PARIS (AP) Former Tour de France champion Roger Walkowiak has died at the age of 89.
Walkowiak’s wife told The Associated Press her husband died early Tuesday in a hospital near Vichy.
The Frenchman had been the oldest living Tour winner after Ferdy Kuebler died in December at 97.
Walkowiak, the son of a Polish factory worker, created a major upset when he won cycling’s biggest race in 1956. The win was so unexpected that it originated a French expression still in use today: “A la walko,” which translates as “Doing a Walko” and means a surprise win by an unheralded rider.