Happy birthday to Nicolas Vouilloz, who is celebrating his 50th birthday today!

A jack-of-all-trades is celebrating his birthday on February 8th, and not just any birthday, but his 50th! Nicolas Vouilloz, multiple Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion, 2006 French Rally Champion, and 2008 IRC Champion, has left his mark on his era with his versatility and impressive adaptability. It was indeed on two wheels, and without a motor, that the Nice native initially forged his reputation as a top-level competitor. Even as a junior, he donned three rainbow jerseys, winning the Downhill World Championships in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Considered an alien in this discipline at the time, hence his nickname...ET Among cycling enthusiasts, he utterly dominated the sport from 1995 to 2002, winning all seven world titles, not to mention his three European crowns in 1994, 1997, and 1998, and his numerous national titles. Not content with that, Vouilloz then embarked on a new challenge at the dawn of a new millennium…

Nicolas Vouilloz's successful career change to rallying

Passionate about speed and thrills, the boy was then tempted by the rallyFrom his first full-time season with the Volant Peugeot In 2003, after some promising early appearances in national events, Nicolas Vouilloz triumphed over much more experienced drivers such as Franck Véricel, Loïc Chatillon, and Emmanuel Gascou. This opened the doors to the highest level for him: selected for the FFSA French National Team, he participated in his first World Championship rounds in 2004 driving a Peugeot 206. WRCHe then joined the Subaru team for the 2005 French Rally Championship season, which he ultimately finished driving a Škoda Fabia WRC. The following year, he took over the wheel of the BSA team's Peugeot 307 WRC and secured the French Rally Championship title.

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An international title to cap it all off

Peugeot then enlisted his services for the development of its new car, the 207 S2000, destined for a bright future in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) as well as in national rallies. At the wheel, he secured four victories in this championship in 2007, followed by another in 2008, which, combined with his consistency, made him the third winner in the competition's history. At the end of 2009, after an inconsistent season, Nicolas Vouilloz gradually withdrew from motorsport, making occasional appearances, such as at several Monte Carlo Rallies in a Škoda Fabia S2000. Despite his relatively short career, the driver from the Alpes-Maritimes region was considered one of the very best French rally drivers. Atypical, he has left an indelible mark on the memory of enthusiasts of the discipline: enough, in any case, to pay tribute to him on this day of his 50th birthday!