Cycling, 24 Hours Solo on a Motorcycle for a Bowl: The Origins of the Legendary Bol d'Or

This weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet the 89th edition of the Bol d’Or will take place, the final act of the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship 2026. For the 20th distinct occasion the event will award the world title in the category, but in fact its history is not directly linked to the motorcycle endurance world championship. A race that has been on stage for 104 years, with a truly special genesis.

The motorcycle Bol d’Or was conceived in 1921 by Eugène Mauve, an entrepreneur in the aeronautical field, a great motorcycle enthusiast and President of the A.A.M.M. (Association des Anciens Motocyclistes Militaires, Association of Former Military Motorcyclists), which later became the A.M.C.F. (Association of French Motorcyclists), today’s F.F.M. (Fédération Française de Motocyclisme, the French motorcycle federation). He drew inspiration from the analogous cycling event, namely the Bol d’Or, a 24-hour track cycling race created in 1894 by the newspaper Paris-Pédale. The winner received a true “Bol d’Or,” that is, a golden bowl offered by Chocolats Menier. Alongside the Motorcycle Bol d’Or, from 1922 to 1955 a car Bol d’Or was also organized.

Originally it was supposed to be held in 1921 in the forest of Marly, near Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, where in fact a “test” took place. The first edition of the “Bol d’or Motocycliste & Cyclecariste” officially ran from May 27 to 29, 1922 on the route between Vaujours, Clichy-sous-Bois and Livry-Gargan, 12 km northeast of Paris, already the stage for a cycling event since 1888. It was a 5.126 km course, entirely on dirt. Around the route the organizer placed policemen, barriers, a wooden platform and even soldiers. The spectators present did not appreciate this choice because of the dust raised as the motorcycles passed.

The schedule featured the start of the motorcycle Bol d’Or on Saturday at 6:30 in the morning and, clearly, lasting 24 hours; the following day at 8:30 the stage was set for 3 and 4 wheels (sidecars and cyclecars). Only 17 participants took the start, with withdrawals by Terrot, Peugeot, Monet-Goyon and Alcyon, manufacturers who at that time were benchmarks for motorcycles in France. The winner was determined by the competitor who covered the most kilometers over the 24 hours.

Tony Zind, from Lyon though listed in the reports as Swiss, won the first Motorcycle Bol d’Or by completing 243 laps equal to 1,245.628 km in 24 hours at an average of 51.9 km/h with the Motosacoche #67 500cc, under a particular format: 24 hours of racing, with 4 optional hours of rest during the night (2 in parc fermé plus two 1-hour stops). The tireless Tony Zind never stopped!

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