# Grand Prix des Nations
The Grand Prix des Nations was a French individual time-trial one-day race, founded in 1932, that served for decades as the unofficial world championship of time trialling until it was last contested in 2004 and continued, through a merger, as the Chrono des Nations at Les Herbiers. Two journalists from the newspaper Paris-Soir, Gaston Bénac and Albert Baker d'Isy, devised the event.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php) In 2006 it was revived by merging with the Chrono des Herbiers, the combined race taking the name Chrono des Nations.[2](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First edition | 1932, 142 km from Versailles to the Buffalo Stadium, won by Maurice Archambaud[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations) |
| Total editions | 70 between 1932 and 2004[4](https://www.cyclingranking.com/races/gp-des-nations/history) |
| Most wins | Jacques Anquetil, nine from nine starts, 1953–1966[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations) |
| Fastest old-format edition | 2000: 49.41 km/h over 75 km[5](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions) |
| Wartime peculiarity | Two editions per year in 1941–42, one in occupied and one in free France[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php) |
| Successor | Chrono des Nations at Les Herbiers, first held 15 October 2006[2](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/) |
| Recent winner | Joshua Tarling, 2025, 44.87 km at 52.582 km/h[6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html) |
## Origins and early years (1932–1939)
The idea came out of reporting from Copenhagen. The 1931 Road Race World Championship was still in its infancy and was held there as a 172 km time trial rather than a mass-start race. Two writers from Paris-Soir reported on that event, and in 1932 they organized a similar French contest.[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations)
The first Grand Prix des Nations was a 142 km time trial from Versailles to the Buffalo Stadium on the southern edge of Paris. Maurice Archambaud won in 3 hr 49 min 28 sec, with Alfredo Bovet second at 6 min 5 sec and Léon Le Calvez third.[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations) • [6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html) Raymond Louviot won the 1933 edition.[4](https://www.cyclingranking.com/races/gp-des-nations/history)
## Wartime and divided France
The race survived the German occupation by splitting itself. In 1941 and 1942, the demarcation line cut France into an occupied zone and a free zone, and two editions of the Grand Prix des Nations were held each year: one in [Marseille](https://www.edgepedia.org/marseille) in the free zone and one in Paris in the occupied zone.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php) • [7](https://siteducyclisme.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=234) Results archives label these wartime races "OZ" (occupied zone) and "FZ" (free zone).[6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html)
## The unofficial world championship era
The race quickly grew in popularity and came to be considered the unofficial time-trial world championship.[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations) At the 2006 announcement in Paris, Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc called it "the Queen event of time trial kings", and his successor Christian Prudhomme welcomed the survival of the "Nations" name.[2](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/)
Jacques Anquetil defined the race. Between 1953 and 1966 he won all nine editions he entered, a record haul. His 1965 victory, his penultimate, came after a three-year absence and was ridden at a reported 46.843 km/h over a near-74 km course.[3](https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations) No source consulted here documents the win tallies of [Bernard Hinault](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernard-hinault) or Jeannie Longo, so claims about their records in the race rest on the roll of honor databases rather than on confirmed figures in this evidence set.
## By the numbers
The race ran 70 editions between 1932 and 2004.[4](https://www.cyclingranking.com/races/gp-des-nations/history) Its distance shrank steadily. The 1955 edition was run over 140 km at a winning average of 40.23 km/h.[5](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions)
The 1965 edition was ridden at 46.84 km/h over 74 km and the 1970 edition at 45.59 km/h over 101 km, when Herman van Springel won in 2 hr 12 min 56 sec ahead of Ole Ritter and Luis Ocana.[5](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions) • [6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html) The final editions were the shortest and fastest: the 2000 edition was won at 49.41 km/h over 75 km, and the 2004 farewell edition covered 54 km at 47.368 km/h.[5](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions)
Sources also disagree on when the race served as the World Cup Final: siteducyclisme places it between 1990 and 1993,[7](https://siteducyclisme.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=234) while Mémoire du Cyclisme lists 1991, 1992, and 1993.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php) The discrepancy is unresolved.
## Decline, relocation and renaming (1990s–2006)
The 1995 edition was canceled.[7](https://siteducyclisme.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=234) The race also became peripatetic: after decades around the Vallée de la Chevreuse (1945–1972), it moved to St-Jean-de-Monts (1973), Angers (1974–1976), Cannes (1977–1990), Pisa (1991), Mallorca (1992), Lac de Madine (1993–1994, and 1996–1998), Forges-les-Eaux (1999), Yvetot (2000), Saint-Romain-de-Colbosc (2001), and [Le Havre](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-havre) (2002).[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php)
The 2000 edition was won by [Lance Armstrong](https://www.edgepedia.org/lance-armstrong), who was later disqualified.[7](https://siteducyclisme.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=234) The race was no longer contested after the 2004 edition.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php) In 2006 it was revived: the Grand Prix des Nations merged with the Chrono des Herbiers, a time trial that had previously run under that name, to form the Chrono des Nations, staged for the first time on 15 October 2006.[2](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/) • [6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html) [Hour record](https://www.edgepedia.org/hour-record) holder Ondrej Sosenka and reigning time trial world champion Michael Rogers were announced for that first edition.[2](https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/)
## The modern Chrono des Nations
The successor race is based at Les Herbiers, a fixed circuit course contrasting with the old Nations' changing point-to-point and lapped venues. Its races are short, around 45 km, and fast. Britain's Joshua Tarling won in 2025, covering 44.87 km in 51 min 12 sec at 52.582 km/h, with Jay Vine second at 30 seconds, and Küng third at 1 min 15 sec.[6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html)
Modern winning speeds above 52.5 km/h exceed even the fastest old Grand Prix des Nations averages (49.41 km/h in 2000).[5](https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions) • [6](https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html) Sources consulted do not document the current UCI classification or organisational details of the event beyond these results.
## References
1. Grand Prix des Nations (Fra) – Ex., Mémoire du Cyclisme (archived) — https://web.archive.org/web/20120223120736/http:/www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/disparues/anc_gp_nations.php
2. New French race: Chrono des Nations, Cyclingnews — https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-french-race-chrono-des-nations/
3. Pro race history: Jacques Anquetil, King of the Nations, Cyclist — https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/jacques-anquetil-grand-prix-des-nations
4. Race History G.P. des Nations, CyclingRanking.com — https://www.cyclingranking.com/races/gp-des-nations/history
5. Fastest & longest editions Grand Prix des Nations, ProCyclingStats — https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/grand-prix-des-nations/results/fastest-editions
6. Chrono des Nations – Grand Prix des Nations, winners, podium, distance, average speed, BikeRaceInfo — https://bikeraceinfo.com/races/chrono-des-nations/chrono-des-nations-index.html
7. Grand Prix des Nations (Fra), Site du Cyclisme — https://siteducyclisme.com/wedstrijdfiche.php?wedstrijdid=234
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Cycling and motor sport › Road cycle racing › One-day races and Grand Prix classics › Time-trial classics and chronos*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license