about allowing people to win.
After 1904 Cornet never again had any great success in any race. He abandoned the 1905 Tour de France in the 4th stage. He won the 1906 Paris-Roubaix race, but could not start the 1906 Tour de France, and had to abandon it again in 1907, but did manage 8th place finish in 1908. Extremely fast in what today are called time trials, he won the final leg of the 1908 race. A special timed lap run at a velodrome racetrack in Paris, the event was not counted as an official stage or towards the overall classification. Cornet competed in his last Tour de France in 1912, finishing 28th.
He died in 1941 at the age of 56 in Prunay-le-Gillon, Eure-et-Loir.
Paris-Roubaix
Paris-Roubaix is a famous single-day professional bicycle road race held in northern France starting in Compiègne and finishing in Roubaix, near the Belgian frontier. It was one of the ten UCI Road World Cup races and became part of the UCI ProTour. It is one of the 'Classic cycle races' has the nickname "The Hell of the North" .
Paris-Roubaix is one of the oldest professional bicycle races. Théo Vienne and Maurice Perez got the idea to run the race and in 1896, the sports newspaper Le Vélo worked out original route between Paris and Roubaix. The race has been contested every year since 1896, stopped only by the two World wars.
The first edition of the race was held at Easter, April 19 1896, so it got the nickname of "La Pascale"(English: "The Easter").
188 competitors left the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris and raced almost 300 kilometres to Roubaix. Josef Fischer, the winner of this first edition, received 1000 francs.
The race is now organised by the media group Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) who also run the Tour de France.
Riders are often covered from head to toe in mud and grit, and race over the cobblestoned roads and hard rutted tracks of northern France. However, the race got the nickname "l'enfer du Nord", or the "Hell of the North" from journalists who watched the race after world war I, and saw it pass through many of the ruins, craters, and destruction along the way.
Originally, the race was from Paris to Roubaix, but in 1966 the starting location was moved to Chantilly, 50 kilometres to the north of Paris, to be moved in 1977 to Compiègne, approximately 80 kilometres to the north of Paris. Famous for rough terrain, the route of Paris-Roubaix is adjusted slightly from year to year as the older roads are resurfaced and the race organisers seek to replace them with other challenging cobbles, to maintain the character of the race - in 2005, for example, the race included 54.7 kilometres of cobbled sections. The race finishes with 750 meters on the smooth concrete expanses of the large outdoor velodrome in Roubaix.
Due to its challenging course, and poor weather conditions, Paris-Roubaix presents a challenge to riders, team support personnel, and equipment alike. Special frames and wheels are often used specifically for Paris-Roubaix, in various configurations depending on the weather conditions.
Asexuality