On the 12th of June, 1897, a group of Italian cyclists travelled the
route between Rome and Naples, a distance of 230 kilometers, in a single
day. Given the difficult cycling conditions of that time, this effort
was considered to be "audacious".
In France, at the end of the nineteenth century, the first cycle
tourists had begun to organise, together with hikers. The creation of
the Touring Club de France, on March 31, 1890, was the result of this
coming together.
In 1904, Henri Desgrange, founder of the Tour de France in the previous
year, founded Audax France on the model of Audax Italiano. He conferred
on the Audax Club Parisien, newly created on November 30, 1904, the
authority to certify brevets ridden under Audax rules in France.
From the outset, the club was a success. The A.C.P. members were all
experienced cycle tourists hardened by long distance cycling. They
became adept at the task of "ride captain", and at guiding group rides
at an 18 kilometer per hour pace, which, until 1945, was considered to
be the correct Audax pace.
At that time, only the 200 kilometer distance was considered to be a
brevet, the completion of which entitled a cyclist to be designated
"Audax". Beyond this, rides of 300 and 400 kilometers, were organised by
the A.C.P.. 600 kilometer rides would appear a little later.
By 1921, the designation of "Audax" had been conferred on about 4,500
French cyclists.
In that year, Victor Breyer (Translator's note: formerly a journalist
with Paris-Velo and a sometime colleague of Henri Degrange: he was the
journalist who researched and scouted the original route for Paris -
Roubaix), who at that time was editor of the newspaper L'Echo des Sports, undertook to organise a hiking event that had been in abeyance, the
Polymultipliee. He asked for the assistance of the A.C.P. which had
helped to stage the two previous editions of this event in 1913 and
1914.
The assistance given by the club to L'Echo des Sports, a competitor of
L'Auto, prompted Henri Desgrange to write an editorial in that paper
rescinding the right of the A.C.P. to certify Audax brevets.
This led to a break up of the organisation. Several ride captains and
hikers left the A.C.P. and continued to organise their events under the
direction of L'Auto. They created L'Union des Audax Cyclistes Parisiens
(U.A.C.P.) which was later to become L'Union des Audax Francaises
(U.A.F.).
The U.A.F. today certifies brevets ridden at a constant speed of 22.5
kilometers per hour ridden under the direction of ride captains, whom
riders may not overtake. These rides are known as Brevets Audax.
Those members that remained loyal to the A. C. P. immediately organised
the Brevets des Randonneurs Francaises over distances between 200 and
600 kilometers, to be ridden at a pace chosen by each ride participant.
The first 300 kilometer event was held on the 11th of June, 1922; the
first 400 kilometer ride on the 22nd of July 1923; and the first 600
kilometer ride on the 30th of June and the 1st of July, 1928.
The first 1,000 kilometer event was organised somewhat later, on the 15th
of August, 1934, three years after the first Paris - Brest - Paris in
which non-professional cyclists were permitted.
In 1991, the club celebrated the centenary of Paris - Brest - Paris, an
event first organised by Le Petit Journal in 1891.
Another noteworthy event was the creation, in 1923, of the Federation
Francaise des Societes de Cyclotourisme (FFSC) which grouped together
French clubs devoted to bicycle tourism. Gaston Clement, a founding
member of the A.C.P. was the first president of this organisation. This
Federation became, in 1942, the Federation Francais de Cyclotourisme
(F.F.C.T.) that remains the principal association of French cycle
tourism to this day.
Today, L'Audax Club Parisien is one of the largest cycling clubs in
Paris and in France. Since 1976, brevets certified by the A.C.P. have
been ridden in countries outside of France. These are known as the
Brevets des Randonneurs Mondiaux.
