Jean Robic: The little giant

Very tall men always stand out in a crowd, but then so too do very small men who reach greatness.

French rider Jean Robic was such a man; barely five foot tall one would have expected he would have been more suited to a career as a jockey, rather than a world class cyclist.

His small stature and obvious physical strength made him a formidable climber. On the decents his light weight was a definite disadvantage and he made up for this by taking chances and pushing his speed to the limit

He crashed often and it was probably because of this he always wore a padded leather helmet. Only track riders wore helmets back in those days, so it was unusual to see a professional road rider use one as a matter of course. This earned him the nick name of "Leather Head."

Robic won the 1947 Tour de France. This was the first Tour after WWII and his win was no doubt a huge morale booster for the French people. If Jean Robic was an unusual rider his win of the 1947 tour was no less unusual; he did so by winning on the very last stage without ever wearing the Yellow Jersey throughout the race.

Robic was not even in the running until the 15th mountain stage (Luchon - Pau ) when he took off on his own to win by 10 minutes over the second placed rider.

Early on the last stage Robic sprinted up a short climb to take a prime; or so he thought. He was not aware that there was a small break-away group ahead of him, and had he known he never would have sprinted.

This was not unusual back in 1947, there was little or no communication between riders and team support, in fact team support was minimal in those days. A rider could be in the middle of the peloton, and not know that a break had occurred.

Robic was joined by two other riders and because they thought they were leading, worked together, and rode hard, but when a rider dropped back from the leading group. They never caught the leading group, but because they had ridden hard all day chasing the leaders they took 13 minutes out of the peloton that included Pierre Brambilla in the Yellow Jersey who had remained back in the peloton. Jean Robic had won the Tour with the shortest overall time; Brambilla was relegated to third place.

Throughout the rest of the 1940s and into the 1950s Jean Robic held his own among other great riders of that time like Coppi, Kubler, Bobet, etc. In 1950 Robic won the first World Cyclo-cross Championship. (Left.)
He was one of my heroes when I started riding in the early 1950s. One of the most photographed riders of that era, I remember seeing so many close up shots of Robic, his face showing all the extreme pain and agony of the sport.

Other shots of him bleeding profusely from cuts to his face, elbows and knees after falling. He was depicted in cartoons riding heavily bandaged and with his arm in a sling.

I was a little surprised to find very few photos on the Internet, even on French sites. I am grateful to The Wool Jersey for the few great pictures I did find

The picture above shows Robic dealing with a flat tire in the 1948 Tour. As I said earlier team support was minimal and all riders carried a spare tubular, usually around their shoulders.

In the picture Robic has changed the tire, the punctured tubular lies in the road under his feet, as he struggles to replace the chain. Note the pump carried on his down tube, also he does not have quick release wheels but rather wing nuts on solid axels.

Also, take a look at his tiny bicycle frame. Judging by the way the top and down tubes merge together at the head tube, this frame is about 48 cm. and still his saddle is low by comparison

Another photo from the 1950s portraying his tiny stature is the one above with Swiss rider Hugo Koblet (Left.) and Robic (Center.) as they pose with World Middleweight Boxing Champ, Sugar Ray Robinson. (Right.)

Tragically Jean Robic died in a car crash in 1980; he was still at a relatively young age of 59.

A monument to this little giant stands on the Côte de Bonsecours, in France, and of course, it depicts him wearing his trademark leather helmet.


Update July 21, 07: (Picture left.)

From the 1953 Tour de France. Stage winner and Maillot Jaune on Stage 11. Robic riding for a regonal team, was viciously attacked by a jealous French National Team on Stage 12, and a crash victim on Stage 13.

Robic crashed heavily while descending the Col du Fauredon, hitting his head and suffering a concussion. He was unable to start and abandoned the race the next day.

Picture from The Wool Jersey. My thanks to Aldo Ross for all the WJ pictures.

Suicide Shifters

Suicide shifters is a term I never heard until I came to the US; it is a name given to the lever operated front derailleurs used in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

I came across this rare picture from 1952 of André Darrigade (with Lucien Lauk) reaching down to change chainrings on his Simplex-equipped La Perle bike. When I started racing that same year, I used this same equipment and I can assure you there was nothing “suicide” in their operation.


The most popular lever operated front changer was the French made Simplex, (Above.) which is the one being used by Darrigade in the top picture. It simply pivoted in the center and you pushed the knob on the lever inwards toward the frame to shift up to the big ring, and opposite to shift down. Simplex also made chainrings and bottle cages (both pictured here.) The chainrings were often used with different make cranks like the Italian Gnutti or Magistroni.


Huret, (Above.) another French make, was also popular; I used this one. It worked on a helical, or screw like cam. You pushed the lever forward to go to the small ring, and back to change up.

Huret also had an interesting rear derailleur, it used twin down tube levers and twin cables. (Note: Two cables on the chainstay that also needed a double cable stop.)

(The twin levers: Left.) The large lever shifted gears, while the short lever tensioned the chain. On a smooth road, you could run the chain slack for less friction.

Another front changer I had fist hand experience of was the British made Cyclo-Benilux. (Above.) This one had a twist rod held with two clamps on the seat tube. You twisted the rod to shift up and down. I liked this one because I found I could reach behind my right leg and the knob at the top of the rod would be right where my hand naturally fell. Unlike the other changers that you had to reach between your legs to operate the lever.

None of these changers had return springs, they were manually operated both ways. Most of them had a simple friction device to hold it where you put it. But on most of them if the chain rubbed it would automatically knock the changer yoke out of the way, and no further adjustment was needed.

This equipment was simple, to the point of being crude, but they got the job done. We became used to it, and skilled in its operation. There was nothing “suicide” about it.

There are probably few people in America with actual experience of using these. (I would be interested to hear comments from any.) The 1970s generation probably gave them the name. They look more awkward to use that the actually were.

I can imagine in years to come, the cyclists who grew up with down tube friction shifters will fade away, and the “Brifter”* generation will then dub these suicide shifters.

Top picture from The Wool Jersey.
Other pictures from Classic Lightweights, UK.
Brifters* Combination brake and gear shift levers.

Dope: A Historical Perspective

I started racing in England in 1952 at the age of 16. I rode, trained, and hung out with more senior members of my cycling club, riders in their 20s and 30s and older. Every year we followed the Tour de France; it was an “open secret” that riders in the Tour took dope.

The drug used was Benzedrine, a brand name for a mixture of amphetamines that had been used by the military since the early 1900s. It was used extensively during WWII so in the 1950s everyone was familiar with the drug, and there were probably still ample supplies.

I never used Benzedrine and never saw it used by amateur cyclists, which is not to say it wasn’t. However, it was generally accepted that the pros used it, especially in the Tour and other big stage races.

My feelings at the time were neutral, if everyone around me accepted it why should I think otherwise? We didn’t look on it as cheating, the entire Tour de France field was on dope, it only becomes cheating if a substance is banned and only a few do it.

The subject was openly talked about amongst cyclists, but never written about or criticized in the cycling press. The general media could care less, and it seemed the UCI and other cycling governing bodies turned a blind eye.

All this changed on July 13, 1967 when British cyclist Tom Simpson (Top left.) died on the slopes Mt. Ventoux in Southern France. This was a mountain stage of that year’s Tour, and a brutally hot day. Tom Simpson died of heat exhaustion but would not have done so if amphetamines had not caused him to push his body beyond the limits of human endurance.

The general media Worldwide had a field day, and now performance enhancing drug use by professional cyclists could no longer be ignored. The open secret was out. Incidentally, Tom Simpson was a year younger than I was, so he would have grown up in that same era of tolerance to dope use by the pros.

My guess is that doping by professional cyclists can be traced back to the beginning of pro racing in the early 1900s; amphetamines became available about the same time. Six Day Track Racing became immensely popular back then, a sport crying out for a “stay-awake” drug. I was once told first hand, that dope was used in the 1930s six day races, one could suppose it was used before then.

I also suspect that dope was used in many other professional sports. If the use was an open secret, as in cycling, but never written about or recorded in the press, who can say it was not. Professional sport is entertainment, and the greater the athletic performance the more entertaining it is, which translates into more money the athlete.

I am skeptical when fans of other professional sports state that the “old timers” created records without the use of stimulants. The open secret of doping in cycling was amongst cyclists, not the general public. In other sports it would be the players who would know, not the fans. People who were around at that time have passed on, so we can never be certain?

Most professional sports were traditionally financed by spectators buying a ticket to view an event in a stadium. The Tour de France was unique in that it was free to spectators and its revenue generated entirely by advertising. Even before the days of television, this huge circus would travel around France, so people would see the advertising on vehicles, on free hand outs, plus see pictures of sponsored riders in newspapers.

Advertising revenue can be far more lucrative than income by paid spectators; the Tour de France pioneered this form of sports financing. Many people still do not realize the incomes generated by professional cyclists in Europe. Throughout the 1970s, Eddy Merckx was consistently among the top paid athletes in the World. Close to boxer, Mohammed Ali when he was at the peak of his career.

The UCI was slow to act on the doping issue, and the practice was still widespread throughout the 1970s. The professional riders would not give up dope individually unless there could be a guarantee that everyone would do so across the board. Sponsors would worry that racing would become slower and lack-luster if stimulants were dropped. And, the UCI is a group of officials elected to office. The first rule of politics is “Don’t piss off the people who can vote you out of office.”

Speaking of politics, I find it interesting to note that the cycling press who knew only too well of doping for many years but never touched the subject; after Simpson’s death and now beholding to their readership, were the strongest critics of the UCI and their handling of the problem.

It has been 40 years since Tommy Simpson died, and the sport of cycling is still struggling with the doping issue. However, one has to realize doping amongst the pros was an open secret and accepted for maybe 60 years before Simpson’s death.

The hero’s of my youth were riders like Fausto Coppi, Ferdi Kubler, Louison Bobet, and Jean Robic. They are still my hero’s even though I know they took dope, this was a different era.

Today’s dopers are a different matter, and I am definitely not a fan. However, because I have a few years behind me, and I was around when doping was tolerated, I look at the whole issue from a slightly different perspective.

This piece is based on my own memories. Some of it on second hand knowledge passed on to me, the rest is speculation and my personal opinion. My views are from someone completely detached from the sport and the bicycle business.

Major Taylor

February being Black History month, I wanted to remind everyone of this remarkable athlete.


Marshall Walter ("Major") Taylor (November 26th 1878 – June 21st 1932) was an African American cyclist who won the World One-mile Track Cycling Championship in 1899, 1900, and 1901.

Major Taylor was the second black world champion in any sport, after boxer George Dixon. The Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana and a bicycle trail in Chicago are named in his honor. On July 24, 2006 the city of Worcester, MA changed the name of part of Worcester Center Boulevard to Major Taylor Boulevard.


When I started cycling in England in the early 1950s many riders had only one bike that was their transport to and from work, and at the weekends, the same bike would be used for racing. Alternatively, they would put mudguards and a saddlebag on it and go touring.

Because of this, many used a handlebar stem that was adjustable for length. It was known as a Major Taylor stem. For years I had no idea who Major Taylor was, and when I came to the US in 1979 there was still little information available about him.

This has changed in recent years thanks to the Internet. You can learn more here:

MajorTaylor.com

The Major Taylor Association

Wikipedia

A book is available on Amazon