Part V: Part V: H Impressions Memories, Highlights, Impressions Memories, Highlights, Traditional One -Day European Classic Races
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PartPart V:V: HHllSTORYSTORY ANDAND LORELORE Highlights,Highlights, memories,memories, impressionsimpressions Traditional One -Day European Classic Races EVENT YEAR DATE (2008) LENGTH FIELD (M/W) NOTES BEGUN (M/W) 99th Milan-San Remo (ITA) 1907 March 22 298 km 200 (25 x 8) Nicknamed La Primavera (“The Spring”) Cobbled Classics 92nd Ronde van Vlaanderran (Tour of 1913 April 6 264/114 km 200 (25 x 8)/ Women’s race added in 2004 Flanders – BEL) 192 (32 x 6) 70th Gent-Wevelgem (BEL) 1934 April 9 209 km 200 (25 x 8) 106th Paris-Roubaix (FRA) 1896 April 13 259 km 200 (25 x 8) Nicknamed La Reine (Queen of Classics) or Le Enfer du Nord (Hell of the North) Ardennes Classics 43rd Amstel Gold Race (NED) 1966 April 20 257 km 184 (23 x 8) 72nd La Flèche Wallonne (BEL) 1936 April 23 200/104 km 200 (25 x 8)/ ‘The Walloon Arrow’; women’s race added in 1996 150 (25 x 6) 94th Liège-Bastogne-Liège (BEL) 1892 April 27 261 km 240 (30 x 8) Nicknamed La Doyenne (“The Old One”); not held 1895-1907 Others 28th Clásica de San Sebastián (ESP) 1981 August 2 225 km 176 (22 x 8) 88th Paris-Bruxxelles (FRA/BEL) 1893 September 13 ~225 km 168 finishers Not held 1967-72, moved to fall in 1973 94th Züri-Metzgete, or Meistershaft von 1914 October 1 ? 64/169 Cancelled in 2007 due lack of sponsors; status as Zürich (Championship of Zürich – SUI) classic in doubt 102nd Giro di Lombardia (ITA) 1905 October 18 242 km 192 (24 x 8) “The Race of the Falling Leaves;” called Milano- Milano the first two editions ParisParis --RoubaixRoubaix The most famous of European Spring Classics – known as the “Queen of Classics” or “Le Enfer du Nord” (Hell of the North) First edition in 1896; not the oldest classic, but has been held more times than any other Race now actually starts outside of Paris and finishes with a lap of the Roubaix velodrome Terrain is flat, but the test is extreme due to the ‘pavé’ (below) – narrow sections of ancient roads paved with cobbles that are often more like small boulders or loaves of bread than typical American cobblestones The 2008 edition had 28 sections of pavé totaling 53 km Conditions range from wet and muddy (making the cobbles slippery) to dry and dusty (which can make breathing a challenge) The Arenberg Passage The Trouée d'Arenberg (Trench of Arenberg) is a decisive section of Paris-Roubaix. This narrow 2.4 km run through the Arenberg forest was ‘found’ by Jean Stablinski, a professional rider who had worked in the mine that lies below the woods. It was first used in 1968, but was banned from 1974 to 1983 by the National Office of Forestry. Although almost 100 km from Roubaix, it usually proves to be pivotal; as Stablinski observed, “Paris-Roubaix is not won in Arenberg, but from there the group with the winners is selected.” Until 1998, the entry to the Arenberg pavé was slightly downhill, causing a sprint to get the best position. After Johan Museeuw’s crash in 1998 as World Cup leader – which nearly caused him to lose his leg to gangrene – the route was reversed to reduce the speed of the peloton as it entered the forest. By 2005, the abandoned mine (it closed in 1990) had caused sections of the road to sink, and the Arenberg was omitted from the parcours , as race organisers judged conditions had deteriorated beyond safe limits. Following repairs to restore the original width of three meters, it was added back to the race route the next year. “Monsieur Paris -Roubaix ” In the 112-year history of the race, one rider showed such mastery of the cobbles that he was given the title of “Monsieur Paris-Roubaix.” In 14 starts from 1969-83, Belgium’s Roger DeVlaeminck recorded 4 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, and 4 other top-10 placings – a record unmatched even by the great Eddy Merckx. He abandoned only once, in 1980. DeVlaeminck’s skill as a cyclocross rider – he was amateur world champion in 1968 and pro champion in 1975 – made him expert on the pavé of northern France, as well as the other cobbled classics. De Vlaeminck used the early-season Tirreno- Adriatico stage race as training for the Spring Classics and dominated that race too, with six overall victories and fifteen stage wins between 1972 and 1977. Ranking of Top Classic Riders RIDER CAREER MMM-M---SRSRSRSR RvVRvVRvV GGG-G---VVVV PPP-P---RRRR LLL-L---BBBB----LLLL GdL AGR FFF-F---WWWW ZMZMZM PPP-P---BBBB PPP-P---TTTT WCWCWC TOTAL SPAN RRRRRR TTTTTT Eddy Merckx (BEL) 1966-78 7 2 3 3 5 2 2 3 1 3 1 28+4 Rik Van Looy (BEL) 1953-70 1 2 3 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 16+2 Roger De Vlaeminck (BEL) 1969-87 3 1 4 1 2 1 1 1 14 Jan Raas (NED) 1975-85 1 2 1 1 5 1 2 1 13+1 Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL) 1943-66 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 10+3 Francesco Moser (ITA) 1973-88 1 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 11+1 Bernard Hinault (FRA) 1975-86 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 1 5 10+6 Fausto Coppi (ITA) 1938-59 3 1 5 1 1 2 10+3 Seán Kelly (IRL) 1977-94 2 1 2 2 3 1 1 11+1 Johan Museeuw (BEL) 1988-04 3 3 1 2 1 1 10+1 Moreno Argentin (ITA) 1981-94 1 4 1 3 1 9+1 Albéric (Brik) Schotte (BEL) 1939-59 2 2 2 2 2 8+2 Alfredo Binda (ITA) 1924-36 2 4 3 3 9+3 Paolo Bettini (ITA) 1997- 1 2 2 2 2 7+2 Costante Girardengo (ITA) 1912-36 6 3 9 Freddy Maertens (BEL) 1972-86 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 6+3 Felice Gimondi (ITA) 1965-79 1 1 1 1 1 2 4+3 Jacques Anquetil (FRA) 1953-69 1 1 9 2+9 M-SR – Milan-San Remo RvV – Tour of Flanders G-V – Gent Wevelgem P-R – Paris-Roubaix L-B-L – Liège-Bastogne-Liège GdL – Giro di Lombardia AGR – Amstel Gold Race F-W – La Fleche Wallone ZM – Züri-Metzgete P-B – Paris-Bruxxelles P-T – Paris-Tours WC – world championships. Note: the first world championship time trial was held in 1994; previous to that, wins in the Grand Prix des Nations are credited, since it served as something of a de facto world championship TT. UUnn ggaalleerriiee dduu TToourur 19521952 TourTour dede FranceFrance Fausto Coppi, Il Campionissimo , first atop L’Alpe d’Huez 19551955 TourTour dede FranceFrance Louison Bobet, first to win three straight 19591959 TourTour dede FranceFrance Charly Gaul, the Angel of the Mountain 19641964 TourTour dede FranceFrance The Epic Duel: Anquetil vs. Poulidor, Le Puy de Dôme 19641964 TourTour dede FranceFrance The Lap of Honor, Parc de Princes Vèlodrome 19691969 TourTour dede FranceFrance Eddy Merckx 19691969 TourTour dede FranceFrance Eddy Merckx 19751975 TourTour dede FranceFrance The Fall of King Eddy …Merckx soon cracked, allowing Bernard Thévenet (above) to assume race leadership and go on to win, but Merckx refused to concede until the very end, despite a crash that required his jaw to be wired shut. Stage 15: Eddy Merckx leading on the col d’Allos, the final moments of his record 96 days in the yellow jersey... 19791979 TourTour dede FranceFrance Bernard Hinault & Joop Zoetemelk, 1-2 finish on the Champs-Elysées 19811981 TourTour dede FranceFrance Stage 12b finish – Zolder, Belgium Eddy Plankaert, Guido Van Calster, and Bernard Hinault 19811981 TourTour dede FranceFrance Bernard Hinault 19861986 TourTour dede FranceFrance LeMond & Hinault on L’Alpe d’Huez 19891989 TourTour dede FranceFrance LeMond, suddenly in yellow: back where he always belonged 19901990 TourTour dede FranceFrance LeMond and Bugno sprint for the line atop L’Alpe d’Huez 19901990 TourTour dede FranceFrance Marino Lejaretta, Miguel Induráin, and LeMond on Luz-Ardiden 19941994 TourTour dede FranceFrance Miguel Induráin Ranking of Grand Tour Riders GRAND TOUR PRO PODIUM FINISHES TOTALS RIDER (COUNTRY) CARRER (first-second-third) COMMENT SPAN Giro Tour Vuelta Wins Points* Eddy Merckx (BEL) 1966-78 5-0-0 5-1-0 1-0-0 11 35 Greatest depth and breadth of wins; master of both classics and stage races Bernard Hinault (FRA) 1975-86 3-0-0 5-2-0 2-0-0 10 34 Virtually the equal of Merckx in stage race success Jacques Anquetil (FRA) 1953-69 2-2-2 5-0-1 1-0-0 8 31 Unexcelled recuperative powers and time trialing prowess; first to win all three Grand Tours Fausto Coppi (ITA) 1938-59 5-2-0 2-0-0 0 7 25 Perhaps the greatest pure talent, but fragile Gino Bartali (ITA) 1935-54 3-4-0 2-1-0 0 5 25 Like Coppi, what would he have done if not for the war? Miguel Induráin (ESP) 1984-96 2-0-1 5-0-0 0-1-0 7 24 Unprecedented back to-back Giro-Tour doubles in ’92-’93 – at the dawn of the EPO era Felice Gimondi (ITA) 1965-79 3-2-1 1-1-0 1-0-0 5 22 An extra 2 Tours and 1 Giro without Merckx to contend with… Lance Armstrong (USA) 1992-05, 09- 0 7-0-1 0 7 22 Tour record was aided by singular competitive focus Joop Zoetemelk (NED) 1970-87 0 1-6-0 1-0-0 2 18 …again, without Merckx (and Hinault), add 4 more Tours Alfredo Binda (ITA) 1924-36 5-1-0 0 0 5 17 Dominated the Giro like none other except perhaps Coppi Jan Ullrich (GER) 1995-06 0 1-5-1 1-0-0 2 17 Armstrong’s only real challenger Raymond Poulidor (FRA) 1959-77 0 0-3-5 1-1-0 1 16 ‘Strong as a bull, too bad he rode like one too’; made Tour podium at age 40 Tony Rominger (SUI) 1986-97 1-0-0 0-1-0 3-0-1 4 15 A late bloomer, had bad luck at the Tour Pedro Delgado (ESP) 1982-94 0 1-1-1 2-1-1 3 15 With LeMond, Ullrich, & 6 others, a full set of Tour medals Greg LeMond (USA) 1981-94 0-0-1 3-1-1 0 3 14 We only glimpsed his best; special talent and unique personality Laurent Fignon (FRA) 1982-93 1-1-0 2-1-0 0-0-1 3 14 Early promise not quite fulfilled Louison Bobet (FRA) 1947-61 0-1-0 3-0-1 0 3 12 Anquetil the natural, Bobet the self-made rider Alex Zülle (SUI) 1990-04 0 0-2-0 2-1-0 2 12 Crash-prone due to poor eyesight; with Armstrong, Rominger, & Simoni, part of the EPO era Gilberto Simoni 1999- 2-1-4 0 0 2 12 Never a bad Giro, never a good Tour Alberto Contador (ESP) 2003- 1-0-0 2-0-0 1-0-0 3 12 Youngest to win all three Grand Tours *Points awarded on a 3-2-1 basis for first, second, and third place, respectively.