The early eighties saw the tide change in the European Peloton. Components were taking on a new, curvy shape as they left their boxy forms behind. The glint of toe clips in the sun would become a rarer sight as the move towards clipless pedals would take hold in 1985. English speakers were winning the big races classically won by continental Pros.
The 1984 Tour could be my favorite edition of the race. In 1983, the rookie Laurent Fignon had won in the absence of Le Patron, Bernard Hinault. The 1984 race saw the two go head-to-head, with Fignon becoming the one and only person in history to have laughed at Hinault and lived. He did more than live, he won. The new guard was here, and they were making their presence known.
This photo is from the stage to l’Alpe d’Huez. LeMond was riding in support of Fignon, and Robert Millar, in his second Tour, was leading the King of the Mountains competition, which he would eventually win. Millar wrote an account of this stage in Issue 13 of Rouleur, which everyone should make an effort to find a copy of. He describes the attacks that come fast and furious on the penultimate climb in such vivid detail, it makes my guns ache. But worse than that is his and LeMonds effort to hold on to Fignon and Hinault’s wheels in the ride through the valley to Le Bourg d’Oisans and the base of the final climb. It is the perfect description of the suffering of the Cyclist. LeMond, in service to his leader, is on the front one moment as he reels Hinault in after an attack, before being cast into the gutter and the back wheel a moment later when the next attack comes.
Just as 1984 was a watershed moment in the Pro peloton, 2013 is a watershed year for the VSP. This year we are offering five amazing prizes from five amazing partners.
Prizes
First prize is a Veloforma Strada iR road frame, painted in an exclusive Velominati color scheme with the newly-designed Velominati Super Prestige logo. Please note that this is a brand-spankin’ new frame for Veloforma. The geometry can be reviewed here.
Second prize is a pair of Café Roubaix carbon tubular wheels. The winner of this prize will be given the choice between the sub-1000g Haleakala wheels or a road version of my beloved Arenberg wheelset. As an additional incentive, anyone who enters their picks in the Tour VSP will get a $200 discount on any wheelset at Café Roubaix.
Third prize is a pair of Bont cycling shoes. The winner of this prize will be assisted in selecting the size, color, and model of shoe.
Fourth prize is a Flandrian Best kit from DeFeet consisting of a wool U-D-Shirt, Arm Skins, Kneekers, Slipstreams, and a pair of V-Socks.
Fifth prize is a wool jersey from our Keepers Tour tour partners, Pavé Cycling Classics.
Many thanks to each of our sponsors for providing such exciting prizes.
Rules
Enter your picks for the top five riders on G.C. by the time the countdown clock goes to zero; Grand Tour scoring rules apply. Check the mapping of your picks by the end of Stage 1 and use the dispute system should it be mapped incorrectly.
We will be enforcing Piti Principle rules much more closely. We will be accepting pick disputes through the start of Stage 2. After that, it will be at The Keepers’ discretion as to whether or not we allow the dispute. If your pick is ambiguous and we map them to the wrong rider, make sure you check your disputes before the deadline; we may reject the dispute after that time. For example, should both Tony and Dan Martin take the start and you enter “Martin” as your pick, we will pick one for you and you will have to live with it if you forget to dispute it before the deadline.
Good luck, and Merckxspeed.
Update: This is the same paint scheme that the winner will have, except the VSP Winner’s Badge will be replacing the V-Lion.
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View Comments
@Russ
But that would leave them with only one gear for the whole stage!
Can someone who races explain to me the point of a small escape group on a flat stage like yesterday. Is it really just for sponsor exposure with the cameras on the front group? I don't see how it really impacts on the way the stage will play out as the outcome up until the last couple of kilometres is completely predictable (apart from crashes).
@geoffrey
These days, yes it is pretty much to get noticed, not just sponsorship but also riders. We are coming up to that time of year where the transfer window is about to open up. Negotiations are already underway and riders can get themselves noticed by going "eyeballs out" on a break. Back when Centurion was a rank not a tank and there were no race radios sometimes the peloton would make a mistake and the break would succeed but these days with 5 in or less they are doomed everytime.
Unless you are Dirty Bertie and you go balls out from the get go on your own on a lumpy stage...a la stage 17 La Vuelta 2012!
@geoffrey
For example Flecha would have been out there yesterday to get noticed, it sounds like Vaconsoleil DCM are sponsorless next year and may drop back to the pro continental circuit so he will be looking for a team to ride for.....
I have a question about UCI regs that someone might be able to answer or make some wild speculation on...
The wearing of helmets is compulsory, yet riders are allowed to drift make to team cars in flat stages sprint stages to swap for aero helmets as they get near to the finish line. This means that they are not wearing a helmet during the swap. This seems like a strange practise for the UCI to allow, you'd think they'd say you have to finish the stage wearing the same helmet that you started with.
The only reason that I can think that they allow this is that even the UCI think bongo hats are ugly and they ruin the aesthetics of the race so they don't want teams wearing them all day long.
Looks like another snoozy stage today, i'm not really a cricket fan but the ashes will have my attention today. Aston Agar was great yesterday, just a young lad having fun.
@motor city
Good point, but the UCI in their fucked up wisdom make all sorts of strange decisions, they have just announced that they will not release a set of doping results until after the Tour is finished! Talk about a self serving bunch of corrupt cretins, there is so much about the modern world and cycling that they do not get. Over the last 10 yrs they would have struggled to do any more harm to cycling to be perfectly honest with you...
Does not answer your question but ever time they get mentioned my blood boils, they rate on a par with politicians in my eyes..take a broom to the whole organisation!
@sthilzy
Ahhhhh, The good old days! Enjoy!
@geoffrey
Apologies I should not have answered that....I don't race (except town lines on club runs!)...I hope at least my responses sounded plausible if nothing else.
@geoffrey
I can suggest several reasons other than sponsorship for why you might want to get a breakaway going and put a rider in it , in no particular order.
1. If your team has a rider in a breakaway you don't have to chase it down so you take it easy for the day.
2. If you are chasing a jersey like the sprint or KOM and there are a few points but nothing major then a breakaway sucks them up, meaning you don't have to worry about it.
3. If a breakaway didn't go away then people would just keep attacking and the peloton would be a nervous and weary place.
4. There are sometimes prizes or 'primes' at certain points so a breakaway rider can scoop up some of those where he might not normally have a chance.
5. There is a combativity prize and jersey - in the Giro there is a whole classification based on how many kilometres a rider has spent in breakaways. In the Tour the daily prize is awarded on the podium and there is cash.
6. It can also serve to expose a team who is then obliged to chase - wears them out or tests their tactics. That was the case in Cav's pre-Sky days when everyone knew he would win the bunch sprint and nobody else had a decent lead-out train so they tried to get in the break and let HTC do all the chasing. If the team was exhausted then maybe the others had more chance in the sprint.
7. Very, very occasionally it succeeds.
All very good answers, ChrisO.
A more simpleton version - if I'm riding in the 100th edition of Le Tour and I'm just a domestique and have no idea if I'll ever get back there, why not give it a go & see if you can make it stick? Yup, as you pointed out in #7, might not happen, but ya never know.
A buddy passed on Velonews to me and they interviewed Juan Antonio Flecha. He said some funny things. I'm not a winnner, I rarely win. I won a stage in the 100th anniversary, gonna try to win one in the 100th edition. It pisses me off when people in the break don't work. Ha, I bet it would! He's sure giving it a go when he gets the chance.