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Amélie Le Gall

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French cyclist
Lisette Marton on a Gladiator bicycle in 1896

Amélie Le Gall, known as Mademoiselle Lisette or Lisette Marton, was born in 1869 in Quintin and was a French competitive cyclist. She was considered the women's world champion in the sport in 1896.

Early life

Amélie Le Gall was the daughter of a carpenter. She was reportedly working as a shepherdess in Brittany when she was wooed by a male cyclist who married her and trained her in the sport.

Career

Amélie Le Gall began competing in France, at exhibition contests to promote the new sport. In 1895, Marton competed in a race at the Royal Aquarium in London. She defeated Scottish cyclist Clara Grace for the women's world championship in 1896, and sometimes raced male riders, as when she defeated Albert Champion.

She trained with controversial English coach Choppy Warburton and was sponsored by Simpson chain, a British bicycle chain manufacturer. She raced in Chicago in 1898 and in Winnipeg in 1900.

Her clothing was often described in detail, as the question of what women should wear on a bicycle was a topic of discussion at the time. "In France, Lisette never wears a dress," reported one Chicago newspaper in 1898, continuing that "Lisette dislikes corsets. To her they seem the culminating point in feminine attire of ugliness, unsuitability, and anti-hygienic stupidity."


References

  1. "MRS Grace versus Lisette: A comparison of the English and French women's cycling champions. PART 3 Lisette – the women's champion of France | Playing Pasts".
  2. ^ "Lisette to Ride in Chicago" Inter Ocean (November 20, 1898): 32. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  3. "What a Gall She Had!" Sporting Life (April 6, 1895): 23. via LA84 FoundationOpen access icon
  4. Richard Holt, "Women, Men and Sport in France, c. 1870-1914: An Introductory Survey" Journal of Sport History 18(1)(1991): 126. via LA84 FoundationOpen access icon
  5. Sheila Hanlon, "Ladies’ Cycle Races at The Royal Aquarium: A Late Victorian Sporting Spectacle" SheilaHanlon.com (January 26, 2015).
  6. "Champion Woman Cyclist of the World" The Journal (May 24, 1896): 24. via Library of CongressOpen access icon
  7. "Michael v Mdlle Lisette; A Sporting Match in Paris" Evening Express (February 11, 1896): 2. via Welsh Newspapers OnlineOpen access icon
  8. Aaron Cripps, "James ‘Jimmy’ Michael, Welsh Cycling Champion: Part 2 – Successes and Scandals, January-July 1896" Europeenses (October 11, 2014).
  9. Allen Guttmann, Women's Sports: A History (Columbia University Press 1991): 102. ISBN 9780231069571
  10. Feargal McKay, "The Little Black Bottle, by Gerry Moore" Podium Cafe (August 9, 2011).
  11. William Fotheringham, Cyclopedia: It's All About the Bike (Chicago Review Press 2015). ISBN 9781613734155
  12. "Bicycling" Winnipeg Tribune (June 11, 1900): 3. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  13. Katrina Jungnickel, "'One needs to be very brave to stand all that': Cycling, rational dress and the struggle for citizenship in late nineteenth century Britain" Geoforum 64(August 2015): 362-371.
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