Barry_Hoban

Barry Hoban

Barry Hoban (born 5 February, 1940 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire) was an English professional cyclist during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He holds the records for the most stage wins in the Tour de France by a British rider, winning eight between 1967 to 1975, and for the most Tours completed by a British rider – having finished 11 of the 12 he started between 1965 and 1978. He was also the only Briton to have won two consecutive stages of the Tour until Mark Cavendish won stages 12 and 13 of the 2008 edition.

Early career

Hoban started cycle racing in 1955, and by the end of the year was competing against Tom Simpson in individual time trials. Two years later, he was fourth in the British League of Racing Cyclists hill-climb (the senior title being won by Simpson). Despite his early prowess as a climber, Hoban later established himself as one of Europe's best sprinters.

Inspired by the European successes of fellow Yorkshireman Brian Robinson and of Simpson, Hoban went to France in 1962, turned professional two years later, and stayed abroad for another 16 years. In the 1967 Tour de France, after the death of Tom Simpson, Hoban was allowed to win the next stage. Two year later, in 1969, Hoban married Simpson's widow.

Tour de France stage wins

1967 - stage 14 - Carpentras–Sète – allowed to win after the death of Tom Simpson on the previous stage
1968 - stage 19 - Grenoble–Sallanches – a rarity in that Hoban won a mountain stage, not a sprint
1969 - stage 18 - Mourenx–Bordeaux
1969 - stage 19 - Bordeaux-Brive-la-Gaillarde – the first Briton to win successive stages of the Tour. Mark Cavendish being the second to equal this achievement in 2008
1973 – stage 11 - Montpellier-Argelès-sur-Mer
1973 - stage 19 - Bourges–Versaille
1974 - stage 13 - Avignon–Montpellier
1975 - stage 8 - Angoulême-Bordeaux

Other career highlights

Hoban also won two stages of the 1964 Vuelta a España and the 1974 Gent-Wevelgem. In the ’Monument’ Classics, his best performances were third places in Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1969) and Paris-Roubaix (1972). Towards the end of a career spent largely in mainland Europe, Hoban occasionally returned to the UK to race; he won the London-Bradford race and was second in the British professional road-race championship in 1979, and he won the Grand Prix of Manchester in 1980.

At least one bicycle was made with his name on it, a common practice of retired racing cyclists.