Career
He is known for being the first African to participate in the Tour de France, when he participated in the 1913 edition He also was in the Tour de France, but didn"t finish either of them. In the Tour, he was hit by a car from the organization, and could not continue.
In 1913 he accepted an invitation to the Tour de France.
During this Tour de France, he was eighteen years old, making him the youngest participant ever in the Tour de France. He was iconic for wearing a fez instead of the traditional cap.
Despite the setback caused to his career by the World War One, he returned to racing in and became a regular at major races of the time. He was one of 87 riders to compete in the Circuit des Champs de Bataille in early 1919, the stages of which crossed towns devastated by World War I. The race is remembered as the toughest in cycling history.