Rik Van Steenbergen: Road Sprinter Supreme

Anyone who followed this year’s Tour de France could not help be impressed with the multiple stage wins by Britain’s Mark Cavendish; together with the overwhelming Team HTC Columbia support.

Winning the Tour de France is all about climbing ability, and because of this history tends to forget these great individual stage victories.

People know names like Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, and Louison Bobet, all great climbers from the late 1940s and 1950s; a period often refered to as "The Golden Age of Cycling."

But who were the great road sprinters of that era, taking most of the bunch finishes? One that springs to my mind was Belgian rider Rik Van Steenbergen.

A big man, 6’ 3” 183 lbs, (190.5 cm 83.18 Kgs.) he had a long professional career that began in war torn Belgium in 1943 and lasted until 1966, Van Steenbergen won 270 times on the road, including 3 World Road Championships, in 1949, 1956 and 1957, all taken in sprint finishes.

He won the Tour of Flanders in his first year as a professional at age 18. He won the same event in 1944 and 1946. The Paris-Roubaix in 1948 and 1952, the Flech-Wallone in 1949 and 1958, Paris-Brussels in 1950, and the Milan-San Remo in 1954.   

(Above.) Rik Van Steenbergen uses his explosive sprint to win the 1954 Milan-San Remo followed home by Anasti, Favero and Coppi.

Van Steenbergen like many great road sprinters was a prolific winner on the track, a total of 715 times including 40 six-day wins. He rode year round, road events spring and summer, and six-day events through the winter.

In spite of this non-specializing he took 15 stage wins in the Giro d’Italia in five appearances, and 4 TDF stage wins in three appearances.

His best Giro result was in 1951 when he finishes second overall behind Italy’s Fiorenzo Magni, beating no less than Ferdi Kubler and Fausto Coppi into 3rd and 4th places respectively. Pretty impressive for a sprinter who couldn’t climb.

Perhaps one of Rik Van Steenbergen’s greatest victories was his 1952 Paris-Roubaix win. With 40 Km. to go the Belgian rider was in a group 50 seconds down on a three man break, consisting of Coppi, Kubler, and Jacques Dupont.

On a 5 Km cobble-stone section of the course Van Steenbergen attacked solo out of the chasing group and miraculously bridged the gap.

Towards the finish, Coppi attacked again and again. Kubler was dropped, Dupont punctured, but Van Steenbergen managed to hang on and in the final sprint beat Coppi easily.

The world may never see such a versatile rider again. He was immensely popular; born in 1924 he died in 2003 at age 78 after a long illness.

His funeral was attended by a veritable who’s who of cycling, including Eddy Merckx, Rik van Looy, Roger De Vlaeminck, Walter Godefroot, Johan De Muynck, Lucien van Impe, Freddy Maertens and Briek Schotte.

Also attending were the UCI president Hein Verbruggen and Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt

Ferdi Kubler: At 90 years is the oldest living TDF winner

Above: Swiss cyclist Ferdi Kubler is given encouragement by his wife Rosa, at the summit of one of his many epic climbs

The early part of this last week I noticed this blog was getting an unusually high number of hits from Switzerland, and in particular Zurich.

The hits were originating from Google searches for two Swiss riders, Ferdi Kubler winner of the 1950 Tour de France, and Hugo Koblet winner the following year in 1951.

The reason for all this unexpected activity, an article in Swiss newspaper “Tribune de Geneve.”The occasion, the 90th Birthday of Ferdi Kubler, making him the oldest living Tour de France winner. Born 24th July, 1919.

Kubler was a remarkable rider, a great climber but could sprint also. This was evident when he placed 2nd to Frenchman Luison Bobet, in the 1954 TDF and won the Green (Points.) Jersey that year. Ferdi Kubler won the World Championship Road Race in 1951. A more complete list of his career achievements can be viewed here.

The brief article written in French unfortunately lost much in translation. It was in the form of an interview with Kubler as he watched this year's Tour on TV.

Described as having the memory of an elephant he reminisced on the differences in riding as a professional cyclist almost sixty years ago.

The winnings for his 1950 TDF ride were reported at 25,000 Francs; however, after sharing the purse with the rest of his team his take home pay was more like 4,000 Francs, or less than $4,000 dollars at today’s rate of exchange.

Without any trace of bitterness or regret he remarked that today’s riders although somewhat pampered and making more money in comparison to his day, they still do not make as much as tennis players for example.

 He also remarked that professional cyclists train longer and harder than most athletes because they compete in one of the toughest sports in the world.

On his rivalry with the other Swiss rider Hugo Koblet (Above on left with Kubler leading.) the writer of this piece remarked as I had done here two yers ago,it is impossible to comment about one without the other. Whether this was because they were both from Zurich, Switzerland, or simply because their last names were so similar.

The writer of the article remarked, and I have left the literal translation:

The two were neither friends nor enemies, but are inseparable in the collective memory. Their rivalry has benefited as one to another. Their songs of bravery struck the imagination, impregnated lasting generations.

Unfortunately Hugo Koblet never got to reach the great age of Ferdi Kubler, having died tragically in a car crash in 1964 at the age of 39.

One of the heroes of my youth, I wish this grand old gentleman a very happy birthday, and the question I have as I write this is, why was Ferdi Kubler not honored during this year's Tour de France? Especially during the stages that went through Switzerland?

I have also previously written about Koblet here, and there is a video of one of his epic battles with Italian, Fausto Coppi.

Update: Ferdi Kubler passed away on 29th December 2016. I wrote a tribute on the 30th. Dec. 2016

How a Single Ride Changed the Face of British Time Trialing

In England, in 1953, the top British time trialist was a man named Ken Joy. (Left.)

The previous year he had ridden a 100 miles in 4 hours and 6 minutes, which at that time was phenomenal.

In the early 1950s, British riders racing against the clock invariably rode on a single fixed wheel.

48 x 15, or 48 x 16 (86.4 inch or 81 inch.) would be a typical gear ratio used for 100 miles. Courses would be selected over the flattest possible terrain.

At the end of 1952 Ken Joy turned professional and was sponsored by Hercules, a large manufacturer of roadster bikes, located in Birmingham, England. As British time trialing did not have a professional category, the only thing open for Ken Joy, was to ride solo and attack the many place to place records and distance records under the auspices of the Road Records Association.

So when Ken Joy was invited to ride in the Grand Prix des Nations in 1953 it created tremendous excitement for the average British Club Rider. This famous French event was after all considered to be the unofficial World Time Trial Championship of Professional Cycling.

Britain was somewhat cut off and isolated from the rest of Europe as far as cycling was concerned. We were in our own little world of time trialing, and the time trials held on the continent of Europe were odd distances, and held on courses that were not always flat, so how did you compare.

There was much speculation in the weeks leading up to the event as to how well Ken Joy would do. After all he had to be in with a chance, 100 miles in 4 hours 6 minutes is not exactly hanging around, by any standard.

I was 17 years old at the time and in my second year of racing, mostly time trialing; I was definitely caught up in all the excitement. The Grand Prix des Nations was to be run over a distance of 142 kilometers, which was just over 88 miles, a distance that would suit Joy.

The event was held on a weekend, and a few of the major British newspapers had the results in Monday’s morning edition. However we had to wait until the following Wednesday when the “Cycling” magazine came out to get the full impact of what had transpired.

The event was won by a then unknown 19 year old French rider named Jacques Anquetil. Not only did he beat Ken Joy, he started 16 minutes behind the British rider and caught and passed him. A nineteen year old kid, just two years older than me, had trounced the best that Britain had to offer.

There were two British professional riders in the 1953 event; the other was Bob Maitland who's previous riding was mostly in NCU Mass Start Circuit Races. I seem to remember Maitland finished with a better time than Joy, but both were well down the field. Bob Maitland did in the mid 1950s, become part of the first British team to ride the Tour de France.

I remember well the above picture of Anquetil, low, areodynamic, with his hands curled around the slim Mafac brake hoods. His mechanic standing on the running board of the following car with a spare bike on his shoulder. This was a whole different world, a whole different level of bike racing.

This one ride changed the face of British time trialing. Anquetil used a five speed free-wheel, with 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 cogs. With a single 53 tooth chainwheel; it gave him a top gear of 102 inches. This was the highest ratio mechanically possible at that time. Soon after British time trialists would abandon fixed wheel and use five speed straight up 14 to 18, and later 13 to 17 free wheels.

Jacques Anquetil of course went on to become one of the great cyclists of all time. Winning the Grand Prix des Nations 9 times, and going on to become the first man to win the Tour de France five times.

The Grand Prix des Nations which started in 1932, and became one of the professional classics, was held annually until 2005 when it was abandoned after the UCI inaugurated an official World Time Trial Championship.

Footnote: If you haven't already done so, read this 3 part series: The History of British Cycle Racing. It tells of the ban on road racing in Britain that lasted 50 years, and how a handful of cyclists fought to get this ban lifted. Britain's current success in cycling is due in part to those who went before and dragged the sport out of the dark ages

The Higginson Twins: A Pedaling Phenomenon

In 1952, the year I started racing in England, to be able to ride a 25 mile time trial in under one hour was an achievement that only a few top riders in the country could lay claim.

The previous year 1951, the British Competition Record for the distance was a little over 57 minutes, and was held by North London rider Dave Keeler. Many of the top twenty-five milers of that era specialized in this distance, and was the only event they rode.

Two other 25 mile specialists who stood out were twenty something identical twin brothers Stan and Bernard Higginson from Halesowen in the Birmingham area. (Stan Higginson is pictured above.) They always competed in the same event and usually took first and second place.

Occasionally Bernard would beat his brother Stanley, but usually it was Stan who was the stronger of the two, but only by the narrowest of margins, a few seconds. Stan Higginson took the competition record from Keeler late in 1951, lowering the time to just over 56 minutes.

British time trials of that era, and especially the shorter distances were always ridden using a fixed wheel. Usually 86 inch (48 x 15) Most riders trained on a 65 inch gear (48 x 20) or 68 inch (48 x 19) throughout the winter months.

A very popular early season event was a medium gear 25 mile time trial were the gear was restricted to 72 inches (48 x 18) All competitors used the same single fixed gear. This leveled the playing field, and the ones who had learned to pedal fast throughout the winter months would come out on top.

So it was on Sunday March 23rd in 1952 on a perfect day with little wind the best 25 milers in the country gathered for the Calleva RC 72 inch Medium Gear Event, held on a North London course. There was a full field, this being the first event of the year where the top London and Midland riders would do battle.

History was made that morning, when three riders finished under the hour. As I said at the beginning of this piece, it was an achievement in the early 1950s for any rider to beat the hour for 25 miles; to do so on a 72 inch gear was phenomenal.

Stan Higginson won the event in 59 minutes, 20 seconds. This meant he was pedaling at over 118 revolutions per minute for 25 miles. That is some serious spinning, or twiddling as it was known back then.

Stan’s twin brother Bernard came in second with a time of 59 min. 48 sec. and the former competition record holder Dave Keeler was third with a time of 59 min. 58 sec. Incidentally, Stan Higginson’s winning ride that day was only two seconds slower than the record for that particular course done on unrestricted gears.

I remember this moment in British cycling history well. Although I was not at the actual event, I remember these times were talked about all over the UK in the weeks that followed.

There is very little information out there on riders of this era, and I wonder if the Higginson twins are still with us. Quite possible as they would be in their early eighties now.

I found one article on this event, in which the writer speculated that Dave Keeler may have been the first to beat the hour on a 72 inch gear. He may well have been, as he would have started and finished before the Higginsons on that day. But as I remember, this was the day that the first sub hour 72 inch gear ride was ever recorded in the UK.

Another tidbit of information about the Higginson twins. I remember reading in a Cycling Magazine article, when the twins boasted that they never trained, saying they were too lazy. However, they did state that they both rode their bikes to and from work each day.

The seven mile commute from their home to the Birmingham factory where they both worked was treated like a race between the two. The first out to his bike in the morning, and again at night leaving work, after strapping on his saddle bag, leaped on his bike and took off. The other would chase.

To say they didn’t train was not strictly true. What they were doing was probably the best preparation they could have done for a 25 mile time trial.

Stan and Bernard also competed in pursuit races on the track, and I'm pretty sure Stan Higginson was National Pursuit Champion on more than one occasion. But I can find no record at this time to confirm.

Fiorenzo Magni: Third man, but not least

Often referred to as the Third Man of Italian Cycling behind Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, Fiorenzo Magni, who as I write this is 88 years of age, and is a living connection to the other two great Italian cyclists. He rode with them, raced against them, sometimes even beating them.

He also rode against other giants of that time, the likes of Geminiani, Robic, Bobet, Kubler and Koblet. In a time now referred to as “The Golden Age of Cycling,” when in countries like Italy, France, and Belgium, cycling had more fans than football. (Soccer.)

His numerous victories over the years included three wins in the Giro d’Italia, in 1948, 1951, and again in 1955. His epic ride with a broken collarbone to 2nd. Place in the 1956 Giro was the one that I wrote about in my last article. The reason for his determination to finish at all costs? He was about to retire that year and did not want to abandon his last Giro.

Above: Magni, Bartali, and Coppi.

Magni could have possibly won the Tour de France in 1950, but fate stepped in and denied him the chance. In stage 11 that went from Pau to St. Gaudens, crossing the Aubisque, Tourmalet and the Aspin, all famous climbs. At the top of the Aspin, Bartali and Frenchman Jean Robic crashed into a photographer. Robic remounted but Bartali was surrounded by angry spectators. He was kicked and punched.

After the crowd dispersed Magni and Bartali chased the field and caught the leaders, Bobet, Geminiani and Ockers. This effort gained Fiorenzo Magni 12 minutes and he took the overall lead ahead of Swiss rider Ferdi Kubler by two and a half minutes.

Above: Magni leads Coppi

The following morning the entire Italian team, including Magni, withdrew from the race. Partly in protest at the treatment of Bartali, but also because of concerns for the safety of the Italian riders. When asked in a recent interview, if he regretted having to abandon the TDF when leading, Magni replied:

Of course I felt bad about that but I believe that there are bigger things than a technical result, even one as important as winning the Tour de France. Team manager Alfredo Binda and the Italian Federation made the decision, on Bartali's suggestion. I stuck to the rules and accepted their decision. In my life, I have never pretended to have a role that was not mine.

When asked did he feel he could have won the Tour? His reply was:

That's another story. Hindsight is easier than foresight! I think I had a good chance of winning. But saying now that I would have won would not be very smart.

Magni was one of the first riders to negotiate sponsorship from outside the Bicycle Industry. In 1954 he managed to get a contract with Nivea. (The Face Cream Company.)

Professional cycling was struggling at the time, and this was a positive move for the sport. The sponsorship supported Magni and his entire team.

The move proved to be lucrative for both Magni and Nivea. It lead the way for other cycling teams to get sponsorship outside the bicycle industry. Especially important in the years that followed, when soccer started to gain public support over cycling.

When asked what it was like to ride against Coppi and Bartali, Fiorenzo’s reply was:

In life, defeats are more likely to happen than wins. Losing to Coppi and Bartali, and therefore congratulating them, is an experience that I am happy to have had and an experience that taught me a lot. I recognize as I always have that they were, simply fantastic Coppi was my age and we were very close. Bartali lived close by and we met very often.

I have always admired them for what they could do and esteemed them for who they were. Not only they were champions, they were also great men. Why do you think we are still speaking about them? Because they made history. I consider myself lucky because racing with them I could be part of this history. I would have won more without them but it wouldn't have been during a legendary cycling era.

Fioreznzo Magni was mentor to at least two famous framebuilders. Ernesto Colnago (Above center with Sr. Magni left.) worked on his first Giro d'Italia in 1954 as second mechanic. The first mechanic was Faliero Masi who Magni described in his interview as “The best mechanic of all time.” It was Masi’s idea to use the piece of inner tube to gain leverage, outlined in my last article.

Always a smart business man, Magni retired from racing in 1956. He could have gone on much longer, but he did so to manage his Motorcycle Dealership that he started in 1951. The business eventually became a car dealership in Monza, Italy, that still bears his name today. The picture below from recent years, shows Sr. Magni in the office of his business. The now famous picture from the 1956 Giro d'Italia is on the wall behind him.

He also is President of a Cycling Museum the "Fondazione Museo del Ciclismo.” The museum building is next to the famous Sanctuary of the "Madonna del Ghisallo.” The Madonna del Ghisallo is considered the patron saint of cyclists and the Sanctuary contains trophies, bikes, jerseys and photos from legendary champions.

You can read the interview with Fiorenzo Magni here. The responses to the questions show acceptance of the hand that life dealt him, without regrets. He also shows humility in accepting praise for his achievements, and a willingness to give credit to others. It shows the wisdom and character of Fiorezo Magni.

The joy for me is that this great man is still with us, when so many of the heroes of my teen years are not. Coppi, Koblet, Robic and Bobet, died tragically, and all relatively young. My memories of this era are from almost sixty years ago, and still there is a remote possibility I could one day actually meet Fiorenzo Magni.