Terront was born in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis. He took up cycle racing in 1876 along with his brother Jules. Charles excelled at both endurance and speed events, and also won many events on a tandem with his brother Jules. He won 54 major solo events over his 15-year career, including being Champion of France twice and Champion of Great Britain twice. In 1879 he covered in 24 hours. On 27 September 1893 he left Saint Petersburg in Russia to cycle across Poland and Germany, arriving at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris after 14 days and 7 hours. In 1894 he completed a ride from Rome, Italy, to Paris.
of Le Petit Journal created the Paris-Brest et retour cycle race in September 1891, describing it as an "épreuve", a test of the bicycle's reliability and the rider's endurance. Riders were fully self-sufficient, carrying their own food and clothing and riding the same bicycle for the duration. The response was so phenomenal that they had to charge 5 francs entrance as 300 riders signed up. Each bicycle was given an 'official seal' at a 2-day ceremony, the 280 sealed machines included 10 tricycles, 2 Tandem bicycles, and 1 Penny-farthing. Participation was restricted to French men and 99 of the 207 participants finished. Charles Terront won the event, covering the in 71 hours 22 minutes, riding a Humber bicycle from the Beeston works in England, which weighed 21.5 kilograms and was equipped with Michelin's prototype pneumatic tyres, front brake, curved handlebars, and a chain guard. He passed his main rival Jiel-Laval from Adolphe Clément's Dunlop Clément team, after his manager, H.O. Duncan, advised him to take a detour around the town where his rival was sleeping during the third night. Both had suffered punctures in their pneumatic tyres, but still enjoyed an advantage over riders on solid tires. Terront's arrival in Paris was watched by a crowd of 10,000 people, many of whom had waited throughout the night.
Honours
Terront's fame meant that he was the first athlete to have his memoires published during his lifetime. In 1893 he explained his life, races and training methods to French journalist Louis Baudry de Saunier. Also in 1893 En suivant Terront by Herbert Duncan and Pierre Lafitte used 100 drawings to follow his ride to Paris from Saint Petersburg. A plaque in Brest commemorates his 1891 victory in the Paris–Brest–Paris. The Rue Charles Terront in Nantes is named in his honour.
