Three-time Tour de France winner Louison Bobet won his only Paris-Roubaix in 1956, the year after his final Tour victory.

A war veteran, having enlisted after D-Day, Bobet applied for a racing licence upon leaving the army and became one of France’s greatest cyclists during the 1950s.

His three Tour de France wins, from 1953 to 1955, saw him become the first man to win the race three years in a row, and he also became world champion in 1954.

After a disappointing Tour as national champion in 1951, Bobet returned to the race in 1953 and soloed to victory up the Col d’Izoard, despite the roads being in a state of disrepair.

Fausto Coppi himself was in attendance as a spectator. After defending his title for the next two years, he then won at Paris-Roubaix in 1956 despite starting the race carrying an injury.

Forming part of an elite six-man counter-attack, Bobet caught the day’s escapees with 16km to go and outsprinted the likes of Rik van Steenbergen to win in the Roubaix velodrome.