Christophe Lévêque

Christophe Lévêque (born February 11, 1973) is a former-professional French "Mid/Current School" BMX racer.

Christophe Lévêque
Personal information
Full nameChristophe Lévêque
Born (1973-02-11) February 11, 1973
Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight86.8 kg (191 lb)
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineBicycle motocross (BMX)
RoleRacer
Rider typeOff Road
Amateur teams
1990MCS Bicycle Specialties (Europe)
1990–1996Sunn/Chipie
Professional teams
1990–1996Sunn/Chipie
1996–2000Sunn/Nike
1998–2000Specialized
2000–2001Specialized/Mountain Dew
2002–2005GT Bicycles/Speed Stick
2006US Pro Bikes/Free Agent

Racing career

Christophe Lévêque began BMX (bicycle motocross) racing in 1987, at age 14,[1] and achieved first place in his first novice race. As an amateur, he was sponsored by the European division of Moto Cross Specialties.[2]

He turned professional in December 1990 and achieved his first professional win in the United States the following year at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Fallnationals.[3] Two months later, his first race on the senior professional circuit was a last-place finish at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Christmas Classic nationals.[4]

In 1992, Lévêque achieved his first senior pro win at the non-sanctioned charity Fifth Annual Race Against Drugs, in Palm Springs, California. His competition had included Eric Carter, Jamie Staff, Todd Corbitt and Todd Blaser in the main.[5]

In January 1995, he broke his wrist while riding recreationally[6] and required surgery in France.[7] He returned to racing at the ABA Winternationals on March 18.[8]

There was a controversy regarding the 1995 ABA National No. 1 Pro championship. Lévêque had earned the most points but the title went to points runner-up Gary Ellis due to an obscure rule that only permitted an American citizen to win the title. The rule was revoked from the ABA rule book after the 1995 season ended.[9] With the rule change, Lévêque subsequently won the title in 1998 and 1999.

He injured his shoulder at the NBL Summer Nationals in July 1996,[10] which kept him from racing through the following year.[11] Another injury at the ABA Fall Nationals in October 1998 laid him up for five months.[12] During the ABA Grandnational in November 1999, he separated his shoulder in a crash.[13]

At the NBL Easter Classic National in March 2002, Lévêque hurt his back and returned to France[14] for several surgeries to repair and eventually replace a ruptured disc, putting him out of racing for the season.[15] In early October 2003, Lévêque broke his foot in a race in France.[16]

While laid up from injuries in 2003, Lévêque started a BMX distribution company, US Pro Bikes.[15]

In March 2004, Lévêque shattered his heel and was laid up for eight months, due in part to complications from the healing process.[17] It did not respond to therapy,[18] and Lévêque retired in mid-2005 due to accumulated injuries. His last professional race was a fourth-place finish[19] in the ABA Silver Dollar National in Reno, Nevada, on January 9, 2005.[18]

Lévêque held a dozen French championships, a dozen International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) championships, five Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) championships, and the 2001 ABA Golden Crank award for Pro of the Year.[20]

Personal life

In 2005, he married Mikim, with whom he has had two children.

Further reading
  • "Double Interview: Christophe Leveque & Brian Foster" BMX Plus! April 1996 Vol.19 No.4 pg.66 two separate non-interactive interviews with the pros Foster and Lévêque.
  • "The New NBL #1 Pro Speaks" BMX Plus! December 1997 Vol.20 No.12 pg.42 Mini Interview of the 1997 NBL pro No.1 Lévêque.
  • "Inside the Pro's Bikes" BMX Plus! July 1998 Vol.21 No.7 pg.93 Article about the racing machines of Lévêque and John Purse.
  • "Specialized Signs Chris Lévêque" BMX Plus! January 1999 Vol.22 No.1 pg.92
  • "The Pro Upset of the Year...Christophe Leveque: ABA & NBL #1 Pro." BMX Plus! March 1999 Vol.22 No.3 pg.28
  • "The French Invasion" Snap BMX Magazine May 1999 Vol.6 Iss.3 No.31 pg.40 Joint interview with fellow countryman and racer Thomas Allier.
  • "Q&A: If you could race one race over again, which would it be?" Snap BMX Magazine December 1999 Vol.6 Iss.10 No.38 pg.42 Single question interview asked of Lévêque and four other professional racers including Randy Stumpfhauser, Michelle Cairns, Neal Wood, and Jamie Lilly.
  • "Christophe Leveque" Snap BMX Magazine January 2000 Vol.7 Iss.1 No.39 poster back
  • "Interview: Christophe Leveque" Transworld BMX April 2003 Vol.10 Iss.4 No.78 pg.50
  • "The Flying Frenchman Calls It A Day" BMX World December 2005/January 2006 Vol.1 No.1 pg.7(Premier Issue)

References
  1. Double A Marketing 1999 interview. Archived 2007-04-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. BMX Plus! September 1988 Vol.11 No.9 pg.28
  3. BMX Plus! February 1992 Vol.15 No.2 pg.22
  4. BMX Plus! April 1992 Vol.15 No.4 pg.18 (race results)
  5. BMX Plus! May 1992 Vol.15 No.5 pg.48
  6. BMX Plus! May 1995 Vol.18 No.5 pg.32 (photo caption)
  7. BMX Plus! June 1995 Vol.18 No.6 pg.4
  8. BMX Plus! July 1995 Vol.18 No.7 pg.34
  9. BMX Plus! April 1996 Vol.19 No.4 pg.66
  10. BMX Plus! November 1996 Vol.19 No.11
  11. BMX Plus! December 1997 Vol.20 No.12 pg.42
  12. bmxtreme.com September 19, 1999 interview
  13. Snap BMX Magazine March 2000 Vol.7 Iss.3 No.41 pg.74 (photo caption)
  14. Transworld BMX August 2002 Vol.9 Iss.8 No.70 pg.29
  15. Pro profile page of Double A Marketing site Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Double A Marketing news site from 2003. Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
  17. GT Bicycles site. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  18. BMX World December 2005/January 2006 Vol.1 No.1 pg.7(Premier Issue)
  19. ABA.com 2005 Silver National results page. Archived 2005-04-08 at Archive.today
  20. bmxtreme.com article
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