The sTory of Mourenx
Transcription
The sTory of Mourenx
The story of Mourenx ‘69 is all about courage and endurance. It’s about a man who took part in the Tour de France for the first time and immediately surpassed all expectations by coming top of General, Points and Mountains classifications and authoritatively winning the race. To this day many keep claiming he was the greatest cyclist ever. His name is Eddy Merckx. gn e Di l gn e G M ran ot d te e- ve rd ia ux Br ea nç on o Ch le non am s- Ba on in ix s Th er m D on le ivo ts- nn Fe Ba err in an s d Cl Dô y d m u e Pu M on Eddy merckx’s victories La Re Bo ta ul is M rg l us ei ho èt ris Cr Pa e e- aa er x re ric Pi ai st t- ub in M Sa Ro y ht Ch M arle éz v iè ill re e- uw nc ol Na W stages ba y x 22 Au ud ar en n r na o u el h st c Ca Lu o 130 contestants — 13 teams 56 edition M th climbs 15.07.1969 — 17 th stage — 214,50 km luchon > Mourenx Col de Peyresourde [cat. 2] 1569 m Col d’Aspin [cat. 2] 1489 m Col du Tourmalet [cat. 1]2 115 m Col d’Aubisque [beyond category] 1709 m Joaquin GALERA MAGDELANO Joaquin GALERA MAGDELANO eddy merckx eddy merckx 1 Eddy Merckx BEL 2 Michele Dancelli 7M56S ITA 3 Martin Van Den BosscheBEL 7M57S 4 André Bayssiere FRA 5 Roger Pingeon FRA S.T. S.T. 6 Jean-Claude Theillière FRA S.T. 7 André Zimmermann FRA 8 Raymond Poulidor FRA S.T. S.T. 9 Jan Janssen NL 10 marinus Wagtmans NL 14M47S 14M48S Admired revered envied It’s the morning of 15 July 1969 and Merckx is two-thirds through his first Tour. Stage 17 promises to be a tough one. There are four gruellingly steep cols on the programme, followed by a 75 kilometre quick ride to the finish itself in the industrial town of Mourenx. Since the beginning of this Tour, Merckx has scored 4 wins and built up an 8 minute overall lead. Journalists and sports commentators agree by now that victory beckons for him. And he is determined to cross the finishing line in Paris with the winner’s jersey on his back. All he has to do is to foil any of his contenders’ escape attempts and keep up with the pack, which is precisely what any of his rivals would do. But Merckx never misses an opportunity to win a race. Even when it’s not strictly necessary he still goes to the limit… And beyond. Mental strength and tenacity have made him a superior rider who commands admiration among many. In some quarters, however, veneration has given way to envy, which has led his rivals to nickname him ‘the cannibal’. When asked about his tremendous urge to win, Merckx sometimes hints at uncertainty and even fear of failure that have plagued him all through his career. You’re never certain of winning. You can always have a bad day, no matter how much of a lead you have. The bigger the lead you have, the more time you have to play with. You can lose 10 minutes on a bad day. It can always happen. On his way to the start of stage 17, Merckx doesn’t look too happy. There is a rumour going around that some overambitious newcomer wants to grab victory on the Tourmalet. Although this poses no real threat to his leadership Merckx has no intention to let that happen. From the start of the ride he never loses sight of his challenger. In the mountains, cyclists use low gear. They typically combine the 39 or 41 tooth chainring and the 21 or 23 tooth sprocket on the back wheel. But near the top of the Tourmalet Merckx shifts upwards to an unusually high gear by combining the 53 tooth chainring with a 17 tooth sprocket. For a motor vehicle, it would be like shifting from first to fourth gear. And before anyone realises what is happening, breaks away from the pack. A few minutes later he catches up with his challenger and sprints past him to the summit. Feeling really good about his timely intervention he begins the descent, half expecting the lead group to catch up with him at the end of the descent. But quite the opposite happens. By the time he reaches the flat roads again he has built up a 42 second lead. Slightly confused, he slows down, but his pursuers seem not to have recovered yet from his dramatic solo breakaway. Merckx decides to push through with his escape and embarks on a lonely and seemingly endless battle. When he reaches the foot of the Aubisque, he has amassed one minute’s lead and by setting a searing pace he succeeds in extending his lead even further to five minutes at the summit. It is not the first time Merckx pulls off such a spectacular escape. In the preceding weeks, the other racers have grown accustomed to him striking at the most unexpected moments. And those brave enough to pursue him have discovered to their shame there is no stopping him. Years later, commenting on this 17th stage Merckx would say that passion drove him. It was not merely a question of winning, but of fulfilling what you were given, to the best of your ability. overwhelmed by the win It is a stifling hot day, but Merckx appears to be physically and mentally fresh when he tackles the foot of the Aubisque. Although he has been riding all alone since his breakaway on the Tourmalet, this fourth col isn’t much of a challenge for him, and he extends his lead to 8 minutes. Everyone is convinced by now that he is going to complete the remaining 75 kilometres in total comfort, but in Laruns, 56 kilometres from the finish line, he suddenly feels a hunger pang. His physical powers quickly slip away, and he starts sweating excessively. Over a distance of barely 16 kilometres two minutes are cut out of his lead. He stays focused, does not panic and slows down to eat. But the pain lingers and during the last twenty kilometres it engulfs his whole body. With his solo escape, Merckx doubles his lead in the standings to 16 minutes and ends the tour as a contest. His victory at Mourenx is an epic feat that required four hours of superior endurance, endless willpower and total commitment. It was the highlight of my career. The win overwhelmed me. he would say a few years later. Mourenx amounts to a superhuman achievement that sets Merckx apart from his peers and places him among the truly great sportsmen in history. To this day it keeps overwhelming and inspiring Merckx’s admirers. It makes them dream of their own long escapes… general classification 1 Eddy Merckx 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Roger Pingeon Raymond Poulidor Felice Gimondi Andrés Gandarias Marinus Wagtmans Pierfranco Vianelli Joaquim Agostinho 9 Désiré Letort 10 Jan Janssen 11 Joaquin Galera 12Lucien van Impe 13 Jean-Claude Theillière 14 Wladimiro Panizza 15 Eddy Schutz 16 Jean Dumont 17 Paul Gutty 18Herman Van Springel 19Eduardo Castello 20 Michele Dancelli 21Francisco Galdos 22 José-Manuel Lopez-Rodriguez 23 Martin Vandenbossche 24 Francisco Gabica 25Bernard Labourdette 26 André Zimmermann 27 Wilfried David 28 Jozef Spruyt 29 Victor Van Schil 30Lucien Aimar 31 André Bayssiere 32 Derek Harrison 33 André Poppe 34Stéphane Abrahamian 35 Maurice Izier 36 Dino Zandegu 37Raymond Delisle 38Domingo Perurena 39Franco Balmamion 40Edward Janssens 41Santiago Lazcano 42 Christian Raymond 43 Giancarlo Ferretti 44 Roger Swerts 45 Gilbert Bellone 46 Jean-Claude Lebaube 47 Manuel Galera 48 Jean Vidament 49 Evert Dolman 50 Bernard Guyot 51 Roberto Poggiali 52 Wilfried Peffgen 53Roland Berland 54 Francis Rigon 55 Robert Bouloux 56Georges Vandenberghe 57Ferdinand Bracke 58 José Gomez-Lucas 59 Pietro Scandelli 60 Jaak De Boever 61Nemesio Jiménez 62 Jean-Louis Bodin 63 Cees Haast 64 Juul Van Der Flaas 65 Gerben Karstens 66 José Catieau 67 Barry Hoban 68 Jean-Pierre Genet 69 Mario Anni 70 Edouard Delberghe 71 Michael Wright 72 Julien Stevens 73 Giacinto Santambrogio 74 Michel Coulon 75 Paul In't Ven 76Frans Mintjens 77Guido Reybrouck 78 Harm Ottenbros 79 Eric Leman 80Raymond Riotte 81 Pietro Guerra 82 Marc De Block 83 Eddy Beugels 84Roger Cooreman 85 Pierre Matignon 86 André Wilhelm points classification 1 Eddy Merckx 2 Jan Janssen 3 Marinus Wagtmans 4 Roger Pingeon 5 Felice Gimondi 6 Raymond Poulidor 7 Michele Dancelli 8 Joaquim Agostinho 9 Andrés Gandarias 10 Harm Ottenbros Mountains 1 Eddy Merckx • • • 2 Roger Pingeon • • • 3 Joaquim Galera • • • 4 Paul Gutty • • • 5 Andrés Gandarias • • • 6 Fe classification lice Gimondi ••• 7 Raymond Poulidor ••• 8 Martin Vandenbossche ••• 9 Raymond Delisle ••• 10 Wladimiro Panizza CLASSIFICATION COMBINATION 1 Faema 2 Roger Pingeon 2 Peugeot 3 Felice Gimondi 4 Raymond Poulidor 5 Andrés Gandarias 3 Kas 4 Fagor 5 Frimatic 6 Salvarani COMBATIVITY AWARD 7 Mercier 1 Eddy Merckx 2 Joaquim Agostinho 3 Michele Dancelli 8 Molteni 9 Sonolor 10 B ic 11 Flandria 4 Felice Gimondi 12 W illem II 5 Andrés Gandarias 13 M ann team classification 1 Eddy Merckx FAEMA team MATES (Italian acronym: Fabbrica Apparecchiature Elettromeccaniche e Affini) primarily engaged in the production of espresso machines, was founded in 1945 by Carlo Ernesto Valente, in Milan, Italy. Faema was to become synonymous with the post-war production boom in Italy, by actively pursuing technological innovation as the company’s driving force. FRANS MINTJENS Guido Reybrouck pietro scandelli • GP Pino Cerami (1969) • Belgium Road Race • 1 stage Giro d’Italia (1966) 23.11.1946 — bel 25.12.1941 — bel Championship (1966) • Amstel Gold Race (1969) • Paris-Tours (1964, 1966, 1968) • Züri-Metzgete (1964) • 3 stages Giro d’Italia • 6 stages Tour de France • 4 stages and points classification (1970) Vuelta a Espana 16.11.1941 — ita Joseph Spruyt julien stevens roger swerts GEORGES Vandenberghe Martin Van Den Bossche Victor Van schil • 3 stages Tour de France • Brabanste Pijl (1971) • Belgium Champion Track Cycling • 1 stage Tour de France • 1 stage Vuelta a Espana • Belgium National Road • 1 stage Tour de France • 1 stage Giro d’Italia • Mountains classification • Brabantse Pijl (1968) • 2 stages Vuelta a Espana 25.02.1943— bel That was never seen from a leader in the Tour. 25.02.1943— bel 28.12.1942— bel Race Champion • Züri-Metzgete (1969) • 2 stages Giro d’Italia • 5 stages Vuelta a Espana 28.12.1941— bel 10.03.1941— bel Giro d’Italia (1970) 21.12.1939— bel Léon Zitrone photo credits: Tonny Strouken - All rights reserved. Bravo Merckx. C’est un seigneur.