History History

1910 100 years ago Stories from 100, 60, 50 & 30 years ago IN THE TIME OF CRIMINALS… A century ago, Octave Lapize triumphed two days in a row in the . He won the Tour de and entered the history books but his appraisal of the race organisers was anything but complimentary…

ByConsidering Christophe Penot & Ray English the How could Alphonse Steinès have told such an enormous Translation: Megan Prowd lie? He must have even asked that of himself, while re-reading Photos: L’Equipe (archive) the telegram he had sent to his boss, the formidable : “Passé Tourmalet. Stop. Très bonne route. Stop. Parfaitement praticable. Stop.” So read his message – “Crossed Tourmalet. Stop. Very good course. Stop. Perfectly practical. Stop.” And yet, nothing had ever been less practical and when organisers set off in search, they found him near death with cold, gnawed by a thousand doubts… Had he not become lost on the way, in a region inhabited by bears? Past Yet, before sending the telegram, he hadn’t hesitated. Imagine the satisfied expression on the face of the recipient, on the rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, at the headquarters of L’Auto. This being so, the eighth , along its 4,737 kilometres, would attack the high mountain! An historic first in which the race would not only cross the Tourmalet, but also the cols of Peyresourde, Aspin and Aubisque. When the news was made public, everyone looked on in disbelief. Even the previous title holder, François Faber, a relative giant at 91kg, felt himself suddenly waver. Would he know how to haul his powerful frame up the mountains to an altitude of 2,114 metres? In the incredible scenery of an icy summer, the question remained unanswered. First of all, there was the attack by Charles Crupelandt, winner of the opening stage at Roubaix. Next, Faber. Then Emile Georget, who was untouchable on the ride to Belfort. And then came Octave Lapize’s moment, and the most gifted rider of the generation finally came into his own. The general opinion was that his success at called for more. The duel between Faber and Lapize, which was forecast for the Pyrenees, became inevitable. The advantage fell to Lapize, crowned two days in a row, first at the finish of stage nine in Luchon and then in . But, what suffering on the cols of the Pyrenees! “Vous êtes des criminels” – “You are criminals. Tell Desgrange that from me,” Lapize spat at journalist Victor Breyer. Even so, he continued until the end, preserving a four-point advantage over Faber at a time when the was based on points allocated at the end of each stage. It was justification for the assessment of Charles Ravaud: “Lapize, the man of the , has been the man of the Pyrenees. That there is a title that • Stage 18 • 39th Tour de France 14/07/1952 will make him eternally famous.” n Christophe Penot

176 2010 2010 177 178

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179 History 1960 50 years ago History

Roger Riviere • Stage 01 season of local treason

At a time when the Tour The Tour of 1960 was a race of two unequal halves. The first from the bunch to finish with an advantage of 13 minutes. The was being contested by was full of action and intrigue, the second boring and escapees were Hans Junkerman, Nencini, Andriaensens and national teams, there processional. However, the first half was sufficiently incident- Rivière. When Anglade arrived, he saw Andriaensens being were accusations of filled to keep the journalists and public talking and debating awarded the maillot jaune and he accused Rivière of treachery treachery in the ranks of well beyond the Tour. The race was run off in an anti-clockwise and helping his own cause to the detriment of his leadership. the French squad. While direction – Pyrenees first, then the – and on a national Down the west coast of France, Andriaensens remained in the runner-up from 1959, teams basis, plus formations from various regions of France. yellow but the first day in the Pyrenees saw Rivière win a stage , accused There were notable non-starters: who had and Nencini take over GC leadership. Anglade lost two minutes Roger Rivière of riding just won the Giro d’Italia and was content to rest on his laurels; to Rivière. Then, for the remaining Pyrenean stages, Rivière against a team accord, , the winner in 1958; and Gerard Saint, a young and Nencini shadowed each other. Italy’s Gastone Nencini Frenchman who had finished ninth at his first attempt a year After the rest day came several transitional stages before the went about the business earlier but was sadly killed in a car crash a few months before Alps. The stage between Millau and Avignon was hilly, narrow of winning the title… the race. The field still had quality: 1959 winner Federico and picturesque and included the modest Col de Perjuret. Just Bahamontes, 1959 runner-up Henry Anglade and Roger Rivière prior to the climb, Rivière’s wife was roadside to wish her who was fourth a year earlier. Added to the mix were Italians husband bon courage and shortly after the and Gastone Nencini – both former Giro leader led the bunch over the Perjuret. You train and train and train and train and train. winners. Also there were Belgians Jos Hoevenaars and Jan As the peloton zigzagged down the pass and, in yellow, Andriaensens, plus 1960 saw debut at the Tour. Nencini – a fearless descender – moved to the front, he was The journalists’ money was on Rivière, an closely followed by Rivière. Despite numerous photographers Isn’t it time you got better? holder and fine climber with Anglade second favourite. Both and, in the first year of operation, a television broadcasting riders were competing for the French team and had agreed to helicopter, nobody caught on film the moment on a bend when ride for the good of the ‘Tricolore’. Many, however, were Rivière crashed off the road and 20 metres down a ravine. sceptical about this alliance and were to be proven correct after The rescue team ascertained before reaching him that he stage six. The drama began on stage two when Bahamontes was seriously hurt and he was helicoptered to hospital. Rivière Jean graczyk • Stage 19 was dropped and retired on the flatlands of , following had sustained a broken back and would be confined to a the Grand Départ in and early transgression to . wheelchair for the rest of his life. He died in 1976 aged 40. A few stages later, Belgian team leader Hoevenaars crashed The fire had gone out of the Tour. Nencini had a handy lead CycleOps® have the tools you need to train effectively. From the worlds most advanced trainers that replicate real-world feel at a feeding station, sustaining severe head injuries. Amazingly, and was well served by his Italian team-mates. It seemed the to PowerTap powermeters that help you make the most of your training, CycleOps products can help you to get better, faster. he finished the stage being pushed by team-mates for 70km but race just went through the motions that final week. Anglade Start winning at cycleops.com Find a dealer at www.tba.com.au/dealers was a non-starter the following morning. failed to rise to the challenge having crashed in the Pyrenees The next day, Anglade donned the leader’s jersey after his and was not 100 per cent. Given the lack of a challenger to breakaway group finished six minutes ahead of the bunch Nencini, the Italians were able to move super- containing team-mate Rivière. This seemed not to concern Graziano Battistini into second place for an Italian one-two in Rivière but on stage six across all was to change. With Paris with Andriaensens third. Anglade finished a distant 90km to go in the stage, an exclusive quartet pedalled away eighth, 19 minutes down on GC. n Ray English Saris Group™ is Saris Cycle Racks™ and Cycleops™ Power. Saris Cycling Group is exclusively distributed in Australia by Trek Bicycles Australia 180 2010 1980 30 years ago History History

A LONG WAIT… His victory was the fruit of a long, patient wait. In 1980, the Dutchman who had been the best adversary to Merckx and Hinault finally found an opening…

For everyone, the case had effectively been decided: , veritable genius of the sport, would win his third consecutive Tour de France. And in second place, as always, would be Dutchman , the conscientious all-rounder who had made a habit of collecting minor placings. In 1970 and 1971, in his debut professional seasons, he had finished second in the Tour de France, each time beaten by cycling’s greatest, . Then he had failed again, in a surprise loss to in 1976. Must he accept that he was cursed? Bernard Hinault had promised that he would soon leave him with no chance… Hinault was incredible! Like in 1978 and 1979, he crunched the pedals powerfully, putting the peloton on the torture rack. Victory came in the prologue in , again in the time trial at Spa-Francorchamps and then at Lille the following day. Everyone was imagining yet another attack when, suddenly, an incredible rumour surprised la caravane: the boss was suffering from a knee problem. It was at this point, fearing for the rest of his career, that Hinault chose to abandon the race, after the stage to Pau. A new Tour began, which everyone knew was destined for Joop Zoetemelk, the best of the others. Even 30 years later, the Dutchman, winner of the Vuelta a España in 1979, remains an example. Certainly, he proved to be less efficient in the mountains, but he compensated by drawing on the collective strength of the Raleigh team. And then, at Saint-Etienne, in the decisive time trial, he didn’t waver. It was his Tour, finally. He arrived in Paris almost seven minutes ahead of his compatriot, , nearly eight minutes clear of the Frenchman , who was crowned best climber. As for Hinault, he would get his revenge six weeks later, at the world championships in Sallanches. n Christophe Penot

Martin, Zoetemelk & Kuiper • Stage 22 • 1980 Tour de FrancE 182 2010 Joop Zoetemelk 2010 183