There is a sense of weightlessness that accompanies speed; a strange feeling for any Earthbound creature who temporarily breaks Gravity’s relentless grip – an intoxicating blend of liberty and a sense impeding doom. The day I learned to ride a bike, I felt this sensation spread through me like a virus; immediately my eyes cast to the dirt trail behind the house as the most obvious opportunity to discover just how fast I could go and how far I could get. The excitement filled first my hands and my feet, then it billowed up through body to my shoulders and dazzled me with splendidly blurred vision as I sped down that very trail which previously I had only ever walked along.
The freedom that accompanied these feeling lingers with me today, and their intoxicating qualities express themselves every time my eyes cast upon a bicycle.
The bicycle has represented freedom to Cyclists since well before the turn of the last century. From the start, the question of how far and how fast the bicycle can be ridden has captivated not only those riding, but anyone who cares to spectate. A kilometer, then 5, then 500; race organizers quickly discovered what any modern Cyclist knows; make a ride sound crazy enough, and you’ll attract more than enough idiots to make a spectacle. So was born the sport of Bicycle Racing.
The classical tale we tell is that throughout the pre-War and post-War eras; when Cycling represented a reprieve from the labor of a hard daily life underground or in the fields. Many of the competitors in the Tour were workers who took time from their usual work to race across the great expanse of France. Even the great champions of Cycling’s Golden Era in the 1950’s would have chanced a life with hands gripping a set of handlebars against sickle, hammer, or shovel. Bobet, Anquetil, our Prophet Merckx, Hinault, and Fignon faced life in a field or market versus life as one of the greatest shaping forces our sport has known. It wasn’t until recently when Cycling became a financially attractive occupation; Merckx, in his most winning years, earned as much as his son Axel did as a domestique in the 2000’s.
But the notion of Cycling as an escape from a hard life in the fields may not be dead yet; as many of us now know, Nairo Quintana grew up in rural Colombia, riding 18 kilometers uphill to school (both directions, and naked in four seasons of Winter, supposing our collective grandfathers shared his fate). The bicycle didn’t just free him from the confines of his childhood; the bicycle elevated Nairo Quintana and his family into another stratosphere altogether.
I don’t know very much about life in Colombia and whether his newfound fame will lead to a better or more rewarding life for him. That remains for him to discover, and like anyone who pushes into the unknown, he will need to square his new demons against his old in order to find those answers. But what I do know is that, like it did for us, the bicycle has freed him from his perceived boundaries and set him free explore new territories.
It would seem, then – at least for this moment – that the Golden Era of Cycling is not yet beyond our grasp.
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@VeloVita
My tongue was only partially in my cheek. Never underestimate the power of the Sky Cheque Book and the fact that it is the 2014 TdF starting in the UK. In fact he probably wants to have them ride in support of another British rider so maybe it is Kennaugh?!
I really cannot see it happening in all honesty but you would be able to knock me over with a feather and baste me with Dumonde Tech if he managed to get either Wiggo or Froomedog to support each other. My bet is that Wiggo dissapears in the Autumn transfer market....
I would not put anything past Brailsfords ego....
@wiscot Tears and a fist fight - he's dreaming; but then again the Brits may invoke the stiff upper lip.
@VeloVita
Riis/Ullrich? Hinault/Lemond?
@TBONE
Riis/Ullrich I can't coment on. As for LeMan and Hinault, to say either truly took a back seat to the other is highly debatable!
@wiscot
That was the point I was getting at. It doesn't seem to work all that well. You can add COTHO/Contador to that list too.
@wiscot
Surely it's just because the tour starts in Yorkshire. I bet Wigoo is still the only cyclist that 80% of the UK population know of. So Sky will inlcude him in all their buildup PR. However, that old knee injury may still flare up a week out from the start.
@Deakus
That's definitely a a possibility. I doubt that Wiggo could either beat or work for Froome. I bet Brailsford is already calculating the PR-benefit versus huge-salary-for-no-results equation.
But weher coudl he go? Imagine Uran bolting to QuickStep only to find 2 weeks later that he now has to work for their surprise new signing...
@Bianchi Denti
Fuck, can you imagine the meltdown Cav would have in the team bus when he heard the news of that one.
@Chris
the odd thing about Urán signing with OPQS is that he already knows what it's like to share leadership with Cav in a GT, as it happened in the 2012 Giro. He only got Henao for support in the mountains and even had to work for Cav in the sprint stages, so I'm not sure what kind of promises OPQS made for him to sign with them. Cav most likely is not liking the prospect of sharing leadership with Urán come Tour time...
@Chris
I would pay real money to see/hear that. Since when does OPQS care about GC though (as far as Uran)?