The Virtual Musette: A Road Cycling Blog

Although Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi were the two most prominent examples of those who had careers interrupted by WWII, two other great cyclists from their era also suffered similar fates - Switzerland’s Ferdi Kubler (photo, right)  and the “third” great Italian, Fiorenzo Magni. Kubler, who was the Tour winner in 1950 and World Champion of 1951, had turned professional in 1940. Magni, who turned pro in 1941, was a three-time Giro champion (’48,’51 and ’55) and is still the only three-time consecutive Flanders winner (’49-’51).

Those four great champions all lost roughly five years from their careers, yet still managed to amass an incredible number of victories in the most prestigious races. By the late 40’s they not only had to compete amongst themselves for wins, but by then both Switzerland’s Hugo Koblet (the first after Bartali and Coppi to win both the Giro and Tour), and France’s Louison Bobet (the first three-time consecutive Tour de France winner, ’53-‘55) had also entered the scene; it was truly the Golden Age of Cycling. Once again we have to wonder just how many more significant wins could have been gained by Bartali, Coppi, Magni and Kubler from ’41-’45 when there were two fewer legends of the sport vying for those same victories.

To help add some context to all those lost war years, imagine if we were to erase five years of results from two of cycling’s more recent legends, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. Further, how would the palmares of both “The Badger” and “Big Mig” now look if we removed those years when they were at the height of their powers, about six years after they had turned professional, similar to Bartali’s situation. Hinault, who turned pro in 1975, would lose the years ’81-’85. For Indurain, who turned pro in 1984, we would erase the years ’90-‘94.

Bernard Hinault won an amazing 10 Grand Tours during his career, second only to Eddy Merckx who bagged 11 victories. Hinault stands alone as the only cyclist to have won every Grand Tour more than once – five Tours de France, three Giro, and two Vueltas. He also had nine Classic victories, which included three of the five Monuments (Paris-Roubaix, Liege, and Lombardia). Hinault was also World Champion in 1980. If we were to remove the results of ’81-’85, his list of major accomplishments would have been as follows:

Tour de France, 1978 and 1979

Giro d’Italia, 1980

Vuelta, 1978

Liege, 1977

Lombardia, 1979

World Championship, 1980

Eight of Hinault’s 12 Grand Tour podiums would have been erased, along with six of his ten outright victories (three Tours, two Giro, and one Vuelta). Gone too would be his sole Paris-Roubaix victory of 1981. All told, still a very illustrious career, but based on my scoring system, “The Badger” would drop from one of the highest ranked riders down to around 15^th place.

Miguel Indurain was the first five-time consecutive Tour de France winner (’91-’95). In the midst of this phenomenal string of victories he also won the Giro twice, and in back-to-back years for good measure (‘92-’93). If we were to remove five of his peak years (’90-’91), the results would obviously be devastating. In the end, Indurain would have wound up with only one Tour victory in 1995, and would not have amassed even enough points to make the list of the Top 50 greatest cyclists. If “Big Mig” had suffered a five year career interruption in his sixth year as a pro, like Bartali, his true potential would have never been revealed. Indurain’s results prior to 1991 were certainly no indication of the dominance that was to follow, as his highest Tour placing up to that point was a 10^th in 1990.

I am in no way trying to diminish the accomplishments of either Hinault or Indurain in the above examples, but rather illustrate what was potentially lost by all the great champions during the war years. I don’t see how any type of ranking system, which is based on points scored in races, can properly address this issue unless some type of adjustment is made to compensate for these missing years. I’ll lay out my solution to this problem in the conclusion of this series.

As always, thanks for reading.

Photo Credits:  Ferdi Kubler, Aldo's Pic of the Day; Bernard Hinault, Memoire du cyclisme/Jean-Marie Letailleur; Miguel Indurain, cdlibre.org 

Earlier in the year I posted the trailer to the Road to Roubaix documentary, and this morning the following arrived in my inbox:

I know this is making the rounds at the Bicycle Film Festival, which is not coming to my area.  For those of you who have had a chance to see Road to Roubaix, it would be great if you could let us know what you think by leaving a comment.  I'll be posting a review as soon as I can.

Here is the link to the production company with pre-ordering information.

This article is the first in another series, which also part of a greater whole – a point system which has then been used to rank the greatest of riders in the professional sport since WWII. To keep all the various articles/posts related to this theme organized, I’ve created a new link located in the Navigation section to the left which is titled The Top 25 Cyclists of the Modern Era. Hopefully, this will lend some cohesion to this project, which was originally only going to be several articles long, but has since grown arms and legs; it has taken on a life of its own.

For the next several articles I’ll be examining the missing years; those years that a cyclist was unable to compete due to war, injury or illness. Other ranking systems have been content to simply acknowledge these gaps in a rider’s career, and have gone no further. In light of the huge impact these missing years had on certain careers, I felt compelled to actually make adjustments to the raw scores cyclists achieved through my point system. I’ll explain the way these points were awarded, and the adjustments made, in a subsequent article. Hopefully, some of the following background material will help explain why I chose such a different path.

WWII – Gino and Fausto

WWII effectively shut down professional road racing. The Tour de France was not held from 1940-1946, and there were no editions of the Giro d’Italia from 1941-1945. Four of cycling’s greatest one day races (Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the Giro di Lombardia) had all experienced interruptions lasting two to three years. Even when some of the marquee events were still held, there was never a true gathering of the world’s best. Fortunately, the greatest champions of the period did survive the war, and even managed to do so with their limbs intact, unlike so many of their counterparts from WWI.

Most professionals who had been active at the start of the war had at least five years of their careers carved away, including both Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi (photos, left and above right). Certainly Coppi’s palmares would have been far greater, but it was his greatest rival, Bartali, who was actually robbed of his best cycling years.

Gino Bartali (photo right) turned professional in 1935, and won the Giro d’Italia in 1936 and 1937. He looked well on his way to victory in his first Tour de France appearance in 1937 when he crashed while descending the Galibier, his injuries eventually forcing him to withdraw from the race while still in the yellow jersey. The following year he confirmed his place history by winning 1938 Tour, becoming the first man to win both of cycling’s premier stage races. Gino was primed to go on rampage, the likes of which had never been seen, but in a cruel twist of fate he would have to wait eight long years to taste victory in another Grand Tour. In 1939 he was prevented from defending his Tour win; the fascist Italian government opted to forego sending their riders to France. A crash in the 1940 Giro effectively took Gino out of contention (young neo pro Coppi, who Gino himself had recruited, was the eventual winner), and once again Italy would be absent from that year’s Tour de France. By 1941 war had engulfed the entire continent, and Gino Bartali’s peak years would forever be lost.

How many more prestigious races might Bartali have won, had war not interrupted his career? Certainly, he would have added more Grand Tours, Classics, and perhaps even that missing World Championship title to his long list of victories. Coppi (photo left) would have had his share of wins, no doubt, but he had just turned pro at the beginning of the war, and could well have taken a few years to fully develop. Further, he chose to wait until he was twenty-seven before even participating in his first Tour de France (in 1949, which he won). Lastly, Coppi was very prone to illness and injury; his fragile constitution was perhaps his greatest weakness. Had he raced throughout the war years, there’s probably a good chance he would have been sidelined for at least for some of the time, for one reason or another. It certainly begs the question: if not for WWII, would it now be Gino Bartali, rather than Fausto Coppi, who is remembered as Italy’s greatest cycling legend?

Despite the long five year break from racing, Bartali wasted little time in reminding the cycling world that one of its great champions had returned. In 1946 Gino claimed victory in his first Grand Tour appearance since 1940, defeating none other than his former protégé, Fausto Coppi. In 1948 Bartali would again etch his name in the record books when he became the only man to go a full decade between Tour de France victories, a record which stands to this day. Of course, by that time Gino was in his mid 30’s, and it would be his last Grand Tour victory; his best years were behind him, and Fausto Coppi’s had just begun.

This series will be continued with The Missing Years – War, Injury, and Illness, Part 2

Photo credits: Gino and Fausto, gsp.ro; Gino and Fausto, Virgin Media; Gino Bartali, library.thinkquest.org ; Fausto Coppi, ilcacciatore.com

I continue to throw my name in the hat for the various drawings and giveaways available through some of the sites I frequent, such as this one from CyclingNews. Of course by sharing this with all of you, my odds of winning a Rapha Condor Team Bike have now gone from 1 in 3 million to 1 in 3 million and five.

I recently came across a drawing with much better odds (read on), and the prize is just as nice. Would anyone like to be the proud owner of a brand spanking new Colnago CLX?

Now, unlike the Cyclingnews drawing, I can actually reap some benefit from sharing the particulars of how you too can get your name in the mix for this piece of carbon art.

Tyler Ford is the owner of both RoadBikeRides.com and its companion blog, Ride-Strong.com, and between the two sites he and his company, Outdoor Activities LLC, are giving away more than $25,000 worth of cash and merchandise.

The contest through RoadBikeRides.com is called the Race to the Yellow Jersey. Points are awarded for completing various activities such as submitting rides, pictures, videos, articles, reviews and other information about local rides, bike shops, and food stops in your area.

This particular contest is going to require a little effort on your part, but check out this prize list:

• Grand Prize: $10,000 and a free entry to ride in the El Tour De Tucson
• 2^nd Place : An Orbea Orca bike (worth about $5,400)
• 3^rd Place : Zipp 404 Clincher wheel set
• 4^th-10^th Place: Garmin Edge

The details, rules, terms, and conditions can be found here.

Okay, now back to that Colnago CLX. This bike will be given away via a drawing through the Ride-Strong blog. Here’s all you gotta do:

1. Subscribe to the Ride-Strong RSS feed
2. Subscribe to the free Ride-Strong newsletter
3. Take a quick survey

That’s it folks. It’s that easy. You can also increase your odds by contributing $10 to the Ride-Strong PayPal account (this will also guarantee that you don’t have to pay the shipping costs should you win).

Now, here’s the really important part: TYLER WILL CONDUCT THE DRAWING ONCE HE HAS 1,500 PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUBSCRIBED TO HIS FEED AND NEWSLETTER. It looks like he has about 700 at this point, so WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? The odds for winning a $5K bike don't get any better than this. Here is the entry link with the terms and conditions, so you too can be part of the drawing.

What it comes down to is this: The Team Chef can’t win his Colnago CLX until all five of his loyal readers rush over to Ride-Strong.com and enter the drawing. Yes, hope does spring eternal.

Although I had been to Chuck Schmidt’s Velo-Retro site before, it had been a while since I’d last visited. When I checked in a couple of weeks ago, I discovered some new things had been added to the already impressive line-up of hard to find items, most featuring vintage cycling images.

First, in keeping with the theme of this site, for the cyclist (or cyclist in your life) who has everything, check out these vintage musettes (image left).

What can one do with a musette? Well, straight from the horse’s mouth:

“These musettes are perfect for short day rides, runs to the store or post office, or any other ride where all you might need is a wallet, a windbreaker, and a place to put any goodies you might pick up! Wonderful for walking & hiking too..."

In addition to the six shown above, there are another six designs available. All are available for $19.95 (US).

Velo-Retro has always had a nice assortment of vintage T-shirts, but many more have recently been added. My favorite is this one featuring "The Pedaler of Charm," Hugo Koblet Other classic riders (who have, or will be, featured in The Virtual Musette) are also available: Andre Leducq, Eugene Christophe, Ottavio Bottecchia, Louison Bobet, Alfredo Binda, Fausto Coppi, and of course, Eddie Merckx. The shirts are produced on an as needed basis, so you can choose to have the images placed on either the front or back. Most shirts are priced at $19.95, and you have your choice of seventeen colors from which to pick; Velo-Retro will also accept international orders.

Also worth mentioning is the huge assortment of bike catalogue and brochure reproductions.

While you are visiting be sure to check out the Links section, as there is a  pretty extensive selection of sites for the vintage enthusiast.

All images compliments of Velo-Retro.

This is the final article of this series in which I’ve explored most of the major differences between the two great eras in professional road racing – the Heroic Era (pre 1938) and the Modern Era (1938 – present).

As a reminder, all this background is part of a larger project - a system created whereby points have been awarded for results achieved in all the important races on the professional calendar. In a few weeks I’ll reveal the scoring system, and the final rankings with The Team Chef’s Top 25 Riders of the Modern Era.

The Big Difference – Technology

No discussion comparing the two major eras would be complete without addressing perhaps the greatest difference between the two – the widespread use of the rear derailleur.

We take for granted the ease with which we change gears on a road bike, but it wasn’t always so. Up until the mid ’30 racing bikes typically had only two gears - one for climbing, and one for descending and the flats. These gears were changed by dismounting the bike, removing the rear wheel, flipping it around to access the gear on the other side of the hub, and finally reinstalling and tightening the wheel with wing nuts. All told, a rather onerous procedure and certainly not the most effective way of launching a surprise attack in an uphill effort. The rear derailleur changed all that, and by the late ‘30s racing up the steep mountain passes of the Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites would never be the same.

One common misconception is that Tullio Campagnolo (photo, above left) invented the rear derailleur. Although he did invent the quick release lever in 1930, the derailleur had already been in use by cyclo-tourists since 1905, long before Campagnolo entered the scene. The first widely used derailleur by racers was the one introduced in 1928 by bike shop owner Lucien Joy, and by the mid 30’s his Le Simplex derailleur was found on many racing bikes. In 1937 the Tour de France organizers finally lifted the ban against derailleurs, and France's Roger Lapebie used Oscar Egg's Super Champion model (aka Osgear, photo right) on every stage of his winning Tour de France ride.  Not surprisingly, he set the new average speed record (19.06 mph, 30.67 km/hr); besting the previous record (18.66 mph, 30.03 km/hr) set the year before. The effect of the derailleur was even more pronounced in the Giro d’Italia, as average speeds in Italy’s Grand Tour increased by almost 2 mph (3.2 km/hr) from 1933 to 1938.

Transition to the Modern Era

A combination of events would mark the end of the Heroic Era: Gino Bartali’s victory in the 1938 Tour de France, thus becoming the first man to win both the Giro and the Tour; the passing of the Tour’s founding father, Henri Desgrange, in 1940; and finally, the adoption of the rear derailleur, punctuated by Roger Lepabie’s Tour victory in 1937 (photo, left) . Although there is no definitive line in the sand separating the two eras, I have chosen 1938 as the starting point for the Modern Era.

Conclusion

Over the last four articles I’ve attempted demonstrate why I chose to create a ranking system for only those riders who belong to the Modern Era of cycling. In the final analysis there just proved to be too many differences between the two major time periods. It simply doesn’t make much sense trying to compare someone from the Heroic Era, such as back-to-back Tour winner of  '27-'28, Nicolas Frantz (photo, right), to one of his counterparts from the Modern Era, like Louison Bobet, who was the first three-time consecutive Tour winner (’53-’55).

To recap, the Heroic Era (pre 1938) was so different from the Modern Era (1938 - present) because:

1. Riders rarely traveled to compete in races outside of their home country.
2. Many important races didn’t exist for much of the Heroic Era (Fleche-Wallone, Ghent-Wevelgem, the Vuelta, the classification jerseys of the Grand Tours, and most importantly, the World Championships).
3. Many of the great champions perished in WWI.
4. Results in the early part of the era were in large part determined by individual efforts, rather than those of the team.
5. The Tour de France barely resembled the race it later became.
6. Grand Tour champions won either the Tour or Giro, not both.
7. The rear derailleur, along with its huge technological advantage, had yet to gain widespread acceptance in the professional sport.

One day I may go back and rank the riders from cycling’s earlier era, but for all the reasons listed above, I have confined my current scoring/ranking system to only those cyclists from the Modern Era. That said, many of the following Heroic Era champions should probably be included when discussing cycling’s all time greats: Lucien Petit-Breton, Octave Lapize, Phillipe Thys, Costante Girardengo, Ottavio Bottecchia, Learco Guerra, Nicolas Frantz, Andre Leducq, Antonin Magne, and of course, Alfredo Binda.

I’ll be starting a new series of articles with the next post, The Missing Years – Illness, Injury and War.

Photo credits: Young Tulio Campagnolo, Campy Only; Osgear, Classic Lightweights UK; Nicolas Frantz, isanhalt.de; Roger Lepabie, isanhalt.de

(Note to RSS/feed subscribers: many of my posts are written as “excerpts,” and as such, some feed aggregators do not display all the text and photos. I would encourage you to link directly to The Virtual Musette for the complete article.)

For those readers who may be joining this group of articles midstream, each one has been written so that it may be read independently of the others. This entire series (…Eras, Parts 1-4) is part of a larger work in progress, The Team Chef’s Top 25 Cyclists of the Modern Era.

Differences between the Heroic Era Tour de France and Giro d’Italia

Up to this point, I have been reviewing the major differences between the two main cycling eras, the Heroic (Pre 1938) and the Modern (1938-present). I’ve attempted to illustrate that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to compare great champions who competed in these different time periods. That said, given the differences between the Tour and Giro during the earlier time period, does it even make sense to compare Heroic Era Grand Tour champions?

Alfredo Binda (photo left and right) was perhaps the greatest champion of the Heroic Era. He won the Giro d’Italia five times (’25, ’27-’29, and ’33), which is record he shares with two other cycling immortals, Fausto Coppi and Eddy Merckx. En route to these five Giro victories, he captured 41 of its stages - a record which stood for 70 years, finally broken in 2003 when Mario Cipollini won his 42nd Giro stage (his last in the race). Binda was also World Champion three times (a record he shares with Rik van Steenbergen, Merckx, and Oscar Freire), was four times winner of the Tour of Lombardy, and twice winner of Milan-San Remo. Yet, despite these remarkable achievements, he never won the Tour de France. He did enter the race, but only once in 1930. Binda had to pull out of that Tour after falling far out of contention, the victim of crashes on two different stages.

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