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.
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@Nate How? I used to do it under the old program, but I'm lost now.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
And according to the video, he was expecting his second child that day.
@all
These Lance vs. Lemond arguments are just like James vs. Jordan. A waste of time. Both were greats and have done amazing things for their sport. We should be grateful for both of them, at least the non-Europeans here, as they helped raise cycling's profile outside of Europe. Lance won the tour more, and has done great things for cancer awareness. Lemond was slightly more diverse, and is a nice guy. Both have overcome difficulties in their lives to reach the peak of their sport. Everytime someone here tries to put one below the other it's very disheartening. I would think we could manage to be happy with both and move on. Both Armstrong and Lemond deserve our respect, and I am dissapointed whenever either one of the two gets put down here, and I think we all know at least one of them gets more then their fair share thanks to all the anti-lance trolling that takes place. You don't have to love them, just respect them.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
I think this is how I did it: In YouTube, click "Share" then "Embed." Copy the code. Come over here, click "HTML" and paste in the code.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Now that I've actually watched it: WOW. Haven't seen that one before. Talk about la course en tete. And against some bad, bad men.
@King Clydesdale
No, no-one is obligated to have to respect anyone. That's like saying, "that Jeffrey Dahmer sure killed a lot of people in horrible ways, but boy he raised awereness of serial killing, and for that I respect him."
What's to respect about a lying, cheating, sociopath bully-boy who's made millions by being a fraud and championing a terrible disease to smokescreen what an asshole he is? Is that the type of person that should earn respect?
@Nate Merci! I'd have never gotten close to figuring that out. Not too sure what HTML means. Hot meal? Hate mail? Hail To My Loins?
@xyxax
Really? My high school French just doesn't cut it. Doing the math, that means that, at around the very time he dropped out of the TdF in 1980, he was, well, you know, practicing his husbandly duties.
@Nate
I know! It's not just what he does, or how he does it. It's in the context of taking on the giants of P-R. RDV even had Kuiper there to drive the train. And Hinault still hammered 'em. Wow. One of my all-time favorite videos.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
No idea what "HTML" stands for. It refers to code, however.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
This. Didn't even realize RdV was still rocking it in '81. Plus Hennie and Moser. Serious firepower there.
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Not to mention the fact that he did it in the bands. So badass Hinault himself could lay claim to being the best American cyclist of all time and nobody would dare argue the point with him. And all the black shorts in that video are enough to make me get down and pray at the altar of Merckx.
Some days, when I feel like I'm going really well, I imagine myself instead of LeMan in that pic that @RedRanger posted. Then I realize what a Choadstool I am and that I'm only going 23kph.