Bernard Carré Royal Asport Classic Roadbike 1950s

Here comes an original Royal Asport Classic Roadbike by Bernard Carré from the 1950s
This sweet little bike comes with some extra background. It belonged to Julien Arné, who was one of the best French semi-amateurs of his time. In the 1950s the gap between amateurs and professionals was not very big and sometimes both of them could be found in the same team for a race series. Julien recieved this bike from his friend and colleague André Darrigade. Darrigade was maybe the best sprinter in the history of the Tour de France who won 22 Stages (in a time when sprinters still had to work very hard in the peloton) and was world champion in 1959!
You can see Arné on the pictures, there is even one with Darrigade
The frame was produced for Royal Asport (and maybe worked over for the team KAS-Royal Asport) in the workshop of Bernard Carré who also built bikes for Jaques Anquetil.
Of course the bike is equipped with the very best parts of the 1950s including the excellent Campagnolo Gran Sport parts.
The bike has gained some serious patina over the decades but we decided to leave it that way due to its great history. It is still a great, lightweight ride and performs pretty well.