On our trip to Paris, my wife and I, in need of culture, rode the Vélib bikes to Cycles Laurent. This was our first French bike shop visit and excitement was high as we navigated our helmetless headed way through the city traffic.
The shop is a classic; it’s crammed with bikes and clothes. There is no room to move. My wife immediately dove into the sales bin and came up smiling with a Pinarello maglia nera jersey in her size. What is the maglia nera jersey? It’s the lantern rouge of the Giro. For a brief period it was an officially awarded jersey, which led to riders hiding in bars and behind hedges to finish last. Giovanni Pinarello was awarded it in 1951 and here it was reissued. Maybe Giovanni was hiding in bars or maybe he was just hanging on like grim death on every stage and barely made it to Milan. Giovanni Pinarello was the last official owner of the jersey. Riders and fans alike disapproved of a contest for last place and 1951 was the final year of the maglia nera. Since then, riders don’t try to finish last but they do try to finish.
When asked by Cycle Sport magazine what he would like his epitaph to be, he said “Here lies Eros Poli, famous for being tall and coming last in the Giro d’Italia”. -wikipedia
This is a man who won an Olympic gold medal, a most incredible climber’s stage in the Tour de France, and an amateur TTT world championship.
Unless one is actively hiding in bars and riding with a calculator to always finish within thirty seconds of each days time limit, finishing last means one is barely finishing each mountain stage, tailed off the grupetto, fighting to beat the time limit, on more than a few days.
When is finishing the Giro last not an embarrassment? I would say every time. There is a select subset of humans that could ride the Giro at the speeds it is ridden and finish it. Nearly every day a rider climbs into the team car, most likely in tears, exhausted, ruined, crushed. Their number comes off their jersey, it is reported to the commissar and that rider cannot start the next day. But there also must always be a rider who just barely makes it to the finish during those mountain stages, in tears, exhausted, crushed and is back out there the next day. To finish in Milan, even in last place must be infinitely better than not finishing.
Finishing any event last is always better than not finishing.
If I was awarded that jersey, I’d wear that into every bar and restaurant for the rest of my natural life. That’s right fools, I finished the Giro, d’Italia, we covered 3500 km at an average of 37 km per hour. I’ll take my free vino rosso right over there, grazie.
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@Nate
I would relate. I'd be in the grupetto everyday, fighting for the time cut. And cursing those wee climbers for making the time cut so early.
@Rob - oh no; a Velominati thread off point! Squirrel!!!! No worries - I agree, the jersey find is a beaut and beers all around is even better.
@Gianni
Talking of which see http://www.tinkoffsaxo.com/news/sorensen-completed-giro-stage-concussion/
@unversio I'm with ya 100% on this... I was popped off the line on an endurance mtn bike race I had no business going forward with last year and knew immediately the only person I was racing was myself. Despite riding alone for a long time and certain I was last, DNF was not an option. The handful of folks still there when I finished, my buddy who'd podium'd (obviously waited a long time for me), a couple other racers (turned out were waiting for their bud) and the race organizers taking everything down noted that yep, one last racer still to come in. And he did. One cool SOB from my perspective. DNF for no good reason? No way. In a strange way these are personal victories for which a cyclist can ride. Of course, in the pro's getting to the finish of a grand tour, even if last, probably means $$$ for completing. But for those of us that pay to race ?? BTW: The last place finisher in The Skyway Epic (AL's Leadville) last week was rewarded w/ a two night stay at a sweet Carolina Mtn Bike resort. My buddy came in penultimate. Rats, BUT, he enjoyed the post race cold one as much as anyone else that day. Cheers
There is one fate almost as bad as the painful DNF:
Toiling for three hours risking life and limb in a Masters race, finishing top 6, and finding out when you get home and look at the online results that the transponder didn't work (you know, the one they charge you $10 for). No "official result", my friend. This happened 3 weeks in a row last season.
Did I never really race? Did I not really suffer? If DNF is hell, transponder failure must be purgatory.
@fignons barber Fuck!
@Buck Rogers
Hey Buck - it's an insult everywhere.
@ChrisO yup, that's what I tried to say but left the "t" off the end of "not"
@Gianni
I've looked around as I have to be there a lot for work and surprisingly not much in the first place, and Laurent's seems the best, at least by the road cycling cool factor. There's a Giant showroom shop on Blvd Henri V toward the river from Bastille but doubt that's what you'd be looking for. Not saying there aren't others but they aren't obvious (to an American).
In this years Giro, Svein Tuft (the first Pink Jersey holder of the race) is currently in last, and I believe he finished last years TdF in last too.
In-fact, Orica-Greenedge have had a lot of their team pull out from illness & injury. I guess all that effort of riding at the front to keep the Pink jersey really takes a toll.