I stumbled across these images (and many more of a similar vein) here a few weeks ago. The subjects making up the left column seem to simply be faithful renditions of photographs, but within the right column, primarily of pros of the 1900s-1950s, the artists seem to focus on men whose cycling and post-cycling careers were awash in tragedy, and the black and white renditions of those dark moments are particularly evocative…and disturbing.

1. Francois Faber

François Faber (1887-1915) was a Luxembourgian cyclist. He was born in France, but because his father was a Luxembourger, he got the Luxembourgian nationality. In 1906, he participated in the Tour de France for the first time. He didn’t reach the finish. The next year he was 7th in the Tour and in 1908 took second and won two stages. In 1909 he dominated the Tour. He won five consecutive stages, a record that is still unbroken. In his career he won 19 Tour de France stages, Paris-Brussels, Bordeaux-Paris, Sedan-Brussels, Paris-Tours (twice), Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Lombardy. When the First World War broke out Faber joined the French Foreign Legion. On May 9, 1915 at Carency near Arras he received a telegram saying his wife had given birth to a daughter. Cheering he jumped out of the trench and was killed by a German bullet. The GP François Faber, a small race in Luxembourg, is named after him.
(Faber information found here)

2. Roger Riviere

An excellent time trialist, to the same level as the great Jacques Anquetil, Riviere was ideally placed to win the 1960 Tour de France. Gastone Nencini was in the leader’s yellow jersey but was weak against the clock. On July 10th, during the 14th stage, Riviere crashed into a ravine while descending the Col de Perjuret, sustained major back injuries, and never regained full use of his limbs. The extent of his potential can be gauged be the fact that that Riviere defeated two World Hour Record holders, Jacques Anquetil and Ercole Baldini, in the time trials of the 1959 Tour de France.
(Riviere information found here)

3. Henri Pélissier

Henri Pélissier (22 January 1889 – 1 May 1935) was a French cyclist and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting the miserable conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour. Pélissier was notorious for being argumentative and hot-tempered, often inciting teammates and others in the peloton. After his retirement in 1928 his combative personality led to a quick deterioration in his life. In 1933 his wife Léonie despaired of living with him and shot herself to death. Two years later his new companion, Camille Tharault, shot Pélissier to death with the same gun after he slashed her with a knife during an argument.
(Pelissier information found here)

4. Abdel-Kader Zaaf

Zaaf, an Algerian who participated in the Tour de France four times (finishing once, 1951), is best known for collapsing in the 1950 Tour while in the winning 2-man break with his Algerian teammate Marcel Molines. Upon regaining consciousness from heat exhaustion, Zaaf remounted his bike and proceeded riding the wrong way on the course before being picked up by an ambulance. Following his final Tour de France in 1952, Zaaf disappeared into the maelstrom of his war-torn homeland. Three decades passed before he was spotted in a Paris train station in 1982. He had a sad story to tell - a soldier came to his house in the middle of the night demanding he come downtown and show his papers. Zaaf resisted and the soldier shot him in the leg. He was thrown into prison, and his leg wound went untreated. He also began to lose his eyesight from uncontrolled diabetes. When Zaaf was finally released, he recovered a small stash of money he had secreted away and came to France for an operation for his eyes. When the story emerged he was deluged with cards, presents, and money from fans who remembered his brave rides on the roads of France.
(Zaaf information from “Cycling’s Golden Age, Heroes of the Postwar Era, 1946-1967″ by Owen Mulholland, VeloPress, Boulder, 2006: pg. 87)

Images source:
http://www.cubra.nl/wegwijzerwielrennentourdefrance.htm