California ’. The song ’ s theme , cryptic and melancholic , with that certain aura of fatalistic pessimism , now seems to soundtrack the personality and fate of Luis Ocaña . |
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The Spaniard rode in the 1976 Vuelta with Super Ser , a team born with great ambition , one that had a desire to unite Ocaña and Merckx under the same jersey , but a team that was already in decline . Ocaña wasn ’ t the same cyclist who had won the 1973 Tour de France either , the one who was capable of challenging the Belgian tyrant , but he still had a spark that could have turned into a fire . His best display in Vuelta that year came in Puerto de Palombera , one of the mythical climbs in Cantambria , when he held a hellfire rhythm on the road to Reinosa , reminiscent of his great days . But he didn ’ t manage to shake off his rivals in the overall and in the final time-trial – a discipline dominated by Ocaña in the past – the little-known José Pesarrodona managed to steal Ocaña ’ s victory . |
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The same 1976 also marked the death of Agatha Christie , the great lady of detective novels . But surely not even the woman of Torquay would have been able to write an outcome such as the one Giro d ’ Italia had that year , with the first three riders finishing the race with just 90 seconds between them . The winner was the always brave Gimondi who registered his last great victory , the celeste jersey of Bianchi on his chest . Gimondi would still continue for a couple of years as a professional , but would never again finish a major race in the top ten . That Giro win , during which Gimondi suffered like a dog , especially during his legendary ride to Bergamo , was the swansong of the great Italian rider .
The Belgians ’ last year of reign . A French King emerges
When the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley was still performing his final concerts in 1976 , the King of Cycling Merckx ( who had dominated the previous spring , winning three Monuments and finishing second in another ) stepped down from his throne . In 1976 though , five different cyclists – Merckx , Walter Planckaert , Marc Demeyer , Joseph Bruyère and de Vlaeminck – won a Monument each , something that hadn ’ t been seen for many years . Yes , they were all Belgians who controlled the one-day races in that year .
The fact that Enrico Paolini obtained the most important non-Belgian victory of the year in the modest Milan-Turin speaks well of their rule , which extended to the World Championship brilliantly won by Maertens ahead of Francesco Moser and Tino Conti . It was a stranglehold that seemed to have no end … at least until Hinault , the Badger , emerged from his lair .
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- De Vlaeminck a Flandrien on home cobbles ( Mick Knapton ) |
- Felice Gimondi … all around him Belgians … ( on Flickr by Foto43 ) |
- The future has name Badger ( on Flickr by Anders ). jpg |