May 11, 1893 – Early bicycle enthusiast, Henri Desgrange, established the very first bicycle world record, traveling at a top speed of 21.95 miles per hour or 35.325 km/hr at the Buffalo Velodrome in Paris, France.
This was sort of a starting point for Desgrange to take cycling to a whole new level. The Frenchman watched his first bicycle race in 1891 and caught the bug.
He ended up setting twelve world records in track cycling, was an early journalist/writer on the sport, and was the original founder of the Tour de France in 1903.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network

THE NFL’S WACKY, PECULIAR, AND CONFUSING EARLY SCHEDULING PRACTICES!
In the modern world of today’s National Football League, schedules are carefully constructed to

The Kings of Monday Night Football (1970s)
During the 1970s, there was no better team in the NFL at winning Monday

Best Young Australian Footballers to Watch in 2026/27
Saturday afternoons in Australia have a certain rhythm: footy on, maybe some online pokies

5 Best Golf Simulator Designers in 2026: The Definitive Buyer’s Guide
Photo by Will Porada on Unsplash Trying to build your own golf simulator from

ACC Basketball’s Four-Way Tie
In my last article, I made a case for the 1988-89 season being the

Mark Morthier’s Favorite Sport Cards (1968 – 1971)
The first sports trading cards I remember collecting were the 1968 and 1969 Topps

What Atlanta Falcons Odds Suggest About the 2026 Season
Atlanta enters 2026 as a team that the betting market respects only in limited

How Sports Betting Went from Back-Alley Bookies to Big Business
Long before mobile apps and instant odds updates, betting on sports meant finding a