Part 2 of the interview in Cycling with Eddy Merckx, following his 1969 Tour de France win.
With Vinokourov’s “A” sample testing positive for blood doping today, I should point out that Merckx was plagued with doping allegations in 1969, having withdrawn from the Giro d’Italia earlier in the year after strong accusations of drug use.
See the original from the 1986 Bianchi catalog on bulgier.net.
While I usually go from classically-styled bikes, there’s something elegant about the curves of this design that just strikes me. It seems fluid and alive. It’s like the bike is as muscular as the sprinters who ride it.
I don’t believe this was ever really a production model from Bianchi, but that it was mainly in the catalog for upscale value. (Though I imagine they would make one for you if you were willing to pay Whatever They Want.) The only thing I could find about the C-4 Project is from theC4 company’s website:
“The C4 frames made their debut in cycling competitions in May 1987, when the Bianchi racing team took part in the time lap of the Giro d’Italia (Cycling Tour of Italy) equipped with fork frames designed and produced by C4. These frames were a world preview for some characteristic components, such as the entire carbon monocoque construction without joints, the frame without saddle pipe, the adjustable seat pin all dimensions with three unique frame sizes, and the carbon monocoque front fork.”
If anyone has any other info about these bikes, please post in the comments.
A few photos from the 2007 Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race this weekend.
Mark Blackwelder on the right, riding a Russ Denny and a Veloshop rider (comment if you know who it is) riding a de Mayo Velosystems.
The bike on the right is a gorgeous new machine from Ira Ryan, with a vintage Raleigh-inspired paint job, and running what, from a distance, looked like a set of classic Suntour Superbe Pro track hubs.
From Cycling, Sept 9, 1967:
“FOR the third time in five years a Russian quartet came home victorious in the team pursuit, this time with the most convincing win one could possibly expect.
They smashed the Italians’ morale, rhythm, timing, everything, with a powerhouse display in the final– they even finished all four of their team together, 4-34.89, not the fastest of the series, but they already had had that from the qualifying round anyway.”
The sidebar discusses the disqualification of Ron Baensch (one of the riders in this photo) for using ephedrine. Ah, the days before EPO… One of the other riders disqualifed was Charly Grosskost, who “is the rider who was thrown out of the Tour de l’Avenir after being found in a drugged state by the side of the road in the Tour two years ago.”
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From Cycling, Sept. 9, 1967:
“Nine years’ professional sprint domination by the Italian school of sprinting came to an ignominious end at Amsterdam when young Patrick Sercu, the confident Belgian lad from Roeslare, who told Cycling three years ago that he would stay at the top for 20 years, won his first professional world championship from Giuseppe Beghetto in the most convincing manner.”
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Leading up to this weekend’s Eric Kautzky Memorial Track Race at Alpenrose Velodrome, I’m doing a short series on track cycling.
From Cycling, September 9, 1967:
During the 1967 Track Championships in Amsterdam.
“FRENCH ACE Michel Rousseau tried his wiles in the pro sprint against Italian Damiano.”
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From Cycling, December 9, 1967.
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“NOW RIDING towards his 41st six-day win is big Peter Post, unquestioned king of the big-time Sixes, and a rider whose forceful style has made him a favourite with crowds everywhere on road and track. Beaten by Merckx at Heerlen in the world championship and at Ghent in the Six, Peter still showed how to ride when he happed the world champion three times behind Derny pace. Will he take his record 41st Six at Amsterdam? The whole of Holland hopes and expects him to.”
Peter Post was a Dutch rider, who won the Zesdaagse Vlaanderen-Gent, or Six Days of Ghent, in 1966 (with Swissman Fritz Pfenninger) and 68 (with fellow Dutchman Leo Duyndam), but not in ‘67 to which the text refers. That’s the road world championships which he lost to Eddie in ‘67.
Post won the 1964 Paris-Roubaix, setting what is still the average speed record of 45.129 km/h, or 28 mph (!). I can’t imagine going his speed over pave, but I bet it was a dry day. Post later went on to be manager of several teams, including the infamous TI-Raleigh team during the 1970s.
Unfortunately, Post didn’t win the Six at Amsterdam in 1967, losing to Palle Lykke and Freddy Eugen from Denmark (results), but did win in 1969 with Belgian Romain DeLoof.
I bet you’ve never had your race canceled because of a livestock virus.
An epic battle of “DAVE NIE, agile Londoner with hopes for the Southern title” vs. “DEFENDING champion Keith Mernickle” vs. Picornavirus
From Cycling, December 9, 1967.
… in 1969.
“Walter Godefroot, on his own, has broken Eddy Merckx’s winning run by taking the greatest of all the classics, Paris-Roubaix, in the most unexpected manner, alone two-and-a-half minutes in the lead. The blond Flandrian, a Tokyo Olympic medallist, is renowned more for his sprint than for his time trialing, but in a race marked by hail, rain, snow and gale-force head winds, he used his sprinting only to escape from the bunches.”
From Cycling April 19, 1969:
