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Early life
Anquetil was born on 8 January 1934 in a clinic in Mont-Saint-Aignan, a suburb of Rouen in Normandy situated next to Bois-Guillaume, where his parents had a house at the time. His father Ernest was the grandson of a Prussian soldier called Ernst, who died in the Franco-Prussian War after having an affair with Melanie Grouh, Ernest's grandmother. Melanie later married Frédéric Anquetil, who adopted her son Ernest Victor, Jacques' grandfather, who would later die in World War I, leaving Jacques' father Ernest as the head of the family at the age of 11. On 25 May 1929, Ernest married Jacques' mother Marie, who had been orphaned since the age of 2 and been raised by nuns in an orphanage. Jacques had a younger brother, Philippe, born in either 1937 or 1940.

Anquetil received his first bike from his father at the age of 4. When Jacques was seven, his father Ernest returned from his service in World War II and, unable to find building work except for the German occupying forces, moved with the family to Le Bourguet close to Quincampoix to become a strawberry farmer. It was here that the young Anquetil attended school, receiving good grades, particularly in mathematics. Ernest Anquetil often became violent after excess alcohol consumption, and Jacques' mother eventually moved into an apartment in Paris, leaving her son with his father. As his second bike grew to small for him, Anquetil needed a new one at the age of 11. With his father being unable to afford it, Jacques argued successfully to allow him to replace one of the workers on the strawberry fields, earning him the necessary money to buy a Stella bicycle on his own. At the age of 14, he began to attend Technical College in Rouen's southern district of Sotteville to become a metalworker. It was here that he met and befriended Maurice Dieulois, who rode amateur bike races on the weekends and whose father had been president of the local cycling club AC Sottevillais. Through him, Anquetil got into bicycle racing, signing up to the club under the tutelage of André Boucher late in the summer of 1950. Since it was to late to participate in any more races that year, he instead focussed on getting into shape for the coming season. Boucher recognized Anquetil's talent and offered him two bikes, one for training and one for races, as well as free supply of tyres, bike maintenance and a performance bonus. At the end of 1950, Anquetil gained his diploma and by the end of January 1951 had taken a job in a workshop in Sotteville, for a meager pay of 64 francs an hour. Since his employer would not allow him Thursday evening off, which the club used for training rides, he quit his position again at the beginning of March, moving back to working on his father's farm while pursuing a career in cycling.

1953: Grand Prix des Nations
After his success at the Tour de la Manche, Anquetil was approached by several professional teams. Francis Pélissier, a former professional and sporting director of the La Perle team, offered him a contract in order to race in the Grand Prix des Nations in September. It was back then considered the most prestigious time trial event in the world, often described as the "unofficial world championship" for time trialists. Anquetil, still a minor, needed consent from his parents, to sign the contract, which initially ran for two months from September to October 1953. He was paid 30,000 francs per month. Pélissier wasted no time in teasing his new rider to the press, declaring: "Winning a race with somebody like [Fausto] Coppi is child's play. Real sport is trying to win with an unknown. This time I'm going to make a kid win the Grand Prix des Nations." The contract with La Perle briefly led to conflict between Anquetil and his couch Boucher, who threatened legal action. The two made up however in time for Boucher to help Anquetil prepare for the race.

The Grand Prix des Nations took place on 27 September over a 140 km distance from Versailles to the Parc des Princes in Paris. Anquetil prepared meticulously, sending himself postcards from different places along the route describing the course. On race day, he started strongly, even though he was held back by a puncture and a bike swap within the first couple of kilometres. He eventually won the time trial by a margin of almost seven minutes ahead of Roger Creton. Even though still just 19 years of age, he came within 35 seconds of beating the track record set by Tour de France winner Hugo Koblet two years earlier. The victory made Anquetil an instant sensation in the sports press, with the Tour de France director Jacques Goddet writing an article in L'Equipe titled: "When the Child Champion was Born."

Anquetil followed up his victory three weeks later with another in the Grand Prix de Lugano in Switzerland, a race in which 1950 Tour de France winner Ferdinand Kübler came in third. Anquetil was then invited to ride the prestigious Trofeo Baracchi, a two-man time trial in Italy. On his way there, Anquetil visited his idol Fausto Coppi, still considered the best cyclist of the era at the time. They both competed in the Trofeo Baracchi, with Coppi winning alongside Riccardo Filippi. Anquetil and his partner, experienced rider Antonin Rolland, finished second. Rolland commented after the finish: "I was well prepared and in very good form. Nevertheless, Jacques assassinated me and for the last 30 kilometres I could not go through; I was clinging on by the skin of my teeth."