Joop Zoetemelk was a hard man, a tough nut to crack. He specialized in getting second place, a talent he developed under the doctrine of Eddy Merckx and mastered via the harsh tutelage of Bernard Hinault. It’s very seductive to lean back in our armchairs and draw the conclusion that our sport’s Eternal Seconds, as they’re called, are the weaker men than their rivals. The sport is filled with this familiar story; a rider comes up and is hailed as perhaps the next great rider, only to have synchronized their career with a more dominant rider.
Poulidor, who started with Anquetil and finished with Merckx. Zoetemelk, who started with Merckx and finished with Hinault. Then EPO entered the peloton and the balances were set off for a bit as riders who shouldn’t have been at the top were popping in for table scraps before Ullrich took the helm by getting on the podium in the Tour more often than any champion before him had won the Tour. Like Chimera and Bellerophon, every great hero needs a villain and it seems these riders are always there to stand up and fight year after year, against all odds.
In keeping with the Chimera and Bellerophon metaphor, I’m not so sure it is the victor who is the hero and the loser the villain. In my ski racing days, I was at the top of my game – I even had one season where I was undefeated throughout. That season was, without hesitation, my least rewarding season; winning became a question of margin – I even won one time trial where I started last and caught up to each of my teammates in serial and paced them to the next teammate such that we all finished in a big line of eight skiers.
The most rewarding season was the year where I struggled to fight back after losing motivation (due to the previous season’s excess) and still managed to win the key events. But the real fun wasn’t so much in the winning or losing, but in the bond it built between me and my principal rival; we both fought to the point of blacking out and neither of us ever – even for a minute – relented.
Extrapolating from that small-world experience to what it takes to become a Pro Cyclist capable of wining the Tour de France, it gives some insight into the mentality of the athletes who play out these battles that figure so prominently in our interpretation of our sport. To that end, I wonder if the champions don’t have the psychologically easier side of the coin. After all, they suffer almost the same amount, endure almost the same pressures and endure almost the same amount of discipline and sacrifice in pursuit of their goals. But one has the reward of victory and one the indignity of loss.
To come back year after year as victor seems almost like a picnic in comparison to the brutality of coming back year after year only to lose once again – then to resolve to return undeterred. In this sense, the loser who refused to quit endurs the suffering and sacrifice without the glory that comes with winning. Without them and their unrelenting optimism, the story would be less bright, less colorful. Which is the hero in our story?
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@frank
You're perpetuating a highly entertaining Dutch tradition, viz Anquetil's bidon. Carry on.
I found myself at work today thinking about the "eternal seconds". I was trying to think of the modern version I've seen Cadel mentioned, Andy (although maybe Frank Schleck should be too) mentioned, I kept coming back to this question: would you guys consider J-Rod the 2012 version, perhaps not eternal, but the recent version given the Giro and Vuelta? I loved how he rode in the Vuelta until Bertie cracked him. Seeing him attack climbs and defending jerseys just to see him fail near the end, had me feeling for him and respecting him this year.
@frank
The Vuelta proved that point pretty well
@frank
Yes Cuddles' change in racing style was the thing that changed him - and to me, the precise point in time when it did change was at the bottom of the hill in Mendrisio when he attacked - Kolobnev didnt want to help the two Spaniards (Valverde and J-Rod) and the Spaniards were too scared of Fabian to chase Cadel. And poof, like Kaiser Soze, Cuddles was gone.
What I find interesting about Evans is that he reckons he never changed his riding style, he seems to maintain that he would attack whenever he could - its just that in many races he has not had the ability to attack because he was at his limit. Maybe his more attacking nature is due not only to increased confidence but also due to maybe cleaner racing? Or that he started juicing himself. Or neither...
Just finished Tyler Hamilton's book - which is a must read for anyone interested in cycling. Such a shame for a guy like that to get so caught up in his denials that he ended up blowing up his life - when if he had just taken his medicine (a clumsy pun I know), like Millar, maybe he could have avoided years of angst and saved a lot of dough.
I wonder if our liking of the eternal second placer stems in part from the excitement of wathing someone finally breaking the drought? Witness Marianne Voss' recent win in the World's road race - after FIVE consecutive silver medals. FIVE.
As a view from th eother side of the fence, I read an interview some time ago with Sir Stirling Moss, who for a long time was (and probably still is) acknowledged as the best driver to never win a world championship. Asked the question yet again, he replied "Would I trade it all for one World Championship? No, I don't think I would. I am far better known for never having won than a dozen others are for having one once."
@Nate
Ha! Spot on, mate - that's what I was reminded of, too. "Those photographs of Anquetil climbing with a bidon on his frame are clearly inaccurate..."
@Nate
Doesn't Krabbé also mention Hinault's crash - i.e. the one where Hinault flies off the road, drops 4-5 meters down some very steep slope with trees and then clambers back up? (It's been ages since I read 'De Renner', but I seem to remember something about Krabbé referring to Hinault as a rider who "fell down like a mere mortal, and crawled back up as a "vedette" - i.e. in some kind of a-star-is-born manner. I can't find my copy of the book anywhere, though. Rhhaaarghh. Time for a visit to Amazon, mayhaps
Great article, with a very interesting perspective - yet another example of why I love this site. If Velominati had a print publication, I'd be a lifelong subscriber.
I certainly wouldn't call him an eternal second since he only finished 2nd in it once, but every year when Paris-Roubaix rolls around it seems like just about everybody (fans, journalists, pundits, other riders - both in the US and abroad) is rooting for Hincapie, even if realistically he hasn't got a snowball's chance in L'enfer du Nord of winning it. I haven't seen that kind of support for any other rider in recent past. I also won't go so far as to say from a fabled story perspective one could claim Hincapie as Bellerophon and the race itself the Chimera, especially since the race seems to chew him up and spit him out each year, but to me there is certainly something heroic about coming back season after season and trying to tame the beast, even when you and everyone else knows your sword is starting to dull.
@VeloVita
Have you looked at Rouleur ? It's probably the closest thing in print, but without the one-eyed Dutchman, nipple lube, Assos girl and sheep-shagging jokes.
BTW they have a good article on Ambrosio in the currentish edition, apropos of the previous article here about wheels.
@frank/marcus
i agree, Schleck the lesser did nail one of the longest solo breakaways in my recent memory and it was a valiant ride, which made for a great Tour that year, good point
I think apart from Cuddles racing style, the part I saw as significant to his win was actually a team that was focused on a common goal, whereas before he had always had a team who was moreless focused on spring classics or stage wins, and not REALLY acquainted with a GCr hope
And good point on bringing up Hincapie, I think he really fits in on the eternal second in a lot of ways, he is the consumate super domestique, destined to second or less, as his job is much different, but on the days he was able to really race, how many times did he win? Not many, I have rooted for him endlessly in Paris-Roubaix only to swallow the bitter pill of deciet and admit that he wasn't really ever going to pull it out, but he was a fierce competitor and added such flavor to the race