Maurice Martin

A graduate of the BEM Management School, Maurice Martin intended to enter the lucrative wine industry, but soon became fascinated with the development of the bicycle. Although best known in France as a journalist and author, he was also an avid and professional cycling competitor. It was in this capacity that he attended the 1900 Summer Olympics and competed in the national team sprint for professionals alongside an individual recorded only as Courtet. Together they were eliminated in the opening heat by eventual winners Pierre Chevalier and Rollin. Martin’s love for cycling, however, extended far beyond active competition and he was essential to the development and success of the inaugural Bordeaux–Paris race in 1891. He was also a member of the steering committee for the Union Vélocipédique de France and founded both the cycling publication Véloce-Sport and the Véloce-Club Bordelaise in the 1880s.

Outside of cycling, Martin was involved in writing about and promoting numerous sports, including rugby, equestrian, wrestling, boxing, and football, and was also interested in the development of aviation and the automobile. He penned articles and opinion pieces for numerous publications, authored many works of his own, and in 1905 was responsible for the naming of the Côte d’Argent section of the French Atlantic coast, due to his involvement with the promotion of tourism. He was inducted into the Legion d’Honneur in 1921 for his contributions to physical education in the military and was promoted to the rank of Officer in 1932. He received the Gold Medal of the Union Française des œuvres Laïques d’éducation Physique in 1929 and his bust was placed in the Bordeaux Sports Park in 1939, two years prior to his death.