On the eastern edge of Paris is the Vélodrome Jacques-Anquetil which was the main stadium for the 1900 Paris Games. It was also the venue for cycling races of the 1924 Olympics. The stadium’s stands were built by Gustave Eiffel.
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There are very few stadiums in the world that have hosted the Olympic Games on more than one occasion today I’m visiting one such Stadium which is located in the bansen on the Eastern edge of Paris called Vel Drome Jac onil it was the main stadium for the 1900
Paris Olympics and in the 1924 Paris games it hosted the cycling competition the stadium was also associated with another iconic sporting event the tour the France let’s find out more about the Stadium’s Rich history I’m now joined by Fabian aromo who is a sports historian from the Pono
Sorbon University thank you Fabia for your time what is the significance of this venue and why were the two games held here it’s the first um sporting uh venue that has been constructed by the French State and the City of Paris uh it was for the exposition Universal
Universal exhibition why is it in ven uh because they have constructed the first subway line with the Terminus was here uh in chat ven so it was the uh way way to show the modernity of the City of Paris because this stadium was constructed by eel the Tribune are in
Steel uh with the same techniques of the eel Tower 10 years before so that’s why this Stadium still exist it’s because it has been uh classified as a uh historic Monument uh of France it’s a velodrome uh Stadium cycling was the most popular sport uh at the end of the 19th century
Uh in France sport was not uh a very big thing just the Great bourjois and the aristocratic Elite was playing sport the only one that was a little bit popular was cycling that’s why the City of Paris who was leftwing uh municipality decides to build one uh equipment sporting
Equipment which was DED dedicated to cism what were the features of the 1900 and 1924 Paris games in reality the 1900 Olympic Games never occur in Paris there were some sporting events it was the international concour of physical exercises and Sport but it was not Olympic Games it’s just for the Olympic
Games of 1924 that the CIO and kuberan decide Ed to take uh one of the results of the international concour of 1900 and consider them as Olympic results but the participants of the sporting events in the Universal ex exhibition in Paris in 1900 they didn’t know they were playing
Olympics uh the the the events was from the May to October there was no National there was no Olympic medal it was a big sporting event very popular with 60,000 of people who are playing things that we don’t not consider uh like sport like near the stadium there is pigon
Racing uh in the lake uh here there was fishing uh event so why is it that because there was a new leftwing government after refus in 1800 98 there was a government of Republican defense who was left who organized this Universal exhibition and they wanted something that was popular so the sport
The English sport the British sport they didn’t like them because it was the sport of the aristocracy of the grand bourjois like Pier de kuberan that was a very conservative and anti-democratic conception uh of physical uh exercise so at the end here uh there was cycling because cycling was very uh popular so
There was one kilometer 2 kilm 100 km uh 160 kilm uh and after that the CIO decided that only three competitions uh of cycling were the the Olympic uh events of the 1900 but in reality it was not Olympics there was also football redby and Cricket uh but with with two
Teams or three teams and it was not very serious uh at the end it was a little bit away from the center of Paris the big competitions of fencing Ying or tennis uh it was on the west uh of Paris the problem of kuberan is that he wants
To construct Olympic Legend and and before the games of Stockholm in 1912 it was not Olympics uh it was sporting exercise in international exhibition like in aten in Paris in London in St Louis it was not a real uh Olympic Games it’s after that in 1924 for the real Olympic games of Paris
That he decided that the sporting uh exercises here were to be considered uh as Olympic events and what was this Stadium’s association with the 1924 games uh at the end in the 1924 it was not the big uh Stadium of the of the Paris games uh because the French State
Decided to construct an Olympic stadiums that has been conting in col in the west of Paris so there was still uh this Stadium but it was just used uh for tracks cycling uh but the the the big uh monuments sporting monuments was the stadium of colum and the stadium pers
The persing stadium that is 1 kilometer here on the East that has been constructed by the US Army for the inter uh War allies uh games in 1919 uh after the first world war and this historic venue has also been associated with another iconic sporting
Event the two def front can you tell us more about it the biggest uh cycling event in the world that is the to FR and usually uh it finish in the park de prin that was a Vel Drome Stadium but between 1969 and 1974 the new park dep was built in the
West of Paris so for 5 years the arrival the finish the last step of the to the France occurs here uh in this stadium so it’s Eddie mer uh the cannibal uh who won three tour the front finishing here in this Stadium the link with the Tour
Of France is evident in the stadium name the stadium is named Jac onil who is one of the biggest french star of cycling he won five times the tour the France in the 60s the bansen is a popular destination for cycling enthusiasts today I’m going for a 1our ride with my
Friend batist why is this place so popular with cyclists vasen is uh close to Paris it’s in the middle of the wood fresh air but mostly it’s a car through Road for cyclist great so let’s go then