Welkom!
» Log in
» Registreer een nieuw account
108th Tour de France (2.UWT) Stage 7»Vierzon›Le Creusot(249.1km)
Gepost door Clavan
De 7e etappe is met een afstand van bijna 250 kilometer de langste van de Ronde van Frankrijk. Het is zelfs de langste Touretappe in de afgelopen twintig jaar. Vooral in de tweede helft is het klauteren geblazen op korte klimmetjes.
Vertrekplaats Vierzon zat eerder al in Parijs-Nice en de Tour de l’Avenir, maar nog nooit in de Tour de France.
Het parcours van de 7e etappe is in de eerste 150 kilometer weinig opzienbarend. Daarna verandert het landschap en rijden de renners zo een heuvelklassieker binnen. Het terrein is geschikt voor mannen als Greg Van Avermaet, maar natuurlijk ook Marc Hirschi. De Zwitser won vorig jaar de vergelijkbare race naar Sarran.
Behalve een hele vracht niet-geclassificeerde stroken komen de renners over de Côte de Château-Chinon (3,2 kilometer à 5,3%), Côte de Glux-en-Genne (2,6 kilometer à 4,2%, maar eigenlijk klimt de weg al een kilometer of tien voor de renners de voet bereiken) en de Côte de la Croix de la Libération (4,6 kilometer à 5,3%). Je zou kunnen zeggen dat die laatste klim de finale inluidt, want direct uit de afdaling stuiten de coureurs op de Signal d’Uchon. Ze zijn dan bijna 225 kilometer onderweg.
De Signal d’Uchon is een klim van 5,7 kilometer met een gemiddeld stijgingspercentage van 5,7%, maar het is beter om te spreken van twee gedeeltes. De eerste helft stijgt met zo’n 6% gemiddeld. Daarna is het een stukje vlak, en zelfs een paar honderd meter dalend, en dan toont de Signal d’Uchon een heel ander gezicht. Eerst met bijna 1 kilometer à 9,4% en dan met 700 meter à 13,1%.
Na de afdaling gaat het nog eenmaal heuvelop. De Côte de la Gourloye is een klim van 2,4 kilometer à 5,3%. Wel een stuk gelijkmatiger dan de voorganger. De top ligt op 8 kilometer van de streep in Le Creusot.
Na de afdaling stijgt de weg in de laatste 1,5 kilometer vals plat naar de finish.
In finishplaats Le Creusot is de Tour voor de derde keer. Maar ditmaal komt er voor het eerst iemand juichend over de lijn, want de vorige keren arriveerden de renners op hun tijdritfiets in Le Creusot. In 1998 won Jan Ullrich en in 2006 was Serhiy Honchar de beste in de race tegen de klok.
1998 Stage 20: Saturday, August 1, Montceau les Mines - Le Creusot 52 km individual time trial.
Jan Ullrich: 1hr 3min 52sec
Bobby Julich @ 1min 1sec
Marco Pantani @ 2min 35sec
Dariusz Baranowski @ 3min 11sec
Andrei Teteriouk @ 3min 46sec
Viatcheslav Ekimov @ 3min 48sec
Christophe Rinero @ 3min 50sec
Riccardo Forconi @ 3min 55sec
Axel Merckx @ 3min 59sec
Roland Meier @ 4min 29sec
2006
1. Serhiy Gonchar (T-Mobile) 1hr 7min 45sec. 50.479 km/hr
2. Andreas Kloden (T-Mobile) @ 41sec
3. Floyd Landis (Phonak) @ 1min 11sec
4. Oscar Pereiro (Illes Balears) @ 2min 40sec
5. Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) @ 3min 18sec
6. David Zabriskle (CSC) @ 3min 35sec
7. Viatceslav Ekimov (Discovery) @ 3min 41sec
8. Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto) s.t.
9. Bert Grabsch (Phonak) @ 3min 43sec
10. Damiano Cunego (Lampre) @ 3min 44sec
11. David Millar (Saunier Duval) @ 4min 1sec
12. Joost Posthuma (Rabobank) @ 4min 3sec
13. Marcus Fothen (Gerolsteiner) @ 4min 15sec
14. Jens Voigt (CSC) @ 4min 16sec
15. Gustav Larsson (FDJ) @ 4min 21sec
16. Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) @ 4min 32sec
17. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) @ 4min 33sec
18. Nicolas Portal (Illes Balears) @ 4min 35sec
19. Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) s.t.
20. Carlos Sastre (CSC) @ 4min 42sec
Landis werd 3e en pakt de gele trui........maar ja
De eerste drie renners aan de meet krijgen 10, 6 en 4 bonificatieseconden. Daarnaast zijn er 8, 5 en 2 seconden te winnen op de Signal d’Uchon.
De 7e etappe van de Tour de France start om 11.00 uur en de race finisht naar verwachting rond 17.25 uur. Tijdens de zevende etappe naar Le Creusot kan het kwik oplopen naar een zomerse 25 graden. De wegen zullen er waarschijnlijk droog bij liggen in de lastige finale.
De zevende etappe van de 108e Tour de France is vrijdag van bij de start rechtstreeks te volgen via Eurosport 2, de Eurosport Player en GCN. Vanaf 12.15 uur is de koers ook te zien op Canvas en later op Eén. Vanaf 12.20 uur zendt ook NOS Sport de wedstrijd uit op NPO 1 en later op NPO 2.
GC after stage 6:
GC leader: Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix)
Mountains classification leader: Ide Schelling (Bora-hansgrohe)
Points classification leader: Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step)
Best young rider: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
Team classification leader: Jumbo-Visma
902.4 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 44.589 km/hr
1 MATHIEU VAN DER POEL ALPECIN-FENIX 20hr 9min 17sec
2 TADEJ POGACAR UAE TEAM EMIRATES @ 8sec
3 WOUT VAN AERT JUMBO-VISMA 0' 30''
4 JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP 0' 48''
5 ALEXEY LUTSENKO ASTANA-PREMIER TECH 1' 21''
6 PIERRE LATOUR TOTALENERGIES 1' 28''
7 RIGOBERTO URAN EF EDUCATION-NIPPO 1' 29''
8 JONAS VINGEGAARD JUMBO-VISMA 1' 43''
9 RICHARD CARAPAZ INEOS GRENADIERS 1' 44''
10 PRIMOŽ ROGLIČ JUMBO-VISMA 1' 48''
11 KASPER ASGREEN DECEUNINCK-QUICK STEP 1' 49''
12 GERAINT THOMAS INEOS GRENADIERS 1' 54''
13 WILCO KELDERMAN BORA-HANSGROHE 1' 56''
14 ENRIC MAS MOVISTAR 1' 58''
15 BAUKE MOLLEMA TREK-SEGAFREDO 2' 08''
16 JAKOB FUGLSANG ASTANA-PREMIER TECH 2' 16''
17 DAVID GAUDU GROUPAMA-FDJ 2' 35''
18 NAIRO QUINTANA ARKEA-SAMSIC 2' 45''
19 VINCENZO NIBALI TREK-SEGAFREDO 2' 55''
20 SERGIO ANDRES HIGUITA EF EDUCATION-NIPPO 3' 06''
21 PEIO BILBAO BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 3' 24''
22 JHOAN ESTEBAN CHAVES TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE s.t.
23 SØREN KRAGH ANDERSEN TEAM DSM 3' 38''
24 SERGIO LUIS HENAO QHUBEKA-NEXTHASH 3' 55''
25 RICHIE PORTE INEOS GRENADIERS 3' 58''
1951 Tour de France
38th edition: July 4- July 29, 1951
1951 Tour Quick Facts:
4,692 km ridden at an average speed of 32,694 km/hr.
123 starters and 66 classified finishers.
Fausto Coppi was too grief-stricken over the recent death of his brother Serse to effectively compete, leaving the way open for Hugo Koblet to ride one of the greatest races in Tour history.
This was the first time the Tour went over Mont Ventoux. This was also the first Tour to leave France's hexagonal circumference and visit France's interior.
This was the first time since 1926 the the Tour hadn't started in or near Paris
Hugo Koblet (Switzerland): 142hr 20min 14sec
Raphaël Géminiani (France) @ 22min
Lucien Lazaridès (France) @ 24min 16sec
Gino Bartali (Italy) @ 29min 9sec
Stan Ockers (Belgium) @ 32min 53sec
Pierre Barbotin (France) @ 36min 40sec
Fiorenzo Magni (Italy) @ 39min 14sec
Gilbert Bauvin (France East South-East) @ 45min 53sec
Bernardo Ruiz (Spain) @ 45min 55sec
Fausto Coppi (Italy) @ 46min 51sec
For the first time the Tour headed inland to the Massif Central, crossed Mont Ventoux and, unusually, started outside Paris. Until 1951 the Tour's route had followed the hexagonal outline of France, never venturing into the interior. Only one other time, in 1926, had the race not started in Paris. The 123 riders from 12 national and French regional teams set off on the 4,692 kilometer, 24-stage race going counter-clockwise (Pyrenees first) around France starting in Metz.
The 1951 Tour de France route with its new detour into the center of France.
Kübler and Koblet could hardly have been more opposite. Kübler with his large nose and smile that turned into a demonic grin when he was making a big effort was known as the "pedaling madman" or the "the Eagle of Adilswil" for the Swiss village where he grew up. Hugo Koblet was tall, beautiful like a Greek god, with undulating fair hair, clear eyes, and inimitable elegance. He was incredibly gifted. Koblet was nicknamed the "Pédaleur de Charme". L'Equipe called him "Apollo on a Bike". His effortless grace on a bicycle combined with his natural talent was in marked contrast to Kübler, who would thrash his bike into submission, white foam around his mouth, pedaling with an ungainly riding style.
Koblet made his name as a pursuiter. He was Swiss champion at the discipline every year from 1947 to 1954 and was the bronze medalist at the World Championships in 1947. In 1951 he was offered a place on the Swiss Tour team that did not include Kübler. With Koblet clearly the finest rider on the team, there would be no competition for team leadership.
Ferdy Kübler had a standout year in 1951, winning the World Championship, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Fleche Wallonne, and the Tours of Romandie and Switzerland. He also came in third in the Giro. Even without riding the Tour, Kübler's 1951 would have been a fine career for almost any other racer. It has been suggested that had Kübler ridden the Tour in 1951, he was to ride in support of Koblet. For that reason it was said that Kübler declined to ride the Tour that year.
Koblet's main rival should have been Fausto Coppi, but the legendary Italian had just buried his beloved brother Serse. That loss left Coppi in no condition for the Tour. Coppi's terrible grief manifested itself at one point in the Tour in a wave of nausea and vomiting.
The French had a team that could win the Tour, with Jean Robic, Louison Bobet and Raphaël Géminiani. Bobet was in good form. He was Champion of France and had won Milan–San Remo and the Criterium National. The French papers said Bobet was the favorite to win the Tour. Team strategy decided that Géminiani and Bobet would be co-leaders of the French team.
The Belgians had Stan Ockers leading their team. This was a superb field. Whoever wanted to win this Tour would have to earn it. Nobody expected Koblet, the playboy from Zurich, to be the final victor.
Among the French regional teams was Afrique du Nord, a team made of Algerian and Moroccan riders, which included Algerian Abdel Khader Zaaf, who had become something of a celebrity with the fans in 1950.
Koblet showed either his bravado or naivete on stage 1 when he attacked nearly from the gun. He was brought back by the peloton after 40 kilometers of chasing. A cautious truce fell between the main contenders.
Over the next 5 stages they crossed northern France. While the main contenders eyed each other cautiously, lesser riders took the glory and gained real time. In stage 4 Roger Levêque, a rider for the regional West-South-West team, broke away with 85 kilometers to go. His stage win earned him second place in the overall standings, a little over 2 minutes behind the Yellow Jersey, Bim Diederich of Luxembourg. By the end of stage 6 Levêque was in Yellow, having joined the day's winning break. The highest placed of the fancied contenders, Stan Ockers, was more than 13 minutes back.
Stage 7, an 85-kilometer Individual Time Trial between La Guerche and Angers, let Koblet lay down the gauntlet. He won the stage with an average speed of 40.583 kilometers an hour and moved up into third place on the General Classification.
Hugo Koblet riding in his economical, compact style.
The results of the time trial were not so clear at first. The timekeeper initially believed that Louison Bobet had bested Koblet. By his calculations Levêque was no longer the Yellow Jersey. Koblet and his manager protested that evening to Tour boss Jacques Goddet. Their concern was probably not that Levêque would unjustly lose his Yellow Jersey. They didn't want to give Bobet, a real threat to win the Tour, an unearned stage victory and a free full minute in bonus time. They showed Goddet that by virtue of the intermediate timings, Bobet's winning was a near impossibility. The timekeeper relented, Koblet was given the stage win, and Levêque had his Yellow Jersey returned. Koblet's pace was so fast that 12 riders were eliminated from the Tour for failing to make the time cutoff.
The stage results:
1. Hugo Koblet: 2 hours 5 minutes 40 seconds
2. Louison Bobet @ 59 seconds
3. Fausto Coppi @ 1 minute 4 seconds
4. Fiorenzo Magni @ 2 minutes 52 seconds
The General Classification was now:
1. Roger Levêque
2. Gilbert Bauvin @ 1 minute 19 seconds
3. Hugo Koblet @ 7 minutes 2 seconds
7. Louison Bobet @ 8 minutes 31 seconds
8. Fausto Coppi @ 9 minutes 6 seconds
11. Fiorenzo Magni @ 10 minutes 54 seconds
During the next 3 stages the race headed inland for the first time in Tour history and into the leg-sapping Massif Central. Raphaël Géminiani won stage 9. Ockers, Koblet and the rest of those who dreamed of Yellow in Paris finished just a little over a minute behind him. The next day, stage 10, Spanish rider Bernardo Ruiz was first over all 3 of the day's major rated climbs and then won the stage. He left most of the field over 7 minutes behind.
After stage 10, Levêque was still leading. Bauvin had closed to within 36 seconds of him. The eventual King of the Mountains winner, Raphaël Géminiani, was showing fine form and moved into fourth place overall at 6 minutes, 44 seconds. Koblet dropped back to sixth at 7 minutes, 7 seconds. Bobet, Coppi and Magni were clustered just a few minutes behind Koblet.
It was in stage 11 that Hugo Koblet became a Tour immortal. It was a transitional stage before the Pyrenees and the Alps. Conventional wisdom said that an attack here would be the equivalent of suicide. Koblet had no time for conventional wisdom. On the thirty-seventh kilometer with 135 kilometers to go, in baking hot weather, he escaped the peloton on a small climb with the French rider Louis Deprez.
The other contenders for the General Classification must have smiled to themselves at this act of folly. The Tour rookie was going to burn himself out with both the Pyrenees and the Alps yet to be climbed. After a few kilometers Deprez found Koblet's pace too fast and dropped back. The Swiss rider was now on his own. However, when the gap rose to 4 minutes the laughter ceased and the peloton began to chase back in earnest.
Bobet flatted. The 2 members of the French team who were working the hardest to pull the fleeing Swiss back were told to halt their efforts and go back to pace Bobet back up. Until Bobet and his teammates rejoined the peloton, only the Italians were working to recapture Koblet. The chase lost its momentum for a while.
With 70 kilometers to go Koblet still had a 3 minute lead. Now the big guns were taking serious turns at the front of the peloton. Coppi, Bartali, Bobet, Robic, Ockers, Magni, and Géminiani added their weight to the chase. The finest riders in the world were cooperating with each other, taking pulls at the front of the chasing peloton. Yet this group of cycling immortals still could not make an impression on Koblet's lead.
135 kilometers after he had made his attack Hugo Koblet entered the finish city of Agen. In the final kilometers of his great escape as he held off the entire peloton Koblet's face had shown no stress from the mighty effort. Before crossing the finish line Koblet took a sponge, wiped his face, and combed his hair. He had used the comb as a psychological weapon before. In the Tour of Switzerland he had combed his hair on the hardest climb to give the impression of ease. In reality he was suffering with hemorrhoids. But it fooled his rival, François Mahé, who gave up trying to stay with him.
Hugo Koblet during his epic stage 11 ride.
Koblet then calmly got off his bike and started his stopwatch to see what advantage he gained over the rest of the field, a move that was not just for show. He had reason to distrust the timekeepers as his experience in stage 7 shows. He wanted no repeat of that mistake. 2 minutes and 35 seconds later the rest of the peloton finally crossed the line, exhausted and astonished by Koblet's great escape.
Without exception the peloton and press poured praise onto Koblet. "That was a performance without equal. If there were two Koblets in the sport I would retire from cycling tomorrow... If he climbs like he races on the flat, then we can say good-bye to the Yellow Jersey. None of us will wear it. If he doesn't have any problems, then we can all start looking for another job," said Raphaël Géminiani. It was after this stage that singer Jacques Grello coined the phrase "Pédaleur de Charme."
L'Equipe described the elite pack of riders chasing Koblet as "...skeptical and disconcerted at first, then utterly mortified and fiercely vindictive." There was another error in timing. This time it deprived Bauvin of his rightful evening in Yellow after Koblet's great ride.
The General Classification after stage 11:
1. Roger Levêque
2. Gilbert Bauvin @ 36 seconds
3. Hugo Koblet @ 3 minutes 27 seconds
Stage 12 was the start of another great Tour legend. On the last day before the Pyrenees, the Tour took another unexpected twist. A 10-man breakaway gained 18 minutes, 16 seconds on the peloton and Wim Van Est, "Iron William" as he was known to his fans, was in the Yellow Jersey.
Stage 13, from Dax to Tarbes, included both the Tourmalet and the Aubisque. Van Est, the first Dutchman to wear Yellow, was not going to give up the lead without a fight.
He turned pro in 1949 at the age of 26. In 1950 Van Est won Bordeaux–Paris. In 1951 he was selected for membership in the Dutch national Tour de France team. Van Est had grown up poor and had never traveled. This was the first time he had ever seen, much less ridden up a major climb. Knowing that he wasn't a climber, he went off early so that he could finish with the leaders and keep his Yellow Jersey. He had never done a mountain descent and did his best to follow the line of the experienced riders.
Close to catching Ockers and Coppi, he flatted near the top of the Aubisque. Remounting, he joined Magni and tried to hold his wheel on the descent. Van Est crashed, remounted, and continued down the mountain. The descent of the Aubisque is considered very difficult with its hairpin turns hidden behind sharp corners.
He went too fast into a decreasing radius turn and lost control of his bike. He flew off the side of the cliff and ended up 20 meters (70 feet) below. Trees broke his fall. He was able to grab one and by not moving much, fell no further.
Van Est is pulled from the ravine. Photo courtesy Edwin Seldenthuis
Looking way down below, people could barely see that he was waving his arms. He was alive! How to get him out? There were no ropes, but there were tubular tires.
The mechanics and riders got together, made a rope of linked tires, and sent someone down the sheer cliff to rescue Van Est. When he got back up to the road, his first question was about his bike. He wanted to resume racing. He was forced to get into the waiting ambulance and go to the hospital for an examination. This was a bitter pill for the man in Yellow. He was fine, just a few bruises and scratches. The entire Dutch team quit in solidarity.
Van Est went on to win more Tour stages and wore Yellow for a while in both the 1955 and the 1958 Tours.
The Tour hits the Pyrenees.
Meanwhile the race forged on. Raphaël Géminiani was the first man to go over the Aubisque and then got into the winning move of the day along with teammate Nello Lauredi, Serafino Biagioni of Italy and Gilbert Bauvin. Indeed, Géminiani was first to cross the line but was judged to have broken the rules and was relegated back to fourth place. The result was that Biagioni took the stage and Gilbert Bauvin was finally in Yellow. Koblet, Coppi, Ockers and Magni finished 9 minutes, 14 seconds back. Koblet was now down to fifth on General Classification, nearly 13 minutes behind the leader and over 6 minutes behind Géminiani.
Stage 14. Once again the dramatic backdrop of the Pyrenees served as a breathtaking stage for the Giants of the Road. The 142 kilometers between Tarbes and Luchon included the Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde climbs. Coppi managed to forget his grief and display his awesome powers. He was the first man to cross the Aspin and Peyresourde while the field behind him was utterly shattered. Koblet punctured before the top of the Tourmalet, but calmly waited for service before chasing back his rivals. In a great chase back, Koblet eventually caught Coppi and outsprinted the Italian legend to take the stage and the Yellow Jersey.
Stage 14: Coppi leads Geminiani and Koblet on the Tourmalet.
The General Classification now stood thus:
1. Hugo Koblet
2. Gilbert Bauvin @ 21 seconds
3. Raphaël Géminiani @ 32 seconds
4. Fausto Coppi @ 5 minutes 9 seconds
12. Louison Bobet @ 17 minutes 40 seconds
13. Stan Ockers @ 18 minutes 45 seconds
Stage 16 saw more drama on what was supposed to be a transitional stage. With the Alps yet to come, Koblet, Marinelli, Géminiani, Barbotin and Lazaridès attacked. Koblet won his third stage and only Géminiani at 1 minute, 32 seconds was still in contention for the Yellow Jersey. Coppi, overcome with the feelings of grief over his brother's recent death suffered a day of misery in the heat. He was dropped by the leading riders, eventually stopping and vomiting. Other accounts have attributed his problems to food poisoning. Bartali and Magni stayed with him to the finish line. Coppi ended up losing over 33 minutes, and was now out of the top 15 in the General Classification.
Stage 17, 224 kilometers between Montpellier and Avignon sent the Tour over Mont Ventoux for the first time in Tour history. On the climb 12 riders, all favorites, formed a leading break. By the time the group was halfway up the mountain only Raphaël Géminiani, Gino Bartali and Lucien Lazaridès were left at the front. Coppi and Magni were already 5 minutes in arrears. Koblet had suffered a derailleur problem and was limiting his losses riding in a high gear. Manager Bidot told Géminiani to slow the break because Bobet was closing in on them. With that help Bobet was able to bridge the gap. Pierre Barbotin made a tremendous effort to join the leading men, but with 2 kilometers to go Lazaridès (whose brother Apo was also riding in the race) attacked and was the first rider to cross the summit. Gino Bartali followed him. On the descent, Koblet caught up with the leading 5. In the closing kilometers Bobet attacked and won the stage by nearly a minute. That win galled Géminiani and from then on he raced not to beat Koblet but to be ahead of Bobet.
Over the next 2 stages Koblet maintained his 1 minute, 32 second advantage over Géminiani.
On Stage 20 Fausto Coppi gave another virtuoso performance. The Italian, now well out of overall contention, attacked early in the stage with Roger Buchonnet. He climbed the mighty Izoard and Vars alone. Koblet, seeing the danger of Coppi on a solo tear, responded and finished third that day. Raphaël Géminiani's challenge for the Yellow Jersey was over when he ended up over 7 minutes behind Koblet. The Swiss rider seemed destined to win the Tour on his first attempt.
Hugo Koblet must have relished Stage 22. It was the final Individual Time Trial, over 97 kilometers starting from Aix-les-Bains and finishing in Geneva, Switzerland. The "Pédaleur de Charme" was at his very best. Setting off at 2:32 p.m., Koblet started to reel in the riders who had already set off. He caught the great Gino Bartali who had started 8 minutes before him. As he passed Bartali, Koblet slowed and took his water bottle and placed it in the carrier of the struggling Italian. "Take it, Gino, there is still some left!" he said. In a previous race, Koblet had been dehydrated had asked Bartali for water. Gino had calmly had a drink and, then, looking at Koblet, emptied the remains of the bottle on the road.
At 5:11 PM Koblet entered the Frontenex Stadium in Geneva to immense cheers from the huge crowds. He had won the time trial by almost 5 minutes. He beat Coppi by 7½ minutes and Bobet by almost 13.
Koblet won the 1951 Tour by 22 minutes from Raphaël Géminiani. He never again reached such heady heights. It was a complete triumph for Koblet and his Swiss team. Second placed Raphaël Géminiani joked, "chasing after these white crosses [the Swiss National Jersey], you could end up finishing at the Red Cross!" Géminiani said that he was actually the winner. When he was asked about Koblet, he replied, "He doesn't count. I'm the first human." It has been speculated that had the French been more unified and worked harder to beat Koblet rather than each other, Géminiani might have won the Tour. I think that unlikely given the ease with which Koblet was able to handle his rivals no matter what the challenge.
Tour's end. Géminiani greets a fan. Koblet is with the sash to the right
1951 Tour de France final General Classification:
1. Hugo Koblet (Switzerland): 142 hours 20 minutes 14 seconds
2. Raphaël Géminiani (France) @ 22 minutes
3. Lucien Lazaridès (France) @ 24 minutes 16 seconds
4. Gino Bartali (Italy) @ 29 minutes 9 seconds
5. Stan Ockers (Belgium) @ 32 minutes 53 seconds
Koblet reveled in his newfound fame and fortune. "Money used to slip through his fingers like water," said one teammate, "Hugo couldn't say no to anyone. Sponsors always wanted him for some occasion or party, journalists wanting this or that story, groups of pretty women permanently waiting for him at the finish line." His flamboyant lifestyle was hugely expensive and in complete contrast to his rival and compatriot Ferdy Kübler. With the glamour of a modern-day rock star, Koblet would arrive at races driving a Studebaker, while Ferdy would arrive by train, third class. "Ferdy looks after his money; if there were a fourth class, Ferdy would take it," commented Charly Gaul.
In a time of post-war economic growth, the big stars benefited from direct sponsorship—indeed, we'll see how Raphaël Géminiani did a great deal to open up sponsorship for riders. Pontiac Watches capitalized on Wim Van Est's tumble on the Aubisque and ran the ad, "His heart stopped but his Pontiac kept time." For all his Studebakers and elegance, Koblet was astonished when an Italian businessman greeted him after a race and presented him with a check for one million lire. The businessman had to explain that it was Koblet's commission from a company that had produced a "Koblet" comb.
But unlike the true greats, Koblet could not remain focused on his racing.
"This flamboyant behavior made him lazy in his training. I remember we planned a training ride on the Klausen Pass and said we would meet at his house at 7:30 a.m. He agreed. We showed up, buzzed the door...nothing. We buzzed for 7 minutes and finally he comes to the window, obviously still asleep! He lets us in and says he has to make some calls and we should go down to the coffee shop till he is ready. We go down there and now it's one hour later. He then comes up and says he forgot about some meeting he has to do but will be done by 10:00 o'clock. We said forget it and left without him. This happened so often we gave up riding with him. Yet in the mountains he could drop us all on the few kilometers he trained," commented teammate Gottfried Weilenmann.
Following the Tour, Koblet accepted an offer to ride the Tour of Mexico. Exotic Central America fascinated him, and it suited his sense of adventure. Koblet was greeted by the President of Mexico and enjoyed the hospitality and the parties. One episode demonstrates his prodigious talent. Koblet had hardly ridden for a month and had been partying non-stop. On a mountainous stage in the Sierra Madre he left half an hour before the Mexican amateurs for a 200 kilometer solo race. The heat was intense and the Mexicans were enthusiastic about trying to catch the Tour de France winner. Nevertheless Koblet crossed the line 30 minutes, 35 seconds ahead of the chasing peloton.
While in Mexico, he contracted an illness that caused him kidney and lung problems that would plague him for the rest of his life. Koblet was never quite the same cyclist again.
A crash on the descent of the Aubisque in the Tour de France in 1953 caused Koblet more health problems and from then on his career went into a slow decline. While track racing with old friend Fausto Coppi in Colombia in 1957 the idea of emigrating to Argentina with thoughts of car franchises and other schemes was discussed (Coppi was trying to establish his bike frame business there). In 1958 Koblet hung the bike on the nail and moved to Argentina in search of fortune. He became homesick and returned to Europe but found it difficult to settle. His wife and great love, the model Sonja Bühl, had divorced him and his good looks were starting to fade.
On November 6, 1964, witnesses saw a white Alfa Romeo speeding along the road to Esslingen at about 140 kilometers an hour. The weather was perfect, the road was good but the car plowed straight into a tree. Koblet had been alone in the car. Doctors operated on him for 4 hours. Koblet was only 39 when he died. By a bizarre twist of fate, the doctor who was first at the scene and later confirmed his death was named Kübler. To this day it is debated whether or not Koblet had committed suicide.
Years later when the 80-year-old Ferdy Kübler was asked about Koblet, the old man was nearly moved to tears as he remembered his friend and rival. The old man's reply was simple: "How lucky I was to have ridden with a great champion like Koblet."
Bron: TE, WF, PCS, CN, BRI
Volgens mij behoort deze discussie thuis in het topic moderatie. En wel hierom: AP geeft slechts aan dat iedereen wel eens afwijkt van het hoofdonderwerp. Dat is eigenlijk het enige. Het gaat hem om het constateren. Niet om winst of verlies. Overigens, je opmerking over zweefteven en -neven vind ik instructief en zou ik dus niet weggemodereerd zien willen worden. Verder valt me de kriegelige toon op. Waarschijnlijk helemaal niet zo bedoeld. Maar zo'n toon kan leiden tot bozigheid bij anderen. En dat is dan ook niet de bedoeling. Maar laten we de etappe van vandaag voorbeschouwen. Clavan heeft de boel weer fraai geopend.
Over ironie gesproken waarde Koppi. Ik had er nog wel een grinny smily bijgeplaatst. 
Verder roerend met je eens. Laten we hier eens stoppen met het uitvechten van privé oorlogjes en op de inhoud in plaats van de persoon reageren.
Enneh Maradonna is misschien het broertje van Prima Donna maar ik ben het niet hoor.
1 keer gewijzigd. Laatste wijziging: 05/07/2021 15:20 door Maradona.
Verder roerend met je eens. Laten we hier eens stoppen met het uitvechten van privé oorlogjes en op de inhoud in plaats van de persoon reageren.
Enneh Maradonna is misschien het broertje van Prima Donna maar ik ben het niet hoor.
1 keer gewijzigd. Laatste wijziging: 05/07/2021 15:20 door Maradona.
Sorry, alleen geregistreerde gebruikers mogen berichten plaatsen in dit forum.