Anatomy of a Photo: 1986 Milan-San Remo

Lemond and Beccia are caught by a terrifying Kelly on the Poggio. Photo: Cor Vos

It’s a classic tactic. The day’s break is caught and before anyone has time to decide what to do about it, you counter-attack. Already tired from chasing the break, maybe – just maybe – the suckers you tricked into pulling for you will let you get away.

That was Beccia’s plan in the 1986 Milan-San Remo. He attacked right as the break was caught on the Poggio and Greg LeMond – America’s greatest-ever cyclist – went with him. The Poggio’s big-ring gradient must have suited LeMond’s powerful style perfectly and riding with the weaker Beccia, he must have felt almost assured of notching what would be the first American win in a monument.

A quick check over the shoulder to make sure no man is bridging up. Sure enough; no man is coming, but that doesn’t mean you’re not being overtaken. That’s Sean Kelly – half man, half bear, and half pig – doing his best to crack his bottom bracket on his one-race-per-frame Vitus.

That’s three big rings and three hard men, but only one has managed to scare the mud off his forehead. Spoiler alert: the finish line photo shows Kelly with spotlessly clean face.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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frank says:

Jun 23 2012 at 11:01 am

@Rob

As for Armstrong never met the man and have such mixed feelings about his Palmeres and methods of training. Leaving aside pharmacology he was too mechanical and driven with out the humanity of Merckx who was also the same in his training. The difference is that Merckx risked failure and Armstrong never did...

Well articulated as usual, my man. As for LeMond, I was probably too young and starstruck to recognize spoiledom or some such, or maybe he was over by then. One way or another, he was incredibly friendly and approachable.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Jun 23 2012 at 12:43 pm

I loved King Kelly. And I really loved his Vitus. I raced an Alan for a little while, which was essentially the same bike. Aluminum tubes screwed and glued to lugs. If someone still made that frame, but designed it to support the wider hubs of today, I'd buy one.
Rob says:

Jun 23 2012 at 1:09 pm

@frank I liked him too for the 4 races and 3 hours I spent socially with him. It's just that I still have a bug about him that does not need going into here and it ties into that "spoiledom". He was a natural, talented and dedicated and if his mini dufoosness of getting shot had not sped his retirement he would have stood with the Gods. Perhaps it was karma?

Also while I am on a rant one could argue that his Yank sense of entitlement caused the whole train wreck of Euro dopage or at least speed it along. His ego and need for a U.S. football like pay check was what started the quest for teams demanding more from all the riders. . . Maybe that is simplistic and you can't put the genie back?
Rob says:

Jun 23 2012 at 1:12 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro Kelly for me is the epitome of old school tough, get it done with style, don't whine, ride with balls of steel and throw in the best accent in the peloton!
versio says:

Jun 23 2012 at 6:13 pm

I did not discover competitive cycling until 1989, inspired by Greg LeMond versus Laurent Fignon and 8 seconds to wiin the Tour de France. And can still hear Phil Liggett caught in the excitement.
Rob says:

Jun 23 2012 at 7:16 pm

@versio and the deficit going into that ride was 50 seconds and Lemond got all aero then did the ride of the decade and Fignon was just devastated... I remember how intense it was and poignant, happy and sad all at once - the smallest margins of victory/defeat ever for the Grande Boucle.
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Jun 23 2012 at 7:46 pm

@Rob Totally agree.
eightzero says:

Jun 23 2012 at 7:48 pm

@frank

@Anjin-san

Sean Kelly is about as hard as they come, but I have never cared for LeMond. You may not like him, but it's hard to argue that Armstrong (Lance, not Kristin) is America's best all-time cyclist. There, I said it, let the thrashing begin ; )

Finally someone bit, it's about time.

Pharmy isn't the best not because of his obvious doping to get to the top, but because he was a one-trick pony. Pre-Cancer, it was only classics. Post-Cancer, it was only the Tour with the exception of Liege to test his form. Not to mention that he was standing on the shoulders of giants in terms of infrastructure and a precedent of American cyclists in Europe.

Not only was LeMond a pioneer in Europe, but were it not for his hunting accident, he'd have 5 if not 6 or 7 Tour wins to his name as well, along with podiums or wins in races on both ends of the calendar. He was second both in MSR and Lombardy (both to Kelly, incidentally).

And that's even before we start talking about what an incredibly nice guy LeMond was. Having known him personally and spent more than a few hours hanging out and skiing with him, he was absolutely genuinely friendly. And fucking hard as nails. And - we know now that LeMond was right all along when he went all douchey about drugs in cycling.

We do know he was right. I said some fairly not nice things about LeMan during a certain period of uncertainty over some doping cases some years ago. And...I was very wrong, and LeMan was very right. He still is.

I learned my lesson.
Ron says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:32 pm

It's so sweet to counter attack, catch 'em by surprise, and then strong leg it to the line.

Awesomeness!
Oli says:

Jun 23 2012 at 10:00 pm

@frank No it's not! MSR is "just" attrition, being able to handle the Cipressa and the Poggio and having a fair sprint at the end - any GT rider should be able to handle the distance - whereas Fleche and Amstel are tough races that aren't won by punters, and who cares if they aren't monuments?

I agree that LeMond had some good classics results, but he was essentially a Tour specialist too - in fact, like Armstrong post-cancer, LeMond post-shooting was almost laughable outside the Tour, Worlds win aside. I'm not trying to say LeMond was or wasn't better or worse than Armstrong, but the calibre of non-Tour results are actually very similar between the two.