Amélie Le Gall, known as Mademoiselle Lisette or Lisette Marton, (19 March 1869 – unknown) was a French competitive cyclist. She was considered the women's world champion in the sport in 1896.
Early life Amélie Le Gall was the daughter of a carpenter."Lisette to Ride in Chicago" Inter Ocean (November 20, 1898): 32. via Newspapers.com She was reportedly working as a shepherdess in Brittany when she was wooed by a male cyclist who married her and trained her in the sport."What a Gall She Had!" Sporting Life (April 6, 1895): 23. via LA84 Foundation
Career Amélie Le Gall began competing in France, at exhibition contests to promote the new sport.Richard Holt, "Women, Men and Sport in France, c. 1870-1914: An Introductory Survey" Journal of Sport History 18(1)(1991): 126. via LA84 Foundation In 1895, Marton competed in a race at the Royal Aquarium in London.Sheila Hanlon, "Ladies’ Cycle Races at The Royal Aquarium: A Late Victorian Sporting Spectacle" SheilaHanlon.com (January 26, 2015). She defeated Scottish cyclist Clara Grace for the women's world championship in 1896,"Champion Woman Cyclist of the World" The Journal (May 24, 1896): 24. via Library of Congress and sometimes raced male riders,"Michael v Mdlle Lisette; A Sporting Match in Paris" Evening Express (February 11, 1896): 2. via Welsh Newspapers OnlineAaron Cripps, "James ‘Jimmy’ Michael, Welsh Cycling Champion: Part 2 – Successes and Scandals, January-July 1896" Europeenses (October 11, 2014). as when she defeated Albert Champion.Allen Guttmann, Women's Sports: A History (Columbia University Press 1991): 102.
She trained with controversial English coach Choppy WarburtonFeargal McKay, "The Little Black Bottle, by Gerry Moore" Podium Cafe (August 9, 2011).William Fotheringham, Cyclopedia: It's All About the Bike (Chicago Review Press 2015). and was sponsored by Simpson chain, a British bicycle chain manufacturer. She raced in Chicago in 1898 and in Winnipeg in 1900."Bicycling" Winnipeg Tribune (June 11, 1900): 3. via Newspapers.com
Her clothing was often described in detail, as the question of what women should wear on a bicycle was a topic of discussion at the time.Katrina Jungnickel, "'One needs to be very brave to stand all that': Cycling, rational dress and the struggle for citizenship in late nineteenth century Britain" Geoforum 64(August 2015): 362-371. "In France, Lisette never wears a dress," reported one Chicago newspaper in 1898, continuing that "Lisette dislikes corsets. To her they seem the culminating point in feminine attire of ugliness, unsuitability, and anti-hygienic stupidity."
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