One of the world's largest tire companies, Michelin started out as a joint-stock company, Barbier, Daubrée et Cie, founded in 1863. The name Michelin et Cie, named after the founders André Michelin and Edouard Michelin, the Michelin brothers, was adopted in 1889, but at that time Michelin was a company that manufactured and sold agricultural equipment and rubber products. . One day, a cyclist visited a Michelin factory to repair a punctured bicycle tire, which marked a turning point for the company. At a time when pneumatic tires were still rare, they provided a comfortable ride, but once punctured, it would take hours to repair. Fascinated by the comfort of pneumatic tires, however, the brothers developed a technology that enabled them to be fitted in just 15 minutes. Then, in order to spread the tires and technology to the world, we participated in the world's oldest bicycle race, the "Paris-Brest Round Trip Race".
The result was spectacular: Charles Theron, on tires developed by Michelin, finished the race eight hours ahead of the runner-up, making his invention known to the world. Participation in this bicycle race is said to be the beginning of the history of Michelin tires.
