The Chapel of Our Lady of the Cyclists

The chapel of Géou is located in the commune of Labastide d'Armagnac, in the Landes region.

This area has been inhabited by humans for a very long time. Excavations have revealed evidence of human presence in the Neolithic period and in the Gallo-Roman period, when it was home to a vast villa rustica .

The chapel was built in the 11th century and the village of Géou grew up around it from 1104.
A few decades later, the town was integrated into the Knights Templar by its lord, Sancho I of Gascony, and was fortified accordingly.
However, in 1355, the Black Prince destroyed the entire town during one of his terrible, bloody raids. Only the chapel was partially preserved.

The church was sacked again during the Wars of Religion, and only its walls survived.
This means the liturgical furnishings now preserved in the church must originate from a later date than this tragic event.
Affiliated with the commune of Labastide-d'Armagnac, the church was gradually abandoned after the French Revolution.

The inauguration of the Our Lady of the Cyclists (Notre-Dame des Cyclistes) took place seven days later, on Pentecost Monday.

The event was celebrated with a relay race that brought together some of the great names in cycling at the time: Bartali, Coppi, Darrigade, Bobet, and numerous other amateur and professional cyclists.

André Darrigade was the local figure of the event. A native of the Landes region, he was the first rider to give his rainbow world champion's jersey and his green Tour de France jersey to the chapel as an ex-voto offering.

Many well-known and lesser-known riders—professionals and amateurs, French and foreign—have followed his example over the years.

The chapel now has over 700 jerseys hanging in three rows along the whole length of it.

The jerseys of riders who have played a key role in the history of cycling are mounted in glass displays:

Raymond Delisle: French road champion 1969.

Lucien Michard: Olympic champion 1924 and four-time French speed champion between 1927 and 1930.

Raymond Poulidor: French road champion 1961 and winner of the Vuelta a España 1964 and many other major European races.

Jacques Anquetil is one of the greatest French cyclists in history.
He has won titles such as:
Pursuit champion of France 1955, 1956, and 1957
Eight Grand Tours.
Leader of the Tour de France general classification 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964.
Leader of the Giro d'Italia general classification 1960 and 1964.
Leader of the Vuelta a España general classification 1963.

The champion Luis Ocaña and his family have a special relationship with the Chapel of Our Lady of the Cyclists.
He got married there in 1966 and his funeral took place there in 1994. More recently, his widow went there to have her grandson baptized.

As a tribute, one of the chapel's stained-glass windows depicts him in action.

These windows were designed by the former French champion, Henri Anglade, and made by Étienne Nouvet.

This one features the Italian champions Coppi and Bartali sharing a canteen during the ascent of the Aubisque pass in 1949.

In addition to the riders' jerseys, old-fashioned bicycles depicting the evolution of the bike since the end of the 19th century are also on display at the entrance.

Each year, more than 20,000 people—both enthusiasts and newbies—visit the chapel.

The Tour de France has passed by the Chapel of Our Lady of the Cyclists five times as a tribute to it; the last occasion was in 2017.