J U LY / A U G 2 0 1 4
50 Years Ago:
Jacques
Anquetil Wins
His Fifth Tour de
France
by Charles Sebastian, Staff Writer
In 1957, the winner of the 44th Tour
de France was Jacques Anquetil (pronounced “ank-teel”). Anquetil would
win the race four more times, from
1961-64, making him the first cyclist to
win it five times.
Anquetil was born Jan. 8, 1934, in
Mont-Saint-Aignan, Seine-Maritime,
France. He became a pro cyclist at age 17
in 1950. Anquetil had exceptional ability
at riding solo against the clock without
pacing with the pack, a skill that earned
him the moniker “Monsieur Chrono.”
Gulf of Tonkin
Incident
Expands
Vietnam War
by Frank Kourt, Staff Writer
Although the United States had
been involved in Vietnam since 1956,
when it sent military “advisors” to train
South Vietnamese servicemen to battle
insurgents from the north following the
French withdrawal from the country, a
key turning point was the Gulf of Tonkin
incident in 1964.
After Anquetil rode in the 1954 Summer
Olympics in Helsinki, Francis Pelissier,
a former Tour de France rider, contacted
him about riding for the team. Anquetil
accepted and began training immediately.
Anquetil had many rivals throughout his illustrious career, particularly
Raymond Poulidor. Poulidor never beat
Anquetil but pushed him to his limits.
Poulidor was a favorite in the public eye.
Anquetil was concerned about his public
image and the way the crowds incessantly compared him to Poulidor.
Doping – the downfall of another eminent cyclist, Lance Armstrong – was a
much less devastating issue in Anquetil’s
day. It was certainly not something that
would end a career. When asked about
doping, Anquetil said: “Leave me in
peace; everybody takes dope.” Even
then-French President Charles DeGaulle, when asked about Anquetil and
the ethics of doping, dodged the question: “Doping? What doping? Did he or
did he not make them play the Marseillaise [the French national anthem]
abroad?”
Anquetil retired from racing in 1969
and died in 1987 after suffering stomach
cancer. He is buried at Quincampoix,
France, where a stadium was erected in
his honor in 1983.
The Tour de France was the brainchild
of sports journalist Geo Lefevre, who
started the race in 1903 with the backing
of Henri Desgrange, his editor at L’Auto
newspaper. The race gained popularity
during its early years and it became a
custom for people to populate the streets
and cheer on their favorite cyclists. The
Tour has altered its route a number of
times through the years as well, which
gives competitors a constant change of
scenery and challenge.
On Aug. 2 of that year, a report said
North Vietnamese craft fired torpedoes
at the U.S. destroyer Maddox, which was
purportedly on routine patrol. Another
report on Aug. 4 said North Vietnamese
craft fired upon both the Maddox and
the USS Turner Joy.
Significant doubts about the alleged
attacks persist to this day, but at the time
they were enough to prompt then-president Lyndon B. Johnson to order the
first American bombing of North Vietnamese targets in retaliation, destroying
a North Vietnamese oil storage facility
and about 30 North Vietnamese naval
vessels.
On Aug. 7, at Johnson’s request,
Congress overwhelmingly passed what
is termed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution,
providing Johnson a virtually openended authorization to employ military
force against the North Vietnamese.
The de facto effect of the resolution
empowered Johnson to wage war on the
Hanoi regime without needing a formal
declaration of war. The resolution passed
unanimously in the House; it passed in
the Senate by a vote of 82-2.
This opened the way for major
American involvement in an undeclared
war that would last another 11 years.
It caused more than 58,000 American
military casualties and created a massive political and ideological rift within
the United States. The last U.S. troops
were withdrawn from Vietnam in March
1973.
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