The Vuelta, 1983, and pre-race favourite Bernard Hinault is struggling with crippling knee pain, all the while maintaining a mask of normality to the opposition. Renault team director Cyrille Guimard calls on second year professional Laurent Fignon to launch The Badger in a final bid to wrestle the maillot amarillo from the shoulders of Julián Gorospe.
words by Tony Pereira
photos by Brian Vernor
I grew up riding my BMX bike on fire roads and trails in New England which quickly turned into mountain biking. Now, I don't know if you know this, but there is an old tradition among mountain bikers of mocking roadie counterparts. It is not nice, sure, but it is mostly in jest and for years I've joined in the fun taking jabs at my skinny tire riding buddies with a nudge, wink and a chuckle. Then I moved to Portland, Oregon.
Last Thursday night, the Rapha Cycle Club NYC hosted a unique event to highlight the unsung work of the New York City bicycle mechanic. More often than not, a mechanic's work is a mystery - we drop off our bikes, pick them up, and they are magically repaired. Very few of us appreciate the hard work - and art - that goes into building up a bike, but brute strength, technical know-how, and finesse are qualities that are demanded of a professional mechanic.
Phil Deeker concludes his reporting on the reconnaissance of the 2010 Rapha Cent Cols Challenge in the Pyrenees.
I write this back in my Belgian hills, just a day after we cracked open a bottle of champagne in Rivesaltes. Already it now seems like an unreal experience.
We all made it to the finish, celebrating with a predictable bunch sprint just to test our fit, swollen legs. I lost of course, but then I admire the lead-out men most! Just one of us failed to pocket 100 Cols, more due to bad luck than anything else. Four out of seven of us completed the full route of 107 Cols. Most of the event had been ridden as a tight, black-and-white group, re-grouping within minutes after each ascent and descent. Claire had looked after us like a saintly mother: our guardian angel who had provided superb support all day long.
Rapha Cycle Club London's H-Van exits the building in Clerkenwell. Where next?… Stay tuned. Don't forget Cycle Club NYC is still open for business until the end of September.
“Nobody would ride. They preferred to see me lose and a Spaniard win.”
- Robert Millar
A lead of over six minutes over a former trainee nurse by the name of Pedro Delgado on the penultimate day of the 1985 Vuelta evaporated for Robert Millar as quickly as a wisp of cloud over the Angliru.
The Scot had already congratulated his closest rivals on their brave efforts but the race was his. A puncture, a cartel of Spanish teams and the Peugeot directeur sportif intervened, and one of the biggest upsets in recent race history prevented Millar from becoming the first Briton to win a Grand Tour.
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