MONTAGNE, LE GRIMPEURT

The sadness and the happiness of cycling on a mountain...

Some of the greatest mountains in the world hold the deepest spiritual secrets and so too, in world cycling, the same could be said.

The mountains more than any other place in cycling is what inspires both riders and spectators alike and its magnetic attraction has been this way for millennia, its magnitude, power and sacredness whether on or off the bike is a pilgrimage each human must make.

All have stories to tell, but some mountains and some riders come to an impasse. Who would know their shared secrets or why a mystery like a cloud has been formed with a rider and their final moments on a descent like Fabio Casartelli or ascent for that matter with Tom Simpson? Maybe we will never know.

But one of the saddest stories is to see a great rider go down knowing full well that the rider is a great challenger as in the case of Joseba Beloki.(in the photo below)

On 14 July 2003, during the ninth stage of the 2003 Tour de France, Beloki was in second place overall (just 40 seconds behind Lance Armstrong) and negotiating a turn at speed while descending the Cote de La Rochette, just 4 km from the stage finish at Gap he made his acquaintance with the mountain. To me, this will always be one of the saddest moments in world cycling as I am sure if fates did not rule that year, Beloki would have toppled the great American’s hold on the Tour title. Joseba, you will always remain to me a very great champion. A similar occurrence many years earlier between the great Spaniard Luis Ocaña and Eddy Merckx of Belgium saw Ocaña unable to dethrone The Cannibal.

Even so it is not always doom and gloom, no, not at all. My fondest memories, my greatest memories in fact, have been on the mountains of the world. One of my favourite climbs has always been the Tourmalet and in English, for you, it means ‘bad detour’.

I first climbed this monster in 1997, when I arrived there I had already covered 160kms for the day but going over it was to say the least, magical and my fondest memories was when Pedro Delgado of Spain rode away from the main peloton as if they were standing still, the way only he could do.

Pedro Delgado once said when he ‘breaks away’ on a mountain pass he is willing to give his life for it. I know just what he means and to hear the adulation or the screaming crowds fade away, so all that you hear is the beat of your heart in your ears, is a sacredness that only a racing cyclist can tell you about.

And so back to South Africa: I worked in the 2000 edition of the Giro Del Capo when the race organization was bold enough to have a real mountain top finish from Table View to the top of Franshhoek Pass. Owen Hannie of the Lotus IBM Team punctured at the bottom of Melkbos, the cross winds split the bunch into four groups on the road. He made his way from group to group that day with a few other riders, eventually getting into the breakaway group with Douglas Ryder and Jacque-Louis van Wyk. Owen sacrificed himself for Douglas and did everything possible to put him in a position to win the stage while van Wyk rode himself into the leaders pink jersey for team HSBC.

On this particular year it was really a non climber that the crowds were going mad for. Owen Hannie of the Team Lotus IBM had ridden strongly and he decimated the rest of the field riding away from some of the best climbers to place in the top five finishers of the day. That particular ride by Owen in 2000 will always be my favourite performance of his career.

How can we speak of mountains and not mention Claudio Chiappucci of Italy. The monumental ride he did to Sestrieres in the Tour of 1993, that was truly one of the greatest exploits in the mountains ever in any Tour de France and then there is Roche’s pursuit of Pedro Delgado to La Plagne both men superb climbers as ‘Perico’ sent him into oxygen debt.

Memories come flooding back and there are so many, such sublime moments, such ecstasy, such pure motion. And as Diana Ross, the Boss sings: ‘there aint no mountain high enough’ we can recall Pantani or the greatest rider of all time Miguel Indurain on his way into the mist on Hautacam, what a superb ride by a great champion yet so quiet, so humble and who never humiliated his rivals, ever.

Many remember Alpe de Huez as the shrine of world cycling and one year when I was there, there were no less than 1 000 000 spectators on those 13kms but there are others too: The Col de Joux Plane, the Col de Porte de Aspet, the Plan de Dette, the Col de Mont Cenis, Cold de Marie Blanc, the Col de Glandon, Jacca, the Col de Aubisque, the Col de Sulour, Valouron

Azete, Col d'Aspin or the Pas de Morgan we have been on them all.

The mountains are great levelers and the one man who would always go on a long solo break without fail, I don’t know how each time they let this man get away but it’s only fitting to end this off with the greatest mountain climber of them all, Richard Virenque, of France.

He has won the King of the Mountains jersey on no less than seven occasions. Un grand merci for all the years you have spoilt us so with your finesse and to all those who are coming after us we wish you well, fly like an eagle.

From top to bottom: Robbie Hunter, The great Richard Virenque of France, Luis Ocana, Joseba Beloki, Team Lotus IBM from front: Simon Kessler, on right: Owen Hannie and at the back Douglas Ryder, Pedro Delgado and Miguel Indurain leading Claudio Chiappucci of Italy.

All photos are from the Internet and Roadcyling.com and from my friends.