Lanterne rouge

The Lanterne Rouge is the name for the competitor who finishes in last place in a cycling race such as the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French, meaning "Red Lantern", and refers to the red tail lights attached to the last carriage or wagon of a railway train (as an indicator that no wagon has been lost).

Cultural Uses

Tour de France

Main article: Tour de France Customs

In the Tour de France the rider who finishes the grueling three-week competition in last place overall, rather than dropping out along the way, is accorded a special distinction. Riders may often actually compete to come in the very last place rather than just near the back of the pack of riders that finish. Often the rider who comes in the absolute last place in the Tour General Classification is remembered, while those who finished a few places ahead of him are forgotten to history. Even though the rider may only be a domestique, he is rewarded with a great deal of prestige. The revenue that the rider will generate from his last place finish is much greater than had he finished in second to last place. Some riders intentionally try to put themselves in this position, some acquire the position while assisting their team leader in his own performance, while other riders resent finishing last and only do so because of some sickness or injury. [1]

List of Lanternes Rouges of the Tour de France

1903 Arsène Millocheau 1904 Antoine Deflotrière 1905 Clovis Lacroix 1906 Georges Bronchard 1907 Albert Chartier 1908 Henri Anthoine 1909 Georges Devilly 1910 Constant Collet 1911 Lucien Roquebert 1912 Maurice Lartigue 1913 Henri Alavoine 1914 Henri Leclercq 1915-1918 - no tour - WWI 1919 Jules Nempon 1920 Charles Raboisson 1921 Henri Catelan 1922 Daniel Masson 1923 Daniel Masson 1924 Victor Lafosse 1925 Fernand Besnier 1926 André Drobecq 1927 Jacques Pfister 1928 Edouard Persin 1929 André Léger 1930 Marcel Ilpide 1931 Richard Lamb 1932 Rudolf Risch 1933 Ernest Neuhard 1934 Antonio Folco 1935 Willi Kutschbach 1936 Aldo Bertocco 1937 Aloyse Klensch

1938 Janus Hellemons 1939 Armand Le Moal 1940-1946 no tour - WWII 1947 Pietro Tarchini 1948 Vitorio Seghezzi 1949 Guido De Santi 1950 Fritz Zbinden 1951 Abdel-Kader Zaaf 1952 Henri Paret 1953 Claude Rouer 1954 Marcel Dierkens 1955 Tony Hoar 1956 Roger Chaussabel 1957 Guy Million 1958 Walter Favre 1959 Louis Bisiliat 1960 Herrero Berrendero 1961 André Geneste 1962 Augusto Marcaletti 1963 Willy Derboven 1964 Anatole Novak 1965 Joseph Groussard 1966 Paolo Manucci 1967 Jean-Pierre Genet 1968 John Clarey 1969 André Wilhelm 1970 Frits Hoogerheide 1971 Georges Chappe 1972 Alain Bellouis 1973 Jacques-André Hochart 1974 Lorenzo Alaimo 1975 Jacques Boulas

1976 Aad van den Hoek 1977 Roger Loysch 1978 Philippe Tesnière 1979 Gerhard Schönbacher 1980 Gerhard Schönbacher 1981 Faustino Cuelli 1982 Werner Devos 1983 Marcel Laurens 1984 Gilbert Glaus 1985 Manrico Ronchiato 1986 Ennio Salvador 1987 Mathieu Hermans 1988 Dirk Wayenberg 1989 Mathieu Hermans 1990 Rodolfo Massi 1991 Rob Harmeling 1992 Fernando Quevedo 1993 Edwig Van Hooydonck 1994 John Talen 1995 Bruno Cornillet 1996 Jean-Luc Masdupuy 1997 Philippe Gaumont 1998 Damien Nazon 1999 Jacky Durand 2000 Olivier Perraudeau 2001 Jimmy Casper 2002 Iker Flores 2003 Hans De Clerq 2004 Jimmy Casper 2005 Iker Flores 2006 Wim Vansevenant 2007 Wim Vansevenant