pick any retired Pro rider

2»

Comments

  • Lillywhite
    Lillywhite Posts: 742
    Dag Otto Laurenson

    Took my son to watch the Wincanton Classic at Brighton in 1989 and he had his 7 Eleven kit on (big fan :wink:) and we were on the sea front and Dag was out walking with his young baby and he crossed the road especially to sign my son's hat which we still have. Plenty of signatures including Chippo in his younger days before he was a big star.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,474
    Lillywhite wrote:
    Dag Otto Laurenson

    Took my son to watch the Wincanton Classic at Brighton in 1989 and he had his 7 Eleven kit on (big fan :wink:) and we were on the sea front and Dag was out walking with his young baby and he crossed the road especially to sign my son's hat which we still have. Plenty of signatures including Chippo in his younger days before he was a big star.

    Dag must've been very lost if he was in Brighton for the Wincaton Classic in 1989, it was held in Newcastle that year. :wink:
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,822
    Mario Chiesa

    breakaway epic fail

    thousands upon thousands of KM off the front year after year after year

    IIRC not one professional victory

    unless anybody knows better?
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • roadiesean
    roadiesean Posts: 577
    +1 Eros Poli, what a brilliant ride !
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,822
    roadiesean wrote:
    +1 Eros Poli, what a brilliant ride !

    remember him getting poleaxed on the arnberg that year as well...
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • Lillywhite
    Lillywhite Posts: 742
    andyp wrote:
    Dag must've been very lost if he was in Brighton for the Wincaton Classic in 1989, it was held in Newcastle that year. :wink:

    Yes, you are right :oops: . Saw the Newcastle race and my son now lives in the city. Franz Masseen won the event. Sean Kelly rode and was the World Cup winner.

    The Wincanton Classic in Brighton must have been the following year, 1990, and the first Stage of the Kelloggs Tour started in Brighton a couple of days later. I remember that Gianni Bugno won the Wincanton Classic that year.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wincanton_Classic
  • timoid.
    timoid. Posts: 3,133
    Was alway a big fan of Martin Earley. A bit of a forgotten man in the era of Kelly and Roche. He was a nails domestique with great climbing ability who took home the bacon in stage of the Giro and Tour. He was the rider that was always younger, better and harder than Kimmage and did a huge body of work to help Roche to his World Championship and Kelly to his Vuelta (and still finished top 20).
    It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
  • FransJacques
    FransJacques Posts: 2,148
    Frans Massen, good call, a decent classics man. Great pix in the mind's eye of him in Wordperfect kit on a blue Colnago.

    Doug Shapiro was a good dometique for 7-Eleven and lasted quite a while although you never heard about him. Tough guy for a team always in the throws of culture shock.

    Ludo Dierckxens - came to pro cycling really late from a dead end job and rode his butt off. Didn't win but showed well in hard-man races. Inspiration to watch.

    Wilfred Nelissen - shoulders of a power-lifter. Two huge crashes ended a budding career. Who can forget his dazed expression lying on the ground at a big tour pile up? A bit overshadowed by the many great sprinters at the time - the type we kind of miss today: Moncassain, Abdu, Cipo, but mainly Steels and Zabel probably stole a lot of wins from his palmares. I would have loved to see the frame movement in slow mo' of him at full pelt on a flexy alu Vitus with a 1" steerer - health and safety wouldn't allow that these days - everything has to be 1.25" or it "robs you of power".

    Bruno Cenghialta - for absolute grace on a bicycle. In the early 90's, world cycling productions VHS tapes of the classics was all the cycling I got apart from the tour. He was incredible to watch - being tall helped - kind of like big Mig. An Ariostea De Rosa with Delta brakes was one of the top pro bikes of the era. Prob 9 kgs now but who cared then? Reckon his Gewiss time was a bit shady....
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • disquieting_museeuws
    disquieting_museeuws Posts: 601
    Mario Chiesa pulled off the 1990 Trofeo Matteotti!

    Giovanni Fidanza - occasional winner, specialist in uphill sprints. One TDF stage, 1989. Eyebrows you could lose sheep in.

    He also shares a name with the hero of Conrad's novel Nostromo. The name is hidden deep in the narrative, discovering it was quite mystical for me as I studied the book at the height of the cyclist's career. I think I read Fidanza means 'fiancee'.

    Apols for nostalgic rambling!
  • emadden
    emadden Posts: 2,431
    Matchstick Man wrote:
    Soren Lilholt - rode for Histor Sigma and possessor of possibly the coolest ponytail outside of Lauren Fignon. No big wins but classy guy.

    +1 especially for riding with cool Time shoes, Oakleys and a beautiful Diamente with TSX tubing :lol::lol::D
    **************************************************
    www.dotcycling.com
    ***************************************************
  • Gazzetta67
    Gazzetta67 Posts: 1,890
    emadden wrote:
    Matchstick Man wrote:
    Soren Lilholt - rode for Histor Sigma and possessor of possibly the coolest ponytail outside of Lauren Fignon. No big wins but classy guy.

    +1 especially for riding with cool Time shoes, Oakleys and a beautiful Diamente with TSX tubing :lol::lol::D


    Sean Kelly had to be held back after Soren Lilholt put him in the gutter 1989 Tour in Luxembourg :D
  • Gazzetta67
    Gazzetta67 Posts: 1,890
    1989 Tour De France in Luxembourg - God is it really 21 years ago since my 1st tour as a spectator. :(
  • Matchstick Man
    Matchstick Man Posts: 565
    FransJacques wrote:
    Ludo Dierckxens - came to pro cycling really late from a dead end job and rode his butt off. Didn't win but showed well in hard-man races. Inspiration to watch..

    Belgian National Champion and TdF stage winner anyone?
  • deejay
    deejay Posts: 3,138
    Matchstick Man wrote:
    FransJacques wrote:
    Ludo Dierckxens - came to pro cycling really late from a dead end job and rode his butt off. Didn't win but showed well in hard-man races. Inspiration to watch..

    Belgian National Champion and TdF stage winner anyone?
    Yeh, 1999 Champion & the stage into St Etienne.
    1998 I had seen him towing the peloton (as he often did) in the Liege event and unusual for me I needed petrol to get to the boat.
    A motorway fill up and a Lotto service car pulled in, so I asked about Ludo and this surprised them. yeh, I'm a fan of his gutsy riding and it seems he retired before La Redoute after doing his workhorse.
    Organiser, National Championship 50 mile Time Trial 1972

Categories