I'm glad Roy asked this question. I've been meaning to for some time. So I'll de-lurk.
Steve Sheffield hit it spot on:
> A riders palmar?s are a list of races and results that he has
> achieved during his career. The etymology comes from ancient
> times when athletes were awarded crowns made of laurel (hence the
> phrase, "resting on one's laurels")or palm leaves in recognition
> of victory.
Actually my own question was less "what does it mean?" than "How do you pronounce it?" and "What language is it anyway?"
As a later contributor suggested, its roots are in Latin, and before that, Greek. Wiping off my French and Latin dictionaries that haven't been off the shelf since the time of Cicero, I can confirm that it's based on the idea of palms as prizes and symbols of excellence. Somewhere along the way, the Romans coined an adjective form ("palmaris", roughly: "palmy") to mean "excellent". Eventually the plural form must have reappeared as a noun meaning "the excellences" or, presumably, the prizes/awards.
The modern word is French so we say "pal-MAHR" or "pal-MAHR-ey", non? Non! According to the dictionary, it is pronounced as a Latin word with a French accent, so something like "pal-MAHR-ace". The French word means "list of prizes" so referring to someone's "list of palmares" is both unnecessarily redundant and -- as well -- also duplicative too.
Bike Content: I sometimes shop at Toga Bikes in NYC. Besides, it can't hurt Classic Rendezvous to rendezvous occasionally with the Classics.
Peter "Messago delendum est" Storey in palmy Brooklyn NY where Summer won't give way to Fall -- and vice versa.