Anatomy of a Photo: Maximum Awesome
Freddy effortlessly demonstrates Rules #80 and #82, the Three-Point System, and the Goldilocks Principle while his mechanic calmly swaps a mortal’s wheel for one that can withstand his ferocious sprint. All the while, a young Colonel Sanders looks on with bemused disapproval.
For anyone still wondering whether the 70’s was the coolest decade ever, it was.
@The Pressure
Alrighty then…
@Jarvis
I was wondering about that. But who cares? It still reeks of le Carré and therefore still proves unequivocally the cool that was the ’70s.
@Ron
Unreliable sources put Maertens at 174cm and 71kg, Godefroot at 171/73. Makes me feel downright proportional.
Just read this great interview with Freddy from two years ago. All the dirt and he’s still pissed at de Vlaeminck:
http://bikeraceinfo.com/oralhistory/freddy-maertens.html
@pistard
174cm I can do but 71kg? I guess I could learn to to a lot of stuff with no arms. Draping myself casually lazily across the hoods a la De Vlaeminck above, phantom aero bars or victory celebrations wouldn’t be amongst them though.
hanging with Mario right now
@ChrisO
I can pick out Mario, but which one of the others are you? And if you are the gentleman on the left, did you pre-coordinate outfits with Mario?
@frank
Tell me about it. Have you seen Gimondi lately? Still got it.
@wiscot Nope the guy on the left is Pietro Caucchioli, also an ex-pro. I think third in the Giro and a few stage wins. He does Ale which is the clothing brand that Cipo is also involved with – very understated stuff as you can imagine.
I’m in the middle. Cipo is a big lad – I’m 6’3″ and he’s got one or two inches on me. Still looks pretty fit too, since we’re talking about people who’ve still got it.
Unfortunately work commitments mean I’ve had to pass up the opportunity for a private ride with him and our race team tomorrow morning.
@pistard
Great read! Thanks for posting. What a crazy world Freddy lived in.
@ChrisO
Thanks for clarifying! I knew Cipo was big, but not that big. I’m 6″ 1′ so Cipo would tower over me too.
@pistard
Wow, if they rode today their DSs would tell them to go on a diet, immediately. I didn’t realize I’m the same size as Walter! Damn, now I can watch the Bulldog ride, then Gerrans, and Tommy “Grimace” Voeckler can be demoted. Nice.
@wiscot
I just read about that on the Flandria website (my goal now is to own one of those bikes) the other day. Funny someone should mention it.
@PeakInTwoYears he’s leaning on a Peugeot 404!
@cyclebrarian
And what’s funnier is that Freddy always rode Italian frames painted and badged as Flandrias!
@Carel
Carel. Carel. Sounds a bit like “Karla,” doesn’t it, old chap? Have we crossed paths, in Berlin, perhaps?
@pistard
Holy shiet, that is an interview! 300 km training rides all the time, that will make you or break you. Fantastic. Thanks.
I wish he had been at the museum the day we were all there for KT2012.
@Gianni
Not nearly in the same league, not yet anyway, Ritchie Porte on Bikelane, “yeah we do blocks of 1000km weeks for a month, but I don’t mind just going out for a 300km ride” .
@frank
I strecth my hammies during the day. I think there’s only two of us in the guys I know that are on the wrong side of 40 that can touch toes/palm plant flat on floor.
I’d really like to be much more flexible like this dude……
Researching Coppi.
Silent newsreel footage of Fausto Coppi climbing Passo Sella during the 1953 Giro d’Italia and winning the 164km 19th stage from Auronzo to Bolzano ahead of race leader Hugo Koblet.
@unversio Thanks for sharing that! It’s amazing to see footage from those days. It’s also really cool to recognize the Dolomites in the footage. What an amazing backdrop for a race.
@PeakInTwoYears If ‘Karla’ was male, yes then we may have met but not in Berlin. ;)
@sthilzy
I’m on the wrong side of forty and my bike fitting physio who’s worked with Sir Chris Hoy says I’m the least flexible person he’s seen for ages. Doesn’t bode well for my chosen discipline of TT.
@Rom
Don’t worry about what Sir Hoy’s physio says, watch and learn and get flexi from one of our old favourtite’s round here, Katie Sunshine!
@sthilzy
I think the lower pic is Dave Brailsford getting in some practice on his PR skillz for next year’s UK Tour start and relations between Wiggo and Froomie.
@frank
Few more late photos can do no harm I guess.
F.M. first bike from 1966 and later one plus Flandria team bike which was repainted Gios
@TommyTubolare Brilliant stuff. I hadn’t realized until this very moment what the Dutch/Flemish word for toeclips is: voethaken.