Anatomy of a photo: Gun Check, Gent-Wevelgem 1965

See, I told you they were huge.

The above photo was liberated from a Dutch website which appears to be dedicated solely to a book about Dutch and Belgian riders both old and new. I can’t read a lick of Dutch, in fact, I’m not even 100-% sure it’s a Dutch site (based on the “.nl” though I’m pretty sure). The website is rad though and the book looks mint, anybody know it? Check it out and see what you think. The guy in the back of the gruppetto is, of course, Rik Van Looy.

Marko

Marko lives and rides in the upper midwest of the States, Minnesota specifically. "Cycling territory" and "the midwest" don't usually end up in the same sentence unless the conversation turns to the roots of LeMond, Hampsten, Heiden and Ochowitz. While the pavé and bergs of Flanders are his preferred places to ride, you can usually find him harvesting gravel along forest and farm roads. He owes a lot to Cycling and his greatest contribution to cycling may forever be coining the term Rainbow Turd.

Next Guest Article: Milano-Sanremo 2011 »

Previous « Velominati Super Prestige: Milano-San Remo

View Comments

wiscot says:

Mar 23 2011 at 12:26 pm

Jeff in PetroMetro:
@Brett

The pump? IMHO, I think it's trompe l'oeil-that's something in the field behind De Cabooter.

I did some checking last night. Even as late as 1973 in the Giro teammates of Merckx on the Molteni team carried spare tubs and pumps with them so that they could fix their own flats after the team cars were gone. In this instance, Van Looy doesn't carry a pump or spare as his tubs wouldn't dare puncture.
frank says:

Mar 23 2011 at 7:34 pm

@Nate
And there we have the answer as to why the Dutch are good climbers. Awesome vid. Thanks, mate. I guess that's a day not to ride the "aero" bike, huh?
pakrat says:

Mar 24 2011 at 4:25 pm

Just noticed the rider in the Ford jersey is the same guy as on the cover of A Dog in a Hat.