Categories: Racing

VDB: 1974-2009

Every now and then, I see a headline that I know won’t soon drift from my memory. Frank Vandenbroucke was found dead today in his hotel room; he had apparently died of a blood clot. The death reminds me of a similar headline in 2004, of the death of Marco Pantani. Both capable of incredible rides, both prone to devastating depression, both legends that end in a hotel room.

VDB was the picture of late 90’s cycling: extraordinary, jet-fueled exploits that made bike racing spectacular, if not realistic. And when his wings were clipped by drug scandals, he picked himself up and returned to the sport, only to fall again and again. His popularity never returned to where it was during 1999 when he won Het Volk and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

It’s hard for us fans to recover from the pain of a fallen hero. We know it all too well. When a rider we don’t like tests positive, we are angry. When our favorites fall, it’s nothing short of heartbreak. For me, it’s not so much disappointment that they doped (or attempted to dope). I’m a realist about our sport and while I wish there was no doping, it is part of it. For me, it’s not disappointment that they cheated – it’s disappointment that the fairytale is over, and my hero won’t be back in the bunch lighting up the races they way they once did.

I don’t think we kept VDB at arms length because of his past drug scandals; it was more that he was so easy to love and so prone to failure that we kept him at a distance in order to spare ourselves the heartache of his next fall. I suppose that, in itself, is heartbreaking.

A glorious talent and spectacular rider. A man I can’t help but believe was driven, tormented, and consumed by cycling. One who welcomed the culture as it was when he was young, ambitious and was taught the ways of the sport by his own heroes – and who embraced it fully.

Here is Frank, at his finest.

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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brett says:

Oct 13 2009 at 12:53 am

Well said Frank.

RIP VDB.
Marko says:

Oct 13 2009 at 6:11 am

Very sad and reminded me not only of Pantani but also of Chad Gerlach, another gifted rider riddled with drug problems and depression (like drug problems and depression are even two separate things really).
Dan O says:

Oct 15 2009 at 10:43 pm

Well written post.

Pros are super human on the bike - but when it comes down to it - are just as human as the rest of us.
frank says:

Oct 16 2009 at 1:43 pm

@brett
RIP, indeed.
frank says:

Oct 16 2009 at 1:48 pm

@Marko
I'd forgotten about him. How many pros, over the years, have turned up like that. So brutal. There's no support system or anything for these guys.
frank says:

Oct 16 2009 at 1:49 pm

@Dan O
I have a quote somewhere from Pantani (I think it was in a Rouleur) that says something to the effect of how hard it is to push yourself to attack at the base of a mountain when you know the suffering that will come around the next corner.

It's hard to remember these guys are human, and feel the effort. Drug-fueled or not, it's still true what they say: it never gets easier, you just go faster.
Dan O says:

Oct 16 2009 at 11:20 pm

Not even bringing the doping issue into play - the level at the pros ride is just amazing to me.

By being human, I mean they just as easily fall into the "normal" problems of depression, drug use, etc.

I'm sure these guys hurt at an amazing level to move at those speeds. As cyclists we can appreciate their efforts, since we feel the same during our efforts - just at slower speeds.

So you're right - it never gets easier, you just go faster.
john says:

Oct 18 2009 at 12:45 pm

I wonder about these riders who never perform after they are busted. Was he a real hard man or EPOed to the gills? I don't believe Frank did anything after he was busted except get booted off every team who gave him a contract. I did like, in his later years, he would ambush pro riders on training rides, get to the front and totally ride his brains out, blow himself and everyone else up and peel off and disappear. THAT would be fun.
Growing up as a rider in Belgium with the drugs those guys mess with would ruin anyone, i.e. Pot Belge
frank says:

Oct 19 2009 at 6:50 am

@Dan O
Yeah, it really is amazing. That training and discipline it takes to make those speeds is incredible. To imagine riding Alpe d'Huez in less than 40 minutes makes my skull shudder.
frank says:

Oct 19 2009 at 6:52 am

@john
I'm reading A Dog in a Hat right now. WAY better than Kimage's book, but the whole drug scene there in Belgium and Dutchland seems staggering. How do you grow up in that culture and not think that's OK? And then the riders become the directors and on it goes.