In the long and storied history of the Peugeot cycling team, the years between 1956 and 1960 stand out as perhaps the most fascinating of all. It’s a tale of setbacks and comebacks, and of a hard-earned sporting truth: French flair is beautiful, but without Belgian grit, you simply won’t survive the cobbles.
1956: A Hesitant Beginning
In 1956, Peugeot–BP–Dunlop was still a modest outfit. With only a handful of French riders on the payroll, major victories were few and far between. Team management quickly realised that change was needed if they were to keep pace with the world’s best. The solution lay just across the border, in the land of rain-soaked cobblestones and gritty kermesse racing.
1957: The Year of the Belgian Invasion
In 1957, Peugeot changed course dramatically. They signed an extraordinary group of Belgian stars: Rik Van Steenbergen, Raymond Impanis, Joseph Planckaert and Pino Cerami. The impact was immediate—and devastating for the competition.
Van Steenbergen seemed unstoppable, winning almost everything in sight. The highlight of a phenomenal season was his world championship title in Reims, alongside five stage victories in the Giro d’Italia. Overnight, Peugeot became the team everyone feared. The French jersey with the lion was now a symbol of Belgian dominance.
1958: The Year of Truth (and Breton Hope)
In 1958, team management once again opted for an all-French line-up. It proved to be a difficult sporting year, with few wins to celebrate. Yet it was also the season in which a young French rider announced himself: Camille Le Menn.
Le Menn, a true Breton from Brest, showed that genuine French talent was still very much present within the team. While Peugeot searched for form, the young Le Menn powered to an impressive stage victory in the Dauphiné Libéré. He became the team’s “Breton engine”: tough, resilient, and unwilling to yield when the road climbed or the wind turned against him. Although 1958 was disappointing overall, Le Menn established himself as the loyal French cornerstone on which Peugeot would rely for years to come.
1959–1960: The Perfect Balance
In 1959, the “Belgian injection” was reintroduced with the arrival of Fred De Bruyne and Frans Schoubben. Once again, the results followed quickly: victories in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Paris–Brussels.
By 1960, everything finally fell into place. The now 38-year-old Pino Cerami stunned the cycling world by winning both Paris–Roubaix and La Flèche Wallonne, while Camille Le Menn upheld French honour with a victory in the Tour du Sud-Est. The blend of explosive Belgian classics specialists and tireless French stage racers like Le Menn proved to be the winning formula.
A Jersey with a Story
Wearing this retro Peugeot–BP–Dunlop jersey means honouring both the raw power of the Flemish hardmen and the stubborn resilience of Breton riders like Camille Le Menn. It’s a jersey that represents cross-border collaboration—and a deep, shared passion for the sport of cycling.
👉 Shop the jersey HERE