Jacques Anquetil (The man, The Mystery , The Legend) – World Cycling Productions coverage with narration by Phil Liggett.
Directed: Phillippe Kohly
Produced: Logos TV & World Cycling Productions
English Narration: Phil Liggett
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Note: This video was created by World Cycling Productions. I do not own this content.
Jacel won his first h of FR at 23 it was 1957 when Riders still wore their national colors in 1961 won he won the first of four more in consecutive years with five parin wins and two doofen in Liber anel dominated fch cycling for more than a
Decade he also had his successes abroad a tour of Spain and two tours of Italy and if on was Undisputed champion of world stage racing as a time trialist he was in a class of his own nine wins in the Grand Prix deasio and two World hour records gave him plenty to celebrate
Although the real anle Teal’s displays of emotion were never quite as animated even after his first tour to France win on the 20th of July 1957 or on the way back from Milan in 1956 after setting the world hour record or before his home crowd in
1953 after riding 76 mil at more than 26 mph Jack exploded into World cycling in 1951 aged 17 Andre bu was his coach here he is at the auto seel team at safield near Ru Anor developed his speed and stamina by riding behind a dery a small motorbike across Norman’s well watered Landscapes anel’s first professional coach and Mentor was Frances peler
Frances the great who was a man who could drink a pint and a half of rum at night and win Parry tour the next day and this was pel’s La PE team jersey in the family laundry Jack arel was destined to discover new prizes and New Horizons The Adventure was just
Beginning the gr as was cycling’s greatest time trial F copy once called it the hardest race on Earth before collapsing on the 27th of September 1953 pelisser prepared to unleash his 19-year-old prote after 87 miles the Boy Wonder accelerated into the final stretch after three and a half hours of punishment 25
Minutes ahead of the second place Rider phenomenal a month later the happy couple was at lagano for a time trial no Frenchman had ever won and the course is mostly underwater again Anil didn’t disappoint raising the tempo on the final lap the crowd was mystified the most
Powerful Rider of the day was an undernourished kid a month later at the Bari 2oman time trial bergam welcomed the phenomenon the title holders were copy and Philippi an was purred with Antony and Roland but after 20 miles rolon surrendered leaving an to do all of the riding from the Front copy and filipo retain their title with the French pair riding into the vome in second place jack killed me out there Roland explained he’s the greatest time trialist I’ve ever [Applause] Seen in November 1953 an paid a visit to copy’s home at Novi Lura the blind swanier cavana put his ear to an’s chest and pronounced him France’s Campo the two men met again for the France Italy meet on the V track they had their final [Applause] encounter an didn’t humor his Idol
Dispossessing him of his 14-year-old World hour record after parting into the small hours in a Como nightclub anel got up and rode 46 kilm in the hour at 22 on was already a legend an extraordinary athletic talent beyond all explanation Uncle turned time trialing into an art form and he saved his gracious exhibitions for the grand PRI on Contours of the Chev Valley he rode the Nations nine times between 1953 and 1966 and was never beat he raced alone against himself and from the first he regarded all his Grand
PRI the national rides as a Unity each year should see something new has no Rivals but the crowd still gathered at the roadside to see the consumate artist at [Applause] work the 60s began with anel he brought a new rounded form to cycling a landmark of design onil style holds many Secrets the
Egg position the unity of movement there’s no pressure on the handlebars and his unusual style of pointed feet nurture the pedals On’s gaze was fixed on his prey Antono Man compared him with the latest in aircraft technology look it’s the caravel flying past but the source of the power was a Mystery And some Anatomy lesson it would have been too Heart is bigger than any other athlete in France in top condition it beat just 33 times a minute perfect for high power over long periods but not for explosive acceleration and not surprisingly an turned his back on the classics like a huge 12 cylinder running at 3,000
Revs he could cruise at high speed all day without running out of gas but anel’s real secret was in his Back so when anel showed them his back it was a bad Omen for his adversaries but honor and Glory weren’t enough for the young professional at home un was a champion who still wore clogs and he helped his father pick strawberries and he went home to a house with no running
Water bathing beside the sen he discovered another Life he resolved to escape the conditions of his childhood and his talent was his greatest asset he used it with the Prudence of a peasant farmer protecting his value it was enough to win by a few seconds without wasting his energy or his talent he wanted to ride but also to live life
To the full a moment of Happiness was as valuable as a great Victory Life had to be a party yes uncle was his own man his own Champion when emerged fence cycling was being dominated by Louis and a national hero and a role model bobe won his third tour to France in 1955 and postwar France saw itself reflected in him at the wheel of his s left one in the dead of night he arrived at Bergamo just
30 minutes before the start of the baraki trophy Bob was beside him with rage he’d arrived 4 days earlier to train copy and Philippi won the race yet again on speed was unaffected by his sleepless night but they’d never ridden together before and arrived second at Milan they didn’t say a word and
Detested each other with studied courtesy and B’s diet reg drove Anil to distraction the older man took pleasure in being a champion for an it was a prison he needed to escape From he’d play bridge or tarot into the small hours with friends then R and win the morning after pleasure and Pain’s life oscillated between these two poles he couldn’t live life by hards And at the to Sardinia uncle was at his most extreme For like Jack name was also from ru a nurse Jack was 3 when he met her she would travel with him throughout life they shared the same Ambitions Janine married the man and the career in G Jack had found consistency and confidence in Janine he found the rewards for his Suffering she was there when he trained behind bu’s Danny Janine drove a 100,000 kilometers a year from Criterium to Criterium after the exertions she was with him in his room Jack could forget he was a champion and be a man again with an ordinary life Age 23 Uncle Road his first tour to France he was still a kid known as jao and Nini had just won the tour of Italy AEL still had to earn his place as team leader alongside his friend Andre dagard who was looking for stage Wins had his eyes set on stage four into Ruan he attacked with 500 met to go and brought his Triumph home to [Applause] Normandy For of 1957 was a scorcher testing the Riders to their limit AR was in his element Ro to Shala he was the freshest rider in the Pelon he attacked and on the cobbles at C trike gave the stage Victory to jilber Bain anel was in yellow for the first [Applause] Time oril had never crossed the Alps and in the Moran Valley before the C galib he learned a lesson Spectators were handing out bottles of champagne marelo the director of the French team was alarmed as an fores accepted a drink then the gradient Steepened Gaston Nini broke away with Janson the pelaton was 5 minutes down and forier the new race leader was wavering Under the Influence not so an champagne was his friend and he set off alone behind Nini over the last couple of Miles he made up two minutes the Italian crossed the summit
Of the Gia with Anil on his Heels by he reduced the deficit still further and took the L Jersey again he was now the leader of the French team after an had flown through the Alps the Pyrenees seemed a formality the stage rout so above the
Clouds and on the C toay crossed the summit nearly a minute ahead of Gaston Nini the next time was the Giant calois 2 and a half miles from the top an hit the wall as the yellow Jersey struggled to turn his smallest gear Janson eroded unle te’s 12-minute
Lead but the crowd willed anel on to what little strength he had left an added hidden depths of courage and he dedicated his first to of France wi to his Father and in December he also married Janine after the honeymoon they weighed anchor at San Adrian 5 miles from Ruan banks of the so after 5 years as a professional alel had achieved his Ambitions he’d spent 10 years at San Adria his base for the years to Come the great climber Charlie Gore was after his second tour of Italy it’s the 3rd of June in the time trial Uncle Teel was firing on all cylinders in 39 miles uncle had gained 6 minutes on goal Uncle te had his first ping Jersey and Italy had a new Idol and it was here on the penultimate day the tour of Italy was finally decided no one had ever ridden this primitive track where Charlie G made his final bid for victory behind him unle had left Nini and was scaling the one in five cent inch by Inch and when Nini fought back Scandal punched but the crowd prevented his mechanic from pushing him meanwhile 100 Helping Hands aided the Italian Nini crossed the submit with three minutes in hand over the Frenchman’s anger fueled that death defying descent even faster than Nini the best descender of the Day Uncle te had taken H and beaten the Italians and the next day at Milan he was crowned as the first French winner of the tour of Italy every year Uncle T wined in his cabin beneath mon but on skis he lost his magic he tries to smile but he was born for the bicycle and no other sport this was now the Anil era before the 1961 tour the France he stated his ambition to win the L Jersey
On day one and keep it to the finish on the Versa time trial he laid the foundations he won the 27 km time trial by three clear minutes and took the yellow jersey 21 days remained race director Jac G call them the dwarves of the road at Super Baner they bunched beneath the
Elements there were no attacks in the Pyrenees ital M had lost his fighting Spirit an had snuffed out his opponent’s self belief even Charlie G was vanquished for had become M jaac the master of the race he completed the race in yellow and achieved everything he’d set out to
Do he was the first into the park the prance and once in he was greeted by whistles and derision he’d killed the race and stapled its emotions they said on the podium he didn’t even raise his hands exhausted and deeply hurt he took Refuge at San Adrian Uncle the currey was dead
Was diagnosed with Hepatitis unle here with his gr features refused to abandon the doin Liber and finish shivering with fever a month later Al started the tour to France he was no longer the strong man of the year before in his team Al won two stages in the first
Week and a newcomer Raymond pulidor showed his class on his first tour to France but never arrived late for an appointment in the previous winter he’d sworn he’d take the yellow Jersey at Leon for the final time trial the on machine was in perfect condition pulidor
Poured all of his strength into his ride in vain jilbert Desmet had left 6 minutes before Jac ontil Jack an caught him and he went on to win his third tour to France at Leon on the day and hour of his [Applause] choice winning against the clock wasn’t just the ambition of the
Athlete Uncle T the man had the same dream for in the aumn of 1963 he returned home from New calonia after the death of his father for the 1964 to of France began with a nightmare prediction in the Alps an was a shadow of his former self exhausted after winning the Ziro he
Was weighed down by the prediction he’ vanquished B Mones and pulidor the year Before was Restless vulnerable and very Superstitious on the fourth of July the tour climbed up to Andor for the start of the hardest stage the state began with the one in six climb of the port Don Valera onad baham himz Andor all attacked cl to his teammate Lou Ros for pidor victory in the Tour of
France was Now or Never when he swooped down in the Mist anle te was over 4 minutes behind him unle didn’t want to abandon but he was the last man on the road and so a private Jewel began on against the fortune teller two weeks of anxiety sent him plumy into the valley
Made up all of his deficit on pidor in just 60 miles he defeated the fortune teller and was back in the race o took the yellow Jersey on a volcano near Claremore on the 12th of July the stage ended on the P the Dom 5 miles from the summit jenez attacked bahamontes
Followed adeil and pulidor were alone shoulder to shoulder France held its breath as the long awaited Jewel began to unfold a mile from the summit un gave way inch by inch a gap opened poror Glimpse Victory leaving UN in his wake 20 seconds 30 seconds pulidor accelerated towards Home in desperation an sprinted for the line he’d lost 42 seconds it didn’t look [Applause] good [Laughter] Second that’s all un needed to start after pulidor in the final time trial from veride to Paris for 27 kilm pulidor was in control he was making up the deficit 12 seconds after 5 kilm just three after 20 all of France was on tenter hooks the park the pron greeted him as the
[Applause] victor but still had three miles to go Sleepwalk through bolog pushing a huge gear half he gained 21 seconds on Pulidor and an had won the hardest of his five tours it was the high point of his rivalry too with Raymond pulidor but although arel won the race it was pulidor who won the hearts of the French [Applause] public It was a paradox he feared the crowd but he needed to be recognized Age 35 he finally found the ideal location for his celebrations a little Shadow six miles from ru aril became a peasant again working the grounds himself he had his own forest but the shadow was for friend ship and each friend had a room of his Own the bar was well stocked and the champion host a Conor while Jack slaughtered the pig Janine Charmed their guests this was the life Jack had Wanted the double was rapael G AR’s idea after the 10 stage of the 1965 do Liber the 372 mile Bordeaux Paris was next J AR’s first problem was to convince an to attempt The Impossible we better to start than with jine for on the 8th of May 1965 stage 8 of
The do Liber pulidor battle for the stage but ‘s fighting Spirit brought him three stage winds in the teeth of a Storm in avenol at 5:00 p.m. on May the 29th an celebrated a hardw victory and there was no rest for the winner the hardest one-day race in World cycling awaited at 520 10 minutes for dinner steak Tatar and two beers at 550 they sped to neim airport and while the plane was being
Prepared unel had his massage in the departure lounge and at 6:30 they were bordo bound General deal himself had provided the plane by midnight they were on the starting line at Bordeaux race began at night into a head wind it rained for 4 hours by 700 a.m. unle had suffered enough he
Got into the car and left the Race Lou for and the man who Changs at 8: a.m. 250 mil from Paris who is no more than a skeleton so sh this race by tradition means the Finish towards Paris is behind dery franois May attacked gaining six and seven minutes on the pelaton exhaustion had lasted nearly 200
Miles Britain’s Tom Simpson was stuck to his wheel anel’s teammates yon sansy made a break Jani was playing his cards close to his chest May’s lead got smaller and smaller made his move Attacks unle follow stabinsky is just ahead on theong climb after 310 miles four Riders could still win stabinsky Simpson May and antil after 34 hours and 500 Miles without sleep Anil finally found his rhythm he took the lead into versil his Rivals clung to his wheel with seven miles to go he
Increased the pace and flew away from the field after 18 hours in the saddle l vikto and Poss was his the agony was over suddenly the crowds adored him for pushing back the limits of courage and at last anel understood shani’s Caper was the most audacious feat in cycling history before the
Crowds unle teal wept Jac anel retired in 1969 after another world hour record he worked on the farm and in the summer commentated on the major stage races but he gradually withdrew from the world watched over by statues he turned his eyes to the heavens and spent the night stargazing he returned to the nature passing the
Night in the forest with his dog sometimes until Dawn Now 50 Jack had a new companion in Domin they named their son Kristoff Spee months later cancer killed him he used to say the only fur race is the race against the clock he was 53 For