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1958
In 1958 the Tour was still contested as national and regional
teams. What this meant to Charly Gaul was that as a Luxembourger he entered the race with only two countrymen at his side, as part of a combined Luxembourg/Holland team. In comparision the French national team boasted 12 riders including the winners of the previous 5 editions including the defending champion, Jacques Anquetil. Of the challengers only the Italians, Belgians, and Spanish fielded complete teams. The French supplemented their national team with three full regional teams. This did not look good for Gaul, but the abundance of mountains gave hope to riders like him and the Eagle of Toledo, Federico Bahamontes. The first time trial took place at the end of the first week and Gaul chose to attack Anquetil in his strongest event. He won it by 7 seconds and though he still trailed Anquetil in the GC, he had taken the first round. Three hard stages in the Pyrenees followed. Geminiani emerged in a battle with the Italian Vito Favero for the lead, and with an 8 minute gap to Anquetil. Gaul was a further 1:25 behind Anquetil. The second time trial ascended Mont Ventoux and on a day like that which would prove fatal to Tom Simpson years later Gaul claimed a stage that climber Bahamontes badly wanted. Finishing 31 seconds ahead of the Spaniard and over four minutes before Anquetil it was still too early to consider him a favorite. The following day featured attacks by Geminiani and Anquetil, and Gaul lost 11 minutes on the day. He lost still more time on the next day to Briancon, a stage won by Bahamontes. Gaul would need something special to pull out this Tour. And something special is exactly what happened on the 21st stage from Briancon to Aix les Bains, a stage contested in appalling conditions over five climbs in the Chartreuse. On one of those epic days that lives forever in Tour history he arrived in Aix in 'une pluie glaciale', almost 8 minutes before the second placed rider, 14:25 ahead of Geminiani, and over 23 minutes ahead of Anquetil. Gaul, the Angel of the Mountains, took his third time trial and the yellow jersey in Dijon, the day before the finish. He rode into Paris in yellow with his countrymen Marcel Ernzer and Jempy Schmitz. We remember him on this day, as a great rider, one of the greatest climbers ever, and later in his life as a great human being. http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/i...chartreuse.jpg Bob Schwartz |
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#2
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1958
"Bob Schwartz" wrote in message ... In 1958 the Tour was still contested as national and regional teams. What this meant to Charly Gaul was that as a Luxembourger he entered the race with only two countrymen at his side, as part of a combined Luxembourg/Holland team. In comparision the French national team boasted 12 riders including the winners of the previous 5 editions including the defending champion, Jacques Anquetil. Of the challengers only the Italians, Belgians, and Spanish fielded complete teams. The French supplemented their national team with three full regional teams. This did not look good for Gaul, but the abundance of mountains gave hope to riders like him and the Eagle of Toledo, Federico Bahamontes. The first time trial took place at the end of the first week and Gaul chose to attack Anquetil in his strongest event. He won it by 7 seconds and though he still trailed Anquetil in the GC, he had taken the first round. Three hard stages in the Pyrenees followed. Geminiani emerged in a battle with the Italian Vito Favero for the lead, and with an 8 minute gap to Anquetil. Gaul was a further 1:25 behind Anquetil. The second time trial ascended Mont Ventoux and on a day like that which would prove fatal to Tom Simpson years later Gaul claimed a stage that climber Bahamontes badly wanted. Finishing 31 seconds ahead of the Spaniard and over four minutes before Anquetil it was still too early to consider him a favorite. The following day featured attacks by Geminiani and Anquetil, and Gaul lost 11 minutes on the day. He lost still more time on the next day to Briancon, a stage won by Bahamontes. Gaul would need something special to pull out this Tour. And something special is exactly what happened on the 21st stage from Briancon to Aix les Bains, a stage contested in appalling conditions over five climbs in the Chartreuse. On one of those epic days that lives forever in Tour history he arrived in Aix in 'une pluie glaciale', almost 8 minutes before the second placed rider, 14:25 ahead of Geminiani, and over 23 minutes ahead of Anquetil. Gaul, the Angel of the Mountains, took his third time trial and the yellow jersey in Dijon, the day before the finish. He rode into Paris in yellow with his countrymen Marcel Ernzer and Jempy Schmitz. We remember him on this day, as a great rider, one of the greatest climbers ever, and later in his life as a great human being. Some small points: in fact, Gaul entered the race not with two, but with three Luxemburgers. Because although Aldo Bolzan had an Italian nationality, he grew up in Luxemburg (he would be naturalized in 1960) and rode for Gaul's Faema team. Besides, the eight Dutch riders had agreed to help Gaul (and were paid for it). It's true that the discipline within the team was not perfect, but that happened but very seldom in the Tour. Anyhow, the team was much more discipline than the French (with an Anquetil and a Bobet faction) or the Belgians, divided as always with three riders claiming to have a right to be team-leader (Brankart, Planckaert, Adriaenssens). Another point: after the Mont Ventoux-TT Gaul had become favorite number one. All the headline agreed that Gaul had won the Tour. Of course, it made what happened from that moment on even more excitngdramatic: After the TT Gaul was considered unbeatable, but 24 hours later everybody was convinced he had lost, which was confirmed by the stage to Briançon. But then of course, the most dramatic come-back and one of the most spectacular victories in the history of the Tour. Only Pantani's victory forty years later on Les Deux-Alpes is coming close. Benjo |
#3
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1958
benjo maso wrote:
Another point: after the Mont Ventoux-TT Gaul had become favorite number one. All the headline agreed that Gaul had won the Tour. Well, that may have been true. But if Jean-Paul Ollivier was fooled you'd never know from his writing decades later. Speaking of French infighting, what role did Geminiani play? He spent most of the race as the leading French rider. Was he a third front between Bobet and Anquetil, or was he still in the Bobet camp? Bob Schwartz |
#4
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1958
"Bob Schwartz" wrote in message ... benjo maso wrote: Another point: after the Mont Ventoux-TT Gaul had become favorite number one. All the headline agreed that Gaul had won the Tour. Well, that may have been true. But if Jean-Paul Ollivier was fooled you'd never know from his writing decades later. Speaking of French infighting, what role did Geminiani play? He spent most of the race as the leading French rider. Was he a third front between Bobet and Anquetil, or was he still in the Bobet camp? Anquetil was afraid that Bobet and Geminiani, who were very good friends, would be in cahoots, se he demanded that Geminiani wouldn't be selected for the French National Team. Bobet had accepted, and Geminiani considered it as treason and swore revenge. He became leader of a very strong French regional team (Centre-Midi) with Dotto, Anglade, Graczyk, Rolland, etc. and rode - in his own opinion - at 33 the best Tour of his career. He was - and still is - convinced that he would have won if Bobet (whom he had supported so many times before) or some other members of the French National Team should have helped him a little bit. That's why after the Briançon-Aix les Bains stages, when he lost the yellow jersey, he cried: "They are Judasses, all of them are Judasses!". A great Tour, one of the best. Benjo |
#5
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1958
benjo maso wrote:
Anquetil was afraid that Bobet and Geminiani, who were very good friends, would be in cahoots, se he demanded that Geminiani wouldn't be selected for the French National Team. Bobet had accepted, and Geminiani considered it as treason and swore revenge. He became leader of a very strong French regional team (Centre-Midi) with Dotto, Anglade, Graczyk, Rolland, etc. and rode - in his own opinion - at 33 the best Tour of his career. He was - and still is - convinced that he would have won if Bobet (whom he had supported so many times before) or some other members of the French National Team should have helped him a little bit. That's why after the Briançon-Aix les Bains stages, when he lost the yellow jersey, he cried: "They are Judasses, all of them are Judasses!". A great Tour, one of the best. I downloaded this a number of years ago from the now defunct World Media web site: A Jack-Ass Named Marcel Raphaël Geminiani was a strong veteran rider on the French National Team. Although he was capable of winning the Tour, he had spent most of his career supporting his leader Louison Bobet. Unfortunately, when Jacques Anquetil joined the squad, Geminiani's position was eliminated. At the start of the 1958 race, "Gem" exacted revenge by giving his ex-team director Marcel Bidot a gift: a jack-ass named Marcel. Bob Schwartz |
#6
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1958
"Bob Schwartz" wrote in message ... benjo maso wrote: Anquetil was afraid that Bobet and Geminiani, who were very good friends, would be in cahoots, se he demanded that Geminiani wouldn't be selected for the French National Team. Bobet had accepted, and Geminiani considered it as treason and swore revenge. He became leader of a very strong French regional team (Centre-Midi) with Dotto, Anglade, Graczyk, Rolland, etc. and rode - in his own opinion - at 33 the best Tour of his career. He was - and still is - convinced that he would have won if Bobet (whom he had supported so many times before) or some other members of the French National Team should have helped him a little bit. That's why after the Briançon-Aix les Bains stages, when he lost the yellow jersey, he cried: "They are Judasses, all of them are Judasses!". A great Tour, one of the best. I downloaded this a number of years ago from the now defunct World Media web site: A Jack-Ass Named Marcel Raphaël Geminiani was a strong veteran rider on the French National Team. Although he was capable of winning the Tour, he had spent most of his career supporting his leader Louison Bobet. Unfortunately, when Jacques Anquetil joined the squad, Geminiani's position was eliminated. At the start of the 1958 race, "Gem" exacted revenge by giving his ex-team director Marcel Bidot a gift: a jack-ass named Marcel. Well, it was not exactly a gift, but Geminiani had his picture taken under the Atomium in Brussels (1958 was the year of the world exhibition in Brussels), standing next to a jack-ass, sitting on a jack-ass, pretending to kick a jack-ass, etc,, etc, etc., which, indeed, he called Marcel. The pictures where published everywherem there was even one on the front page of the Equipe. Benjo |
#7
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1958
Bob Schwartz wrote:
benjo maso wrote: Anquetil was afraid that Bobet and Geminiani, who were very good friends, would be in cahoots, se he demanded that Geminiani wouldn't be selected for the French National Team. Bobet had accepted, and Geminiani considered it as treason and swore revenge. He became leader of a very strong French regional team (Centre-Midi) with Dotto, Anglade, Graczyk, Rolland, etc. and rode - in his own opinion - at 33 the best Tour of his career. He was - and still is - convinced that he would have won if Bobet (whom he had supported so many times before) or some other members of the French National Team should have helped him a little bit. That's why after the Briançon-Aix les Bains stages, when he lost the yellow jersey, he cried: "They are Judasses, all of them are Judasses!". A great Tour, one of the best. I downloaded this a number of years ago from the now defunct World Media web site: A Jack-Ass Named Marcel Raphaël Geminiani was a strong veteran rider on the French National Team. Although he was capable of winning the Tour, he had spent most of his career supporting his leader Louison Bobet. Unfortunately, when Jacques Anquetil joined the squad, Geminiani's position was eliminated. At the start of the 1958 race, "Gem" exacted revenge by giving his ex-team director Marcel Bidot a gift: a jack-ass named Marcel. Bob Schwartz Now THAT'S panache!! Steve -- Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS http://www.dentaltwins.com Brooklyn, NY 718-258-5001 |
#8
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1958
Mark & Steven Bornfeld wrote:
Now THAT'S panache!! Panache was legal in 1958, they all had it. Bob Schwartz |
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