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The Great Escape

A new path lies ahead. Whether to follow it is their choice. Photo: Cycling Inquisition

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.

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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View Comments

Deakus says:

Jul 23 2013 at 12:00 am

@Marcus

@Deakus

All of Indurain's Tours had TTs. Dunno where you got that idea from but it aint right. The stage you might be thinking of was in 95 when he rode the bunch off his wheel - bar Bruyneel - who sat on the whole way and then won the stage.

Yeah I need to double check this, I heard a reference to TTs being removed in the 90's because Indurain was so dominant but I am struggling to authenticate this, so happy to be corrected if misinformed...
Deakus says:

Jul 23 2013 at 12:07 am

@Marcus

@Deakus

All of Indurain's Tours had TTs. Dunno where you got that idea from but it aint right. The stage you might be thinking of was in 95 when he rode the bunch off his wheel - bar Bruyneel - who sat on the whole way and then won the stage.

Can't find it...scratch the shit about removal of individual time trials...I have obviously spent too much time over the last 3 weeks listening to P1 and P2 talking crap again!

Will I never learn!
ten B says:

Jul 23 2013 at 12:27 am

@PeakInTwoYears

Old training advice I read somewhere, in the context of running I'm afraid: if your face and hands are relaxed, the rest of you is probably relaxed, too. That helped me run better, and I try to remember it, now, while riding.

I do the same, but end up drooling on my top tube when in 5-and-dime situations.

And as for the Vuelta, if Uran is piloting the Death Star, there may be a couple of Colombinos on the podium.
Bianchi Denti says:

Jul 23 2013 at 1:27 am

@lucky

@Bianchi Denti You know Nibali is riding the Vuelta right?

Also Nairo Quintana didn't ride the Giro whoever said that.

Yes, but I think victory might take a back seat to quality training for the Worlds. If Nibbles can win the rainbow stripes on an Italian course as the reigning Giro champ, he is MADE.
Bianchi Denti says:

Jul 23 2013 at 1:42 am

@Marcus

For all of you singing the praises of Valverde, please look back a bit beyond this last month.

Yes, he is a fine racer, but he has had more of his share of luck re: mechanicals, doping shenanigans and dodgy assistance from his Spanish buddies.

The 09 Vuelta was only his because "neutral" assistance left Evans for 5+ minutes on the side of the road with a flat, and his 09 Dauphine win was achieved with more than a little help from Contador (on a different team) working over poor Cuddles.

If his doping ban had started when it should have (in 09) - he would not have even started in those races!

Mmmm. Good points. You should keep this stuff to yourself until after the relevant VSP has closed.

Movistar had a strong TDF team for the mountains,and still finished 7th in the TTT. If they recycle Castroviejo and bring in Alex Dowsett to lay it all down, Malmerde could have 45s on his rivals at the end of the first stage TTT. Obvioulsy there are a fuckload of other variables, but this is my starting point.
Mikael Liddy says:

Jul 23 2013 at 2:07 am

@Deakus

@ChrisO

I find the differences between how Quintana has been received - generally with much praise and very little scepticism - and the shit that has been thrown at Froome quite illuminating.

Nice backstory, poor family, looks good, Latino/south American V privileged colonial upbringing, ungainly, British, bitchy girlfriend.

How much of the debate is about that, not doping ?

Ofc not even touching on Colombias relationship with drugs....good point!

Interesting point that was explained in the link in the very first comment here. Quintana (and Henao I think) came up through the only Colombian squad that imposed the bio passport & testing on their riders, the idea being that when the European teams came calling, the riders would already be in a position to back up their results with data.

Interesting theory on the Colombians & drugs in cycling, the dissapearance of the Colombian climbers being successful in Europe ties in perfectly with the onset of EPO & blood doping techniques being taken up in the peleton. Basically their natural advantage in the mountains from being brought up at altitude was blown out of the water by the synthetic replacements.
motor city says:

Jul 23 2013 at 2:25 am

@ChrisO

I find the differences between how Quintana has been received - generally with much praise and very little scepticism - and the shit that has been thrown at Froome quite illuminating.

Nice backstory, poor family, looks good, Latino/south American V privileged colonial upbringing, ungainly, British, bitchy girlfriend.

How much of the debate is about that, not doping ?

Very true. The thing about the tour is the amount of focus on doping compared to the other GT's. I'm far far more suspicious of Nibali's Giro win than Froome's TDF win and he didn't catch half the amount grief than Froome did everdyday.
motor city says:

Jul 23 2013 at 2:36 am

@frank

I love the stories of escape from a life of hard labour in cycling. I've read a few times of Sean Kelly talking about how he did different sports at school but realised that his older brother got out of chores on the family farm on weekends because he cycled. This made him also take up the sport and the more he rode, the less farmwork he had to do.

This shows that even from an early age he was working on the principles of Rule #11 for us all to follow.
DerHoggz says:

Jul 23 2013 at 3:20 am

@Mikael Liddy

@Deakus

@ChrisO

I find the differences between how Quintana has been received - generally with much praise and very little scepticism - and the shit that has been thrown at Froome quite illuminating.

Nice backstory, poor family, looks good, Latino/south American V privileged colonial upbringing, ungainly, British, bitchy girlfriend.

How much of the debate is about that, not doping ?

Ofc not even touching on Colombias relationship with drugs....good point!

Interesting point that was explained in the link in the very first comment here. Quintana (and Henao I think) came up through the only Colombian squad that imposed the bio passport & testing on their riders, the idea being that when the European teams came calling, the riders would already be in a position to back up their results with data.

Interesting theory on the Colombians & drugs in cycling, the dissapearance of the Colombian climbers being successful in Europe ties in perfectly with the onset of EPO & blood doping techniques being taken up in the peleton. Basically their natural advantage in the mountains from being brought up at altitude was blown out of the water by the synthetic replacements.

We had this discussion during the Giro, and basically something like a study said living t altitude didn't help. Surprised me.
ChrisO says:

Jul 23 2013 at 3:38 am

@DerHoggz I believe it was that living at altitude would help but no more than going to altitude for training.

There were no inherent or lasting benefits - after a time living at sea level the blood oxygen of a Colombian from the highest mountain will be the same as a Dutchman who gets dizzy up a windmill, and vice versa.

Having said that, there must be a muscular training payoff from climbing mountains day in day out as you are growing up.