Challenge Desgrange-Colombo

The "Challenge Desgrange - Colombo " was an annual ranking in professional road cycling, which existed from 1948 to 1958 to honor the most versatile and overall most successful cyclist of the season.

Named after Henri Desgrange and Emilio Colombo, the founders and organizers of the Tour de France and the Giro d' Italia, the "Challenge Desgrange - Colombo " of the European sports newspaper L' Équipe (Fra ), La Gazzetta dello Sport ( Ita) was, Het Nieuwsblad ( Bel ) and Les Sports ( Bel ) organized. Discrepancies between the organizers led to the abolition of the standings. Three years later, in 1961, a similar format to the cycling year ranking was created: the so-called Super Prestige Pernod - rating.

In the evaluation, the most important one-day races and tours of the cycling season were received. These initially included the Tour de France and the Giro d' Italia and the classic Milan - San Remo, Paris -Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Fleche Wallonne, Paris -Brussels, Paris -Tours and the Giro di Lombardia. In 1949, the Tour de Suisse added in 1951 Liège -Bastogne- Liège and the last host in 1958 and the Vuelta a España.

The "Challenge Desgrange - Colombo " was naturally dominated by the best cyclists of their respective generation. As the first winner Briek Scot was excellent, he was followed by, inter alia, Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet. Three times won the Swiss Ferdy Kübler (1950, 1952, 1954) and the Belgian Fred De Bruyne ( 1956-1958 ).

List of winners

• Racing series
• Sport ( Europe)