What does Chasse Patate mean?

We at Pedaleur de Charme are fond of cycling terms. And Chasse Patate is perhaps one of the most beautiful cycling terms there is. But what does it mean?

Runaround

When you're racing and you've missed the break, you have two options: you can mope about and hang back in the bunch, or you can try to bridge across to the leading group. We, of course, encourage the latter! Racing with grit! However, it's highly likely that you'll end up chasing alone and won't manage to reach the leading group. Then you're faced with a choice again: either you let yourself be caught, or you embark on a hopeless mission to swim solo for kilometres between the groups. If you choose the latter, you find yourself in the "Chasse Patate". You're a lone warrior, undertaking a completely useless ordeal, but you refuse to give up. Tear-jerkingly beautiful!

Where does Chasse Patate come from?

The term originates from the six-day racing circuit. The "Chasse Patate" was a race held to fill the gaps in the official programme. It was intended to fill the afternoons, before the more highly regarded evening and night sessions. Spectators were often schoolchildren and the racing was primarily for entertainment. The top riders in the standings could rest their legs, while the less fancied riders could gain a lap or two back, bringing the field closer together and making the six-day race appear more exciting.

The term “patattenjacht” officially comes from the Six Days of Paris. Before the race, the cyclists would eat potatoes. Because they all went onto the track with full stomachs, the subsequent points race wasn't of the highest standard. The riders took it relatively easy, to give their digestion more time. The points were shared back and forth, but little effort was made to actually gain laps. Thus, the Chasse Patate became a race for padding, much like that lone breakaway rider swimming by themselves between the groups. Padding. But beautiful padding.

Socks

Do you have friends who are constantly stuck in a rut? Make them this Chasse Patate-socks Gift! Or does it happen to you at the local racecourse? Then buy them for yourself. Because even if you're on a mission impossible, with these socks you'll look good!