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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936adl says:

Jun 22 2012 at 11:42 pm

Just got to love Kelly.

Here's a pic we got at last year's Cat & Fiddle ride in Stoke. He's still laying down the V today...
Jeff in PetroMetro says:

Jun 23 2012 at 6:20 am

@Marko Yep. Black shorts. A-Merckx, Brother.
il ciclista medio says:

Jun 23 2012 at 6:34 am

Great photo. Beccia this look on his face of "I'm not game to look back! Fuck I hope that's not who I think it is, 'cause if it is, I'm fucked!"
Steampunk says:

Jun 23 2012 at 7:51 am

@il ciclista medio

Yep. And Lemond looks beaten, too. I know it's a still photo, but it looks as though he's already started freewheeling, having accepted defeat...

Must be an Irish thing. My son was born in the Coombe, and he's been dishing out the pain on the local MTB ride.
Rob says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:27 am

@Steampunk

This. Name one other rider who would have instilled such fear? Take the anatomy of a photo theme even further: the race is already over. The winner is inevitable.

+1 there are only a handful of the greats that would creat that "oh shit" moment where you know your done, no matter what you try. Kelly is at the top of the list with Merckxs and Hinault.

@Frank, it's too bad Major Taylor did not race in the modern era... He overcame more racesist B.S., obviously was not "doping" and remained a gentleman.

I too hung out with Greg but found him to be a bit big headed, not in a bad way for a nineteen year old already a star. As I think about it maybe the feeling was he was spoiled. Not that he did not work nor have his heart in it, he did but that it all came a little too easy. Compare him to the Euros and how they came up and their attitudes of working and being hard in life before being hard on the bike just to scrap out a place in a training race so that you might get noticed... Greg had it easy. Just saying that is not bad but the attitude did not impress ...

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...
Steampunk says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:42 am

@Rob

I too hung out with Greg but found him to be a bit big headed, not in a bad way for a nineteen year old already a star. As I think about it maybe the feeling was he was spoiled. Not that he did not work nor have his heart in it, he did but that it all came a little too easy. Compare him to the Euros and how they came up and their attitudes of working and being hard in life before being hard on the bike just to scrap out a place in a training race so that you might get noticed... Greg had it easy. Just saying that is not bad but the attitude did not impress ...

Interesting perspective. A former student of mine who works at my local cafÃ© talked about racing with Taylor Phinney a few years ago, and how"”similar situation"”already an imminent star as a teenager, he was impressed with his big personality. The aura around him. I think he was impressed with his abilities, but less enamoured of his character"”having to deal with already being the next big thing.

@Rob

+1 there are only a handful of the greats that would creat that "oh shit" moment where you know your done, no matter what you try. Kelly is at the top of the list with Merckxs and Hinault.

Kelly's also notoriously different than a number of the greats insofar as he is less famous for his long breakaways (Coppi, Merckx, et al.), but rather for this kind of comeback. My other great favourite of this period was Fignon, but his style involved being part of the initial break. You get the impression for most of the contenders in Kelly's two MSR wins, he's the only one who had the mental fortitude to claw back the distance lost, where most would have been inclined to sit up. Interesting that Kelly is one of the very few riders who gets a lot of praise from Fignon in his autobiography.
frank says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:44 am

@Oli

@frank Wrong. Far from a "one-trick pony" before cancer Armstrong was convinced he could improve on his 36th (32nd?) place on GC in the Tour to maybe one day take a tilt at the podium. He won small stage races like Tour Dupont and came close to winning Paris-Nice. He was the first American to win a classic when he won Fleche-Wallone, and he came second in Amstel a couple of times. He raced from the start of the season until the end. I'm not disputing your LeMond statements, as I agree he was a legend, but you're being a bit revisionist about LA's place in the scheme of things.

Having aspirations to improve on a 36th place is a long shot from being a contender in the Tour pre-cancer. And La Fleche is a classic, but its no monument. He did win DuPont (awesome race, by the way, wish that was still around) but that and Paris-Nice are both a far cry from a grand tour.

I'll give you that calling him a classics-specialist is unfair in light of those races, but he was no all-rounder like LeMond winning the Tour and getting second in MSR during the same season. Its a completely different class of races.
frank says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:46 am

@Jeff in PetroMetro

I'm too ignorant of technology to link a video, so bear with me while I go old school and cut/paste...

My favorite "I'm going to chase you down, then lead from the front, then sprint from the front, win, and you can do fuck all about it" moment is Hinault's victory at Paris-Roubaix in 1981. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdjP4TFwDEc He crashes. Then he catches. Then he goes to the front to let everyone know he's caught back on. Then, when he enters the velodrome, he overpowers the likes of RDV, Moser, Van Calster, Demeyer, and Kuiper. Just beats them in a drag race. Like redheaded step-children. No jockeying for position. Opens a 2liter can of whoop-ass. The announcer shits himself. It's AWESOME.

Possibly the best finish ever, especially with him in the bands. Incredible. Bretto actually circulated that video around the KT attendees pre-departure to remind us how to ride if something goes awry on KT.
frank says:

Jun 23 2012 at 8:48 am

@Jeff in PetroMetro

@Nate How? I used to do it under the old program, but I'm lost now.

Its the same as always. Just past the "embed" code from YouTube. Or, if you past the link, the link will convert it when you click on it.
frank says:

Jun 23 2012 at 9:15 am

@King Clydesdale

Saying one athlete is better than another is hardly being disrespectful, mate. Pointless, sure. Fun, absolutely. Disrespectful? We have different definitions of what that means.