Cyclists from Hauts-de-France

Apo Lazaridès (16 October 1925 – 30 October 1998) was a French champion cyclist.
Born Jean-Apôtre Lazaridès in Marles-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais of Greek ancestry (he became French in 1929). During the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Lazaridès used his cycling to transport supplies to the French Resistance. Apo had an older brother, Lucien Lazaridès, also a cyclist.
Nicknamed "Apo", a short version of his middle name, he competed in races throughout France during the war. In 1946 Lazaridès finished fifth in the "Ronde de France", then won the most important competition of the year, the "La Course du Tour de France", a 1316 km race from Monaco to Paris. This was organised by the group who took charge of organisation of the Tour de France.
In the 1947 Tour, Lazaridès finished tenth but captured second overall in the mountain class. In 1948, he finished ninth and went on to take second place in the world championship. He retired in 1955 and moved to Cannes, where he was president of the Étoile Sportive de Cannes."
Lazaridès died in Cannes in 1998 and was buried there in the Cimetière du Grand Jas.

José Beyaert (1 October 1925 – 11 June 2005) was a French professional cyclist who competed during the 1940s and 1950s, and was the 1948 Olympics road race champion. Beyaert moved to Colombia in 1952 and lived there for several years where he was the coach to the national cycling team. He also competed in the Vuelta a Colombia which he won on his first attempt in 1952. He finished second the following year and eighth the year after. He also rode in the 1950 Tour de France and finished 47th overall.