Géo Lefèvre

Géo Lefèvre (died 1961) was a French sports journalist and the originator of the idea for the Tour de France.He suggested the idea for the Tour at a meeting with Henri Desgrange, editor of the daily newspaperL'Auto as a way to boost circulation. Desgrange recruited Lefèvre from the rival daily sports paper, Le Vélo, to work as his rugby and cycling correspondent. Lefèvre played both sports but was keener on cycling. When L'Auto's circulation didn't match the hopes of its backers, Lefèvre was the youngest at a crisis conference held on the first floor of L'Auto's office in the rue Faubourg Montmartre in Paris. He said in subsequent interviews that he suggested a six-day race round France only because he could think of nothing else to say.
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