Photo of the day: Bobet winter training

Cold, but not frigid today.  Kind of like this day over 60 years ago, when this photo of Louison Bobet training with Antonin Rolland (rt.) was taken.  

(photo from www.delcampo.net)

Hands on the tops, spinning side by side, smiles all around.   All the essential ingredients for the perfect winter training spin.

Lost Equipes: Sonolor

You've just gotta love the sixties-seventies when it came to pro cycling sponsorship.

No multi-million dollar budgets then jongen.   In those days, pro cycling title sponsors tended to be, well, a little more provincial.

Back then, refrigerator and kitchen manufacturers (Ignis, Salvarani, Frimatic, SCIC, Fagor) - for some reason I'm not too sure of - were really big supporters.  Then there were the ice cream men (Miko, GIS, Sanson, Sammontana), beverage magnates (KAS, Pepsi, St. Raphael, Watneys, Maes Pils), and household consumer packaged goods brands (Mars bars, BIC lighters, Faema espresso machines).

And then there's consumer electronics, which in that pre-digital time, meant televisions and radios, tubes and transistors.  If you were a cycling fan in France or Belgium back then, there was a pretty fair chance you listened to Radio Tour in your Citroen on a Sonolor radio, or watched LeTour on Eurovision at home on a Sonolor brand TV set.

Jean Stablinski

And if you lived in northern France up near the Belgian border, you might even have purchased your TV set at a retail store in Valenciennes called 'Jean Stablinski'.

That's right.  The Jean Stablinski.   Hero of the North, world champion in 1962 in Salo, winner of many stages and classics, and Jacques Anquetil's right hand man for most of his reign.    Stablinski was son of Polish immigrants (nee Edward Stablewski) who clawed his way to a stellar pro career, escaping the poverty and mines of northern France where his step-father worked and he seemed destined as well.  Just a few trips into the damp dark tunnels under the Arenberg forest were enough for Stab.

As famously crafty as he was successful, Stablinski invested his hard-earned winnings wisely.   And he made a lot of friends along the way too... one of them a supplier to his store and the big boss of the French Sonolor electronics company, a cycling aficionado named Andre Bazin.   Near the end of Stablinski's pro career in '67, the two friends raced a 'gentleman' two-up time trial together that Stab helped organized in Valenciennes.   It was a rendezvous that led to more significant collaboration.

Sonolor - "B

Bazin had started Sonolor in rue Faubourg Poissonier in Paris in 1948.  His business quickly outgrew that cramped Montmartre venue, so he moved the factory north outside the peripherique to La Courneuve, near St. Denis, in 1959.    During the peaceful boomtime fifties and sixties, Sonolor surfed the consumerism wave, becoming a successful regional brand in both France and Belgium.

When Stablinski retired at the end of the '68 season, he and Bazin formed the Sonolor professional cycling team, with the ex-champion behind the wheel of the team car.

The team that Stab and Sonolor built grew into one of the greatest of all time.
(images - ledicodutour.perso.sfr.fr)

First allied with Parisian bicycle brand LeJeune, and later with Cycles Gitane, Stablinski's Sonolor team was a combination of hardman teammates from his earlier career (Jean Graczyk, Lucien Aimar, Jean Jourdan, Barry Hoban), and a string of young discoveries like Robert Mintkiewicz, Yves Hezard, Mariano Martinez and a young Belgian neo-pro with climbing talent named Lucien Van Impe.

Only Van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk
could stay with Merckx in '71

It was Van Impe, who by climbing alongside the raging Eddy Merckx in the Tour de France in '70, '71 and '72, put Sonolor on the map.  The team's results were modest, but it was in the Tour during the Van Impe years they provided their most important ROI for Bazin.  The '72 Tour de France campaign was the team's summit. Van Impe took the KOM prize for the 2nd year in a row, and the team won 5 stages in total (three by Belgium's Willy Teirlinck, one by Van Impe, and one by Hezard).

In October of '74, Stablinski's final Sonolor team hosted the neo-pro debut of a stagaire named Bernard Hinault.  But while le Blaireau entered the peloton, his team's longterm sponsor was preparing to exit the scene.

While Stab was keeping the Sonolor brand in the sports news between '69 and '74, Sonolor the societe was going through a high drama period that saw the company featured in business news as well.   The '70's were a turbulent time in France, when a strong socialist government, labor unions and private business were figuring out how to co-exist.
 

The summit for Sonolor: Tour '72, van Impe dances
to the King of Mountains prize.

In the beginning of the '70's, Bazin had sold a majority interest in the company to ITT   On the Night of February 28, 1974, a serious fire broke out at the Sonolor factory.  The arson was claimed by a clandestine group protesting the arrival in Paris of the new Ambassador of Chile, and the ITT Group for their role in the fall of Chile's President Salvador Allende.  


Lucien Van Impe's 'King of the Mountains' years were the summit years for Sonolor's business as well.   For Sonolor, after pulling out of the peloton at the end of '74, it was - if you'll pardon the pun - all downhill.

In November '75, more than 80% of the Sonolor workshops went on strike.  In 1977, the left proposed the nationalization of nine major French companies, including Sonolor.  More labor strikes followed in 1978.   In 1979 the company was renamed Ciate, and came under new ownership. But up against the onslaught of global competition, the business finally closed for good in 1985.  The plant in La Courneuve was razed to the ground.

The peak:  Sonolor's 1972 Tour de France squad.
(Miroir du Cyclisme photo)

And what became of the team Stab built?   Well the equipe birthed in northern France morphed into one of pro cycling's most successful juggernauts - ever.

After Sonolor pulled their sponsorship, the squad became Gitane-Campagnolo for 1975.   Stablinski again directed Lucien Van Impe to another Tour KOM title (the first year a Polka Dot jersey was used for the mountains leader).

Climber Mariano Martinez was one of
Stablinski's charges in '74, taking bronze
at the Montreal World Championship

But that same year, Stab had a well publicized falling out with neo-pro Hinault over 'how-much-is-too-much-racing'.  The Gitane brass decided to make a change, opting for youth to direct the team for '76,bringing in a newly retired pro star named Cyrille Gumard.  Pushing aside the guy who'd built the squad, step by step.  The usual story, generations change, the circle turns, youth pushes out the old.

So in '76, Stab had to watch while his prodigy Van Impe won the Tour, pushed by Guimard behind the wheel.   And the rest, as they say, was history.  Later sponsored by Renault, System U and Castorama, Guimard continued Stablinski's 'develop young talent' methods, reinforcing the Gitane squad he inherited over with stars like Fignon, Mottet and LeMond.   It became the team that dominated the Tour - and arguably world cycling - for well over a decade.

These days you can buy a lot of iconic retro jerseys:  Molteni, Faema, Salvarani, Renault.    You rarely see a replica Sonolor jersey.  You can order one though.  here.

Stablinski rode his bike long into his years.   He was famous for not carrying a water bottle on his bike - preferring to stop in a cafe for a drink and a chat with strangers if he got thirsty.   Always liked that story, my kind of guy.   Sadly, Stab passed away from a long illness in 2007.

I can't speak for cafesupporters across the Atlantic, but over here in the states it's pretty hard to find anyone who remembers Stablinski's Sonolor team.

Kind of a shame, don't you think?

Steel Flandria frames

For all you fellow retro-bike fans, at Velofollies show in Kortrijk, Belgium this weekend, Flandria just debuted two steel framesets:  A road and a track model.

Both made in Belgium from Columbus SL Niobium tubing, with chrome fork, chain stay and rear dropouts.   Only in flandria team red, of course!   Perfect for battling over cobbles or broken urban roads.

Pretty schweet.   Check out more photos here.

Photo of the day: Cyclists downhill skiing

Maitre Jacques working on l'oeuf position.

Yesterday was an 'off day', but not a rest day.

Went downhill skiing at nearby Mt. Wachusett with my son, always a great day out.  I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they had enough snow to have most of the mountain open and ski-able- because we haven't had much this year. It wasn't so crowded either - just a 1-2 minute lift line for most of the day - not bad for a holiday weekend Saturday...

Out on the pistes, just when I'd get my turns linking nicely, and feeling like Henri Duvillard or Gustavo Thoeni (giant slalom stars from my generation baybay), some guy who could really carve fast would come blowing by me, bursting my balloon and exposing me for what I am - an aged road racing cyclist trying to pass himself off as an expert downhill skier.

Q:  What's the biggest lie in skiing.

A:  "Advanced Intermediate"

Not that impefection on planks has ever stopped roadies going downhill skiing from time to time.  Back in the early-to-mid sixties, St. Gervais in the French Alps was the winter gathering spot for the elite of professional cycling.   Anquetil had a house there, he was the ring-leader, despite the fact that based on this video his ski form was nowhere close up to his style on the bike contre la montre.

Jean Robic on skis.  Without the leather helmet.  

For fun, the Italian aperitif producer Martini used to sponsor an annual ski race there in the French Alps, with professional cyclists competing with journalists.  Check out the video of the 1965 edition here.   OK, they're not exactly Jean Claude Killy, but it looked like good fun, surely a day lubricated by some bottles of the sponsor's product.   The clip of a snowplowing Jean Robic (47 Tour winner) getting telescoped from behind is a slapstick classic

It wasn't all laughs though.   In the video, you can see then-world champion Tom Simpson smiling briefly... it must have been shot before he infamously broke his leg in a ski accident, ruining his earning prospects for a 1966 season when he'd hoped to cash-in on his rainbow jersey.

Solving world problems in a headwind.

Today was something else jongens.   Work done, this afternoon I was lucky to escape for almost 3 hours out on the bike in strong winds that were gusting between 40 and 50mph.   (I know, I know, it only January, but you've got to get the miles in when you can, right?)

Our Tony T. could barely walk last summer...
but still conquered Plateau de Beille.  

 I was hoping for a nice, 3 hour easy spin... but it  wasn't to be.  For today was one of those binary, on-off switch rides.   The giveaway is that loud audible of flags whipping the gust.   In the 'on' position, my low fixed gear was easily spun out at well over 20 mph.  In the 'off' position, I was flirting with my anaerobic threshold while struggling to hit a wimpy 15mph thanks to killer headwind gusts that were blowing the bike all over the place.   Pretty wild, but also pretty fun.

Solo, a ride like this would be enough to drive one to drink.   But fortunately, I had Flandria Cafe's worldly fellow francophile,  Tony T. for company.   Despite coming back from a major hip replacement surgery in the fall, Tony's riding remarkably strong.   And like a lot of my close pals, he's a perfect riding partner for many reasons:   Of a certain age, old enough to remember racing at Hanscom field in the early 80's.  An eager willingness to met de kop in de wind for 3 hours in January.   The experience and savvy to not half wheel you the entire ride, instictively knowing when to push hard, when to back off.   And most important, a diverse, well read intellectual curiosity ensuring an interesting ride-long conversation covering politics, social issues, business, rockclimbing, life in France, cuisine, and of course... bikes and bike racing.

Jacques, what are we drinking
tonight with the oysters? 

In an attempt to accept that killer headwind in the best Zen fashion, Tony and I attempted to, as we used to say after a night in the pub, 'solve world problems'.   Here's a brief random sample of just some of today's insights...

1. Winning the lottery would require an immediate migration to the south of France, bringing our cycling buddies along for a perpetual Riviera training camp - an endless soiree that would make even Anquetil envious.    That's the easy part... the harder part would be figuring out how to sell the concept to our wives (a challenge unresolved at end of ride).

2. The over-under on the remaining life span for that kid Alex Honnold who was on 60 minutes a few weeks ago free soloing without any rope, is between 12 and 19 months.  Two years max.  Call Ladbrokes.

Le  Blaireau.  Le reference eternal.

3.  In this new, politically-correct age, can a United States of America that - by definition - must stand for 'everything'... actually stand for 'anything?'  (unresolved existential question -'talk amongst yourselves')

4. In a crosswind like today's, Bernard Hinault definitely would have shredded the bunch in a spring classic like Gand-Wevelgem.   100% sure.  We calculated that attaining 24 mph in today's wind required putting out something like 600 watts.  Maybe more.   (14 mph was like doing leg presses).

The man with the most toys wins.
You won Andy.  No contest. 

5. Similar to recent laments in world football (soccer), where more and more of the wealth and revenues is concentrated in a handful of 'superclubs', eroding support/prospects for smaller clubs (e.g. the traditional base of the pyramid);  the emergence of private equity, mega-rich individuals as the prime financial engine now funding professional cycling may be great for some beneficiaries, but it's making the sport 'top heavy'.   Increasingly a rich man's private playground, less and less a viable business model for supporting sponsors.   I'd love to know what cycling's greatest generation senators Jean Bobet, Raphael Geminiani or Ferdi Kubler think about all of this.

Junior racing, 1976.  No halo bike.
No power meter.  No coach.
Just get out and race.

6.  Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, road cycling's becoming an old man's sport.   Wait, no, no, no...scratch that.  Make that an 'old men with scratch' sport.

When, for example, a 150 rider field for the master's 50+ category in April's Tour of Battenkill gets filled in about 20 minutes on a cold December night, while (as of right now, over a month later) just 29 young men have entered the Junior men's 17-18 race...well, I'm no rocket scientist, but something's wrong with this picture Bunky.   (And as the by-product of a blue-collar family of modest means who found it quite possible to get into this fantastic sport at age 16 in 100 rider junior fields, it's a scenario that saddens me.)

7.  Cycling out on America's roads is getting more dangerous, a phenomenon we hypothesize - based on admittedly unscientific (but definitely quantitative) observation -  is largely due to two (2) sizable, and newly emergent demographic clusters:

First, there's the self-important, hurried, and distracted multitasking professional woman in her SUV, talking on her cell phone and/or texting while driving 50-60 mph on a narrow secondary road.  She exists, and she's frightening:  An educated Type-A whirlwind molotov cocktail of high achievement drive, and sensory overload.

We almost got taken out by not one, but two today.  One was incredulous that we had the audacity to be out bicycles, on the road, during working hours.    

This new coffee table book is a must-have for
 the cyclist in your life.

Second there's the disenfranchised male in the mega-pickup truck.  You've likely been buzzed by this guy at some point, I'm sure.  He can be differentiated from most law abiding pick-up truck drivers by his sudden flooring of the gas pedal just as he passes way too close to you... enveloping you in a hemi and testosterone fueled, straight pipe exhaust cloud that unfortunately prevents you from seeing clearly whether he's got a gun rack or not.

Frustrated by seeing his future sent offshore along with his manufacturing job... or his construction work evaporating in the current economic downturn, he sees guys on 'pedal bikes in lycra' not only as an affront to his definition of all-American manhood, but an irritating obstacle to his immediate objective of getting to Dunkin' Donuts, and back home to see the last few rounds of Ultimate Cage Fighting on cable, as fast as the law won't allow.

Confronting either on the open road is not recommended.  Be very careful out there wielersupporters.

29 degrees F...

...relatively balmy compared to yesterday.  Going out for the Fixed Gear bike for about 2 hrs dressed like I'm going on a moonwalk.

"Roger, do you read me Houston?   What's that coordinate equation again?"    

2H (39x16) + (no lunch) - (freewheel) = Wintertrainen!

In and around Boston, we call this a 'wintah-bike'.  

Picture of the day. Maillots, mode classique.

“The novelties of one generation are only the resuscitated fashions of the generation before last.”
                     - George Bernard Shaw (another Irish guy genetically unqualifed to comment on fashion)


Ah yes, New Year Day.  The cue for Pro Tour teams to roll out their new maillots. 

Rabobank, Saxobank, Green edge, Quick Step, Katusha are all going with the 'classic' look: solid, bold color blocks.   I'm wagering Radio Shack and Garmin will follow suit with slight tweaks to last year's kit.   The net effect is that it looks like we'll be better able to tell them all apart this year, eh?   All in all an evolution in the right direction...

Green Edge looks like they snagged and tweaked the now defunct Lay-o-pard kit.   ("No worries mate, watch this, easy...I'll just change that sky blue to green... now that's a real beauty, eh?)

Classic style?  Here's a photo that's an icon of original classic maillot style:  The Four Horseman of Notre Dame...des Cyclistes:  Bobet, Geminiani, Anquetil and Riviere.   I'm pretty sure this shot is from 1959.   The rat pack had nothing on these guys, believe me.

I think France ought to have it's own version of Mount Rushmore.   Only it should have these four faces hewn into the rock, overlooking some brutal climb, looking down on those struggling up the same climbs they conquered.  

If the famous Tour de France cartoonist Pellos was still alive, I'd bet he'd get it.  And would approve, don't you think?.  

De Flandriens Van Het Veld

In case you hadn't seen it, Sporza's Michel Wuyts just put together an extension to his great TV series last year 'De Flandriens', airing weekly now on Belgian TV station CANVAS.    This new series - De Flandriens van het Veld - focuses on Belgium's legacy of cyclocross champions.     


Clip below is from a Belgian talk show previewing the series... some cool old footage.

Here's the trailer for week one. Good footage of Erik DeVlaeminck.  De beste crosser of all time?   A lot of Duvel can get consumed in that arguement.   Based on palmares and legendary story factor, I'd give Erik the nod, but you can weigh in.  (More on that in a bit...)

Unfortunately more segments or clips are not on the web yet... hopefully they'll put them up once the series is over.  

Erik De'Vlaeminck.  The original acrobat
op Het Veld.

While Wuyts keeps the heritage thread alive and well, a new generation of Flemish cross stars have been providing great entertainment this fall and winter.  I confess since cross season started, I've been more than a little addicted to watching the races live on www.cyclingfans.com.

Most start at 8-9am EST.  Plug your laptop into the big screen TV, and bada-bing.  You're right there in Koksijde.  Or Baal.   Or Overijse.   With some strong coffee and waffles, and it's a perfect winter-weekend AM ritual.  And motivation to get your butt out in the cold and kill it yourself later in the day.

And way, way better than Rosetta Stone for improving your vlaamse comprehension.

Cross is a great sport for TV.  One hour, plenty of action.  Exciting right from the start.  Suspenseful racing full of duels, blowups and comebacks.  There's the occasional spectacular wipeout, usually without serious injury.   The races often go down to the wire too -  although that said, Sven Nys has been starting to look more and more dominant of late riding away to several wins.  

Cannibal from Baal, Nys takes his own race.
No one else in the photo.  (Belga Photo)  

The Cannibal from Baal.   Nys was imperially impressive in winning his namesake GP Sven Nys, held in his hometown.  This one was on a really technical course, full of mud, and lots of unridable sections necessitating some 'lopen' with a shouldered bike.

Kevin Pauwels was a solid 2nd.  And Bart Wellens fought back to third.   American Jonathan Page was top 10, he's been getting better and better every week.    World Champ Stybar has been symied by this tag team onslaught from the new generation of Flandriens of het Veld.   The talent is deep too, with Nys, Albert, Wellens, Vantornout, Pauwels, Meeusen, Aernouts, Peeters, Adams all possible winners or podium placers on any given weekend.   8 of the top 10 in the UCI rankings are Belgians right now.    

Erik De Vlaeminck.  

A few years ago, the Dutch and Swiss were just as deep as the Belgians in the top level cross races, but those days seem long ago now.  

With Lars Boom's attention more on the road now, and Stybar seeming set to follow suit, the 'veld' is now dominated by Erik DeVlaeminck's spritual descendants.  And with the world's are coming up soon in that sand pit called Koksijde, with the possible exception of really great French crossers (Mourey, Chainel) or a Styby miracle,  I see little to stop a hometown victory from one of the new vlaamse guard in Koksijde.  The biggest question might just be which one will it be?  

What do YOU think cafesupporters?   Time to kick off 2012 with another poll:

1. Who's the best Belgian crosser TODAY?
2. Who's the best Belgian crosser OF ALL TIME?
3. ...and who do you think will win the 2012 Elite Men's World Championship in Koksijde?

Take the survey here.

Flahute Awards 2011

Merry Christmas wielersupporters... hope you all had a good one, and didn't overdo the cookies, cake and beer.

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time for Flahute to put down his cobblestone shaped Christmas cookies and announce our 2011 Flahute awards.

It's OK, pour just one more trappiste ale, sit back an savor a great year of cycling.   Then get out on the bike and emulate these inspirations of 2011!

King Phillipe:   OK, let's get the most obvious, expected one out of the way.   Phil's doesn't top our list because of his cannibal like series of Ardennes classic victories.  Nor is he here because of his maillot jaune. Nor for his solo to win the Belgian championship.  He's here because of his old-school orientation.   Don't need no steenking race radio, I'll slay you all anyway.   Training on 'sensations'.   And racing with teeth bared aggression in the finale.  Attack, attack, attack.  And because no rider has united supporters from both halves of Belgium like this since Eddy Merckx himself.    Flandria cafe's man of the year.

Braveheart Johnny Hoogerland:  Getting up to finish after sliding along a barbed wire fence?    Say no more.   Where does a guy get the strength of character to do that?   Maybe it's in the wind, along the Zeeland coast.

Well ok, we'll say one more thing...  How 'bout that attack in the finale of the World's with Voeckler,  giving it all in a attempt to break Cav's royal coronation procession.   Here's hoping Johnny will be as good in 2012.  And less battered.

Quote of the year:  Laurens Ten Dam.   Another never say die hardman example, the Dutchman took a page out of the PouPou book by getting up from a smashed face to finish the Tour.

His Rabobank team called him 'hard as a rock'.   His Tweet, "You don't quit the tour because of a fat lip" is our line of the year.

Crosser of the Year: Kevin Pauwels.   The quiet man, the one who broke out this year, solidifying a hard-earned place in the top tier of world cyclocross.  The kind who will 'nod yes to a radio reporter's question', Pauwels may not be the most loquacious of interviews, but to us it doesn't matter one bit.  He's the anti-Cipo, and we like him for it.   After so tragically losing his older brother Tim to a heart-attack during a race a few years ago, Kevin has, without fuss, quietly and diligently fought his way to the top of World cross.  And based on his World Cup win in Zolder yesterday, it seems he's feathering back his top form just in time for the Worlds.   A pro with class who lets his legs do the talking, we'd like nothing better than seeing him top of the podium in a rainbow jersey.

Jock, and team Rwanda:  Sometimes, one good man is all it takes to bring hope to those whose lives seem devoid of it.   Jock Boyer has spent the last several years slowly and patiently bringing 'the knowledge' to a group young riders in a nation that have personally lived through unspeakable horror (read this great New Yorker article).

Once a pioneer, always a pioneer.  The first American in the Tour de France.  First American in the top 5 of the World's Pro road race (1980, nearly winning it two years later).  Ultramarathon RAAM winner.  I'm betting Jock's shoestring program will see a Rwandan in the pro peloton before he's done.

The resurrection of Nick Nuyens.  They'd all pretty much written him off.   So close to winning the Ronde in prior years, after a succession of new teams and unfulfilled hopes culminating with an abandon into the Rabobank team car last year.

Last chance hotel at SaxoBank, where just like with Jens, and with Bobby Julich, Bjarne Riis' magic and quiet team ambiance re-instilled the faith and confidence that had somehow gone missing.   Nuyens tactical savvy and sniper's instincts provided the rest.   In the wheels till it mattered. On the right move in the end.   Outsprinting the two strongest men of the race.   The 'resurrection of the sniper' is our moment of the year.

Tommy V's podium.   (Reuters Photo)

Image of the year - Thomas Voeckler on the Galibier.   He was on our list last year, can there be any surprise he's there again.  Just when you think this champion of heart has gone as far as his talent will let him, he surprises you again.  This year, he surprised, and delighted an entire nation.  In the process, he just might have surprised even himself.

He kept smiling at the cameras, saying he couldn't hope to win the Tour, and then proceeded to defend the jersey like not only his life, but the future of la Patrie of France depended on it.   In the process, he gradually brought belief to a nation of passionate fans who'd perhaps over the past decade become conditioned to lose hope they'd ever see one of their own in a with a real shot at victory again.    Hindsight is 20/20, but if it wasn't for that energy sapping desperate chase on the Galibier, Voeckler might just have been up there on the podium in Paris.   No matter though, for Thomas Voeckler's podium was the roof of the world - the summit of the Galibier - mounted with one arm raised in relief at having saved the maillot jaune for one more day.  

Unsung hero of the year:  David Boily.   Once upon a time, if a North American had led most of, and nearly won the Tour de L'Avenir, it would be the lead story in every cycling publication.  If he came from the Northeastern corner of the continent, his name would be on everyone's lips in these parts as a tip for the future.

Perhaps after a decade filled with an embarrassment of talent riches, we North Americans have almost come to expect an endless stream of young cycling talent.   With a few exceptions, we tend not to celebrate the victorious stepping stones of new hopes anymore, saving the media plaudits for when they hit the top rung.  A shame I think.

Almost unnoticed this year while the cycling world came to race the ProTour in Quebec and Montreal, a young rider from Quebec City was across the pond, wearing the maillot jaune in the Tour de L'Avenir right up until the final day, only beaten into second by a mere 17 seconds.  David Boily is a member of Steve Bauer's Spidertech team who certainly looks like he's got a great future ahead of him.   For this is no fluke result, but the race of the future.  The Tour de France for U23's.   The race who's yellow jersey adorned future stars like Gimondi, Zoetemelk, Baronchelli, LeMond, Soukhoroutchenkov and Indurain.

Boily.  Remember the name.   And learn a little more about him here and here.

Photos of the day: Kim Andersen going solo

Wow.  That last little rant on top end pro bike pricing went pretty viral.   Flahute's building me up to add fuel to the fire with addtional commentary to come.  But for now, something completely different!  

Just a good old shot of a good old solo artist to connect today with 'my generation bay-baaay'...

Andersen in the Ardennes.  Fleche Wallonne, 1984.  
Photo: Miroir du Cyclisme, Feb. 1985

Photo: Miroir du Cyclisme, Feb. 1985

Many may not remember that the Directeur Sportif for Leopard Trek this year (and with Riis at Saxo Bank in prior years), Denmark's Kim Andersen was quite the monster back in the day.

Here's a look back to the year he was at his peak of his powers: 1984.  That April, he soloed to win the Fleche Wallonne, after pulling along a nine man early break containing Henk Lubberding of Panasonic and eventual second place finisher Willi Tackaert.  Andersen left them all, and authored a long solo to a four minute victory.

The quinessential rouleur, Andersen was a master of the long solo escape.

Later that same year, he tried to pull off the same stunt during the World Road Championship on the hilly Montjuich circuit in Barcelona.  On a super hot day while other favorites like Hinault, Kelly and Moser wilted, he took his chance with a 45km solo.   This time, it didn't work.  The Italians chased, Kim was reeled back in, and like most that day, he ended on the sidelines.

Andersen's solo wasn't the only one that day.   His came after American Tom Broznowski's.  Broz had won the Nationals at Bear Mountain in NY '81 I recall, a pretty strong boy!

After that, Spain's Juan Fernandez gave it a go, but to no avail.  Finally, it was Claude Criquielion whose solo lasted to take the arc-en-ciel.  It was a day of one after the other heroic, suicidal efforts.  A killer-hard worlds.

Ah, the solo.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.   But every glorious time, it requires guts and character - as well as fitness and strength - just to even attempt.

Something that will fortunately never change in cycling.