Proper hard men.

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  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    RichN95 wrote:
    For the real hard men, you have to go back to the early years of the 20th century.

    For example: Honore Bartelemy (c+p) from Wiki:
    In 1920, says the Yellow Jersey Guide to the Tour de France, he crashed on the stage to Aix-en-Provence and only slowly got back on his bike, dazed and bloody. He could not bend his back and had to turn his handlebars upside down to be able to continue. As his dizziness lessened, he realised that what he thought was concussion was blindness. A flint had gone into an eye.

    Despite that, he finished not only that day but the Tour, coming eighth despite half-blindness, a broken shoulder and a dislocated wrist. He was carried in triumph at the finish. Nor did he stop racing when he was fitted with a glass eye. Dusty roads made it uncomfortable and he often took it out. The socket would then become infected and he would plug it with cotton.

    "It makes no difference to my sight but it's more comfortable," he said. The glass eye often fell out and in 1924 he had to get down on his knees on the finish line to see where it had gone. He grumbled that he spent more on replacement eyes than he earned in prizes.

    Who was the rider (Italian I think, pre Coppi but his name escapes me) that broke his collarbone and continued by tying an inner tube to his bars and gripping it in his teeth because he couldn't pull on the bars?
  • rhnb
    rhnb Posts: 324
    This ride by Eugenio Christophe has to be 'up there'...

    http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1910story.htm

    Only 4 finishers for a Milan-San Remo! and a month in hospital recovering from frostbite.

    Allan
    ~~~
    http://www.bikeit.eclipse.co.uk
    Cycle tour reports and the home of \'Cycling Before Lycra\'
  • shakey88
    shakey88 Posts: 289
    Who was the rider (Italian I think, pre Coppi but his name escapes me) that broke his collarbone and continued by tying an inner tube to his bars and gripping it in his teeth because he couldn't pull on the bars?[/quote]
    that would be fiorenzo magni in the 1965 giro.he fell and broke his collarbone on stage 12.
    He then fell off again on stage 16 on the same arm this time breaking his humerus(not funny)
    They put him in an ambulance but he climbed out and got back on his bike,determined not to abandon his final giro.
    He then went ove the stelvio on stage 19 and eventually finished 2nd to charly gaul.
    One hard b986stard!
  • shakey88
    shakey88 Posts: 289
    rhnb wrote:
    This ride by Eugenio Christophe has to be 'up there'...

    http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1910story.htm

    Only 4 finishers for a Milan-San Remo! and a month in hospital recovering from frostbite.

    Allan

    Proper 'ard
  • carrock
    carrock Posts: 1,103
    slightly off topic but always remember Kevin Keegan on a track bike racing in Superstars in the 1970's falling off and flaying all the skin off his back, then getting back on the bike more or less straight away

    Can't imagine today's footballers doing that somehow!!
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    NapoleonD wrote:
    What about Hampsten on the Gavia in 88?

    andy.jpg

    What is often forgotten about that day is that Eric Breukink caught Hampsten on the descent and finished ahead of him. Hampsten seems to get all the kudos becuase he went on to win the race, that said it was a great brillaint ride by him in horrendous conditions.
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    rhnb wrote:
    This ride by Eugenio Christophe has to be 'up there'...

    http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1910story.htm

    Only 4 finishers for a Milan-San Remo! and a month in hospital recovering from frostbite.

    Allan

    Taking into account the bikes, weather condiions,road surfaces etc of early part of the century for me this is the best account of them all.
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • shakey88
    shakey88 Posts: 289
    Moray Gub wrote:
    rhnb wrote:
    This ride by Eugenio Christophe has to be 'up there'...

    http://www.milansanremo.co.uk/1910story.htm

    Only 4 finishers for a Milan-San Remo! and a month in hospital recovering from frostbite.

    Allan

    Taking into account the bikes, weather condiions,road surfaces etc of early part of the century for me this is the best account of them all.

    +1
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    shakey88 wrote:
    Who was the rider (Italian I think, pre Coppi but his name escapes me) that broke his collarbone and continued by tying an inner tube to his bars and gripping it in his teeth because he couldn't pull on the bars?
    that would be fiorenzo magni in the 1965 giro.he fell and broke his collarbone on stage 12.
    He then fell off again on stage 16 on the same arm this time breaking his humerus(not funny)
    They put him in an ambulance but he climbed out and got back on his bike,determined not to abandon his final giro.
    He then went ove the stelvio on stage 19 and eventually finished 2nd to charly gaul.
    One hard b986stard![/quote]

    That's the one. Wasn't it 55 though?

    Was going to mention Bartali as well, then remembered that he pulled out of the tour because a Frenchman threatened him with a sausage, or something :wink: His exploits during the war though should single him out for some sort of hard b*stard award. A great man, on and off the bike.
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,170
    Moray Gub wrote:
    NapoleonD wrote:
    What about Hampsten on the Gavia in 88?

    andy.jpg

    What is often forgotten about that day is that Eric Breukink caught Hampsten on the descent and finished ahead of him. Hampsten seems to get all the kudos becuase he went on to win the race, that said it was a great brillaint ride by him in horrendous conditions.

    Just out of interest - what tyres would they be using in those condititons?
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Hinault & Kelly of the more modern era.

    Just reading Olympic Gangster about Jose Beyeart, the 1948 Olympic champion - he was proper 'nails' his story about his run-in with Bartali's minder in the Giro made him one guy you'd never cross. In later life was an Emerald dealer in Columbia, had contacts with the 'cartels' and was alleged to have bumped-off a former associate.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    AndyRAC wrote:

    What is often forgotten about that day is that Eric Breukink caught Hampsten on the descent and finished ahead of him. Hampsten seems to get all the kudos becuase he went on to win the race, that said it was a great brillaint ride by him in horrendous conditions.

    Just out of interest - what tyres would they be using in those condititons?[/quote]

    They didn't have tyres back in 'em days. They were too hard for all that poncy stuff :wink:
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    I heard Hinault punctured, ripped the tubs off with his teeth and rode the last 50km on bare rims - he'd had a fall-out with Clement, his tyre sponsor and wanted to prove a point :wink:
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    Monty Dog wrote:
    I heard Hinault punctured, ripped the tubs off with his teeth and rode the last 50km on bare rims - he'd had a fall-out with Clement, his tyre sponsor and wanted to prove a point :wink:

    Nah mate, you're well off there. He'd had an argument with mavic as well, so he took the wheels off too and rode back without them. He then showed his tadger to a joutnalist!!*















    * Some of this is true!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,162
    Sean Yates was a tough character and also Phil Anderson. I would also add Backstedt to the list.

    Not forgetting Landis riding with a broken collar bone in the Tour :wink:
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    Ludo Dierckxsens always came across as a hardy sort.
    http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureuru ... eurid=8233

    Think he used to spray trucks in the DAF factory before he got his break as a full time pro. Never had a great deal of sucess at the top level but was 2nd in the 1993 U23 Ronde and 1999 Belgian Road Champ.
    It's a Lifestyle! -+-+- Coggan Training Levels
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Pross wrote:
    Not forgetting Landis riding with a broken collar bone in the Tour :wink:

    Don't you mean Tyler Hamilton?
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    Johan Museeuw seemed to me to be something of a "gorilla on a bike".
  • Le Commentateur
    Le Commentateur Posts: 4,099
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Not forgetting Landis riding with a broken collar bone in the Tour :wink:

    Don't you mean Tyler Hamilton?
    Similar hero-to-zero career trajectories, so confusion understandable.
    Un uomo solo al commando
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    But come to think of it, didn't Floyd have problems with his hip? And didn't Simon break his collarbone in the '83 (?) Tour whilst leading the race and carry on for several days before pulling out?

    Whereas Kelly broke his collarbone in '87 and didn't even finish the stage. Lightweight :D
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    Speaking of Museeuw - definite hard man. Was very happy to do it the hard way, sans juice or otherwise

    eeeerm :(
    http://cyclinganddesign.blogspot.fr/
  • Chip \'oyler
    Chip \'oyler Posts: 2,323
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.
    Expertly coached by http://www.vitessecyclecoaching.co.uk/

    http://vineristi.wordpress.com - the blog for Viner owners and lovers!
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    Chip \'oyler wrote:
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.

    He loses big "Hard Points" though for resorting to using Rockshox in Paris-Roubaix. Real hard men would never resort to such softness :wink:
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,162
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Not forgetting Landis riding with a broken collar bone in the Tour :wink:

    Don't you mean Tyler Hamilton?

    Was it Hamilton? :oops: Age is catching up with me mentally as well as physically! I just remember the fuss in the media about how much he'd ground his teeth down on the stage.

    Abdu showed signs of being hard after the Champs Elysee crash but any ex Soviet in those times was probably incapable of feeling any pain :wink:
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Garry H wrote:
    Chip \'oyler wrote:
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.

    He loses big "Hard Points" though for resorting to using Rockshox in Paris-Roubaix. Real hard men would never resort to such softness :wink:

    That rules out Museeuw then, he used a full suspension Bianchi in the '94 Roubaix.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    Garry H wrote:
    Chip \'oyler wrote:
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.

    He loses big "Hard Points" though for resorting to using Rockshox in Paris-Roubaix. Real hard men would never resort to such softness :wink:

    That rules out Museeuw then, he used a full suspension Bianchi in the '94 Roubaix.

    I disagree. That makes him a SMART hard guy. :wink:
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    Garry H wrote:
    Chip \'oyler wrote:
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.

    He loses big "Hard Points" though for resorting to using Rockshox in Paris-Roubaix. Real hard men would never resort to such softness :wink:

    That rules out Museeuw then, he used a full suspension Bianchi in the '94 Roubaix.

    Indeed, strike him off the list! Mind you, he did sustain a career threatening leg injury during one of the editions and came back to win again. But hang on a sec, him and two of his Mapei Mafia (Tafi and someone, was it Bartolami or Ballerini?) did ruin the 100th edition by pussy-footing over who should cross the line first. If he was proper hard, he would have jumped off his bike and beaten the other two to within an inch of their lives, before doing a no-handed wheely over the finish line :lol:
  • Garry H
    Garry H Posts: 6,639
    dennisn wrote:
    greasedscotsman wrote:
    Garry H wrote:
    Chip \'oyler wrote:
    Has anybody mentioned Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle?

    He looked like the sort of fella who could have got to the bar at a rough pub in Castleford.

    He loses big "Hard Points" though for resorting to using Rockshox in Paris-Roubaix. Real hard men would never resort to such softness :wink:

    That rules out Museeuw then, he used a full suspension Bianchi in the '94 Roubaix.

    I disagree. That makes him a SMART hard guy. :wink:

    Being smart is tantamount to cheating, he may as well have stuck a needle in his arm :wink:
  • greasedscotsman
    greasedscotsman Posts: 6,962
    Garry H wrote:
    Being smart is tantamount to cheating, he may as well have stuck a needle in his arm :wink:

    A proper hard man wouldn't use his arm, he'd inject through his eyes :shock:
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    As far as I am concerned, Hamilton has no place on this list, not because of his misdemenours, but because he was a skinny little climber.

    For my list I want 75+kg men with faces like shovels from years of riding over horrible windy, wet, badly made roads. Then they go and win races by just being harder and stronger than everyone else, by saying "you know what? I feel so good I'm gonna go from 40km out, in one of the hardest days of racing in the calendar".

    I.e. Not Iban Mayo.
    _

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