So with each of these multi-tour winning cyclist, they bought with them each their own special stories to make them different and more memorable. Will we admirers of these greats be satisfied by yet another 4 or five time win, or will it have to be 7 or more? Can another great record be broken in cycling history? Will the hour record be the new “reachable” goal, or the classics. What is in the sports future for the tour de france, giro, robuix, etc? What will wow you or make you say “That is the greatist cyclist that has ever lived”?
Ultimately, I think a cyclist has to be someone the general audience can identify with to be a hero, an icon- something extraordinary.
Armstrong was that because of his humble beginnings, determination and his ordeal with cancer.
Merckx was that because of his work ethic, insatiable appetite for victory and classic rural lineage.
Hinault was that because he typified French hubris and pride, he was combative and arrogant- and splendid.
LeMond was it because as the boy-man he was the very first American. The first man to de-frock the European cartel.
Indurain was it because of his poise and reserve.
All qualities people could identify with, and wanted to identify with. Even the perennial second place, Raymond “poo-poo” Poulidor was an icon through his string of frustrating second places in the Tour to the dashing Jacques Anquetil.
For a hero to rise he must grow from humble stock and rise to the grandeur of a god. He must begin like you and me, but dazzle and confound us with strength we could never conjure. He must overcome the challenges of the everyman and go beyond prevailing: He must excel beyond any expectation.
Well said.
Nice post.
Raymond “poo-poo” Poulidor
That would be “Poupou”, thank you.
For a hero to rise he must grow from humble stock and rise to the grandeur of a god. He must begin like you and me, but dazzle and confound us with strength we could never conjure. He must overcome the challenges of the everyman and go beyond prevailing: He must excel beyond any expectation.
A hero does not have to grow from humble stock. History is full of heros with privileged backgrounds. Where a person begins is irrelevant; it’s where he ends.
I will disagree with you, in that where a person begins does in fact matter. I will say that it maters far less where you end, what is important is how far the journey was to get there.
Last person to win the Giro, Tour and World’s in one year was Stephan Roche in 1987.
If someone can will Paris Roubaix, the Giro, the Tour and the WC’s in one year, that would be awesome, but that would be something like a 6 month “peak” from Apr to Oct. Not possible in today’s era of specialists.
Hell, even if someone can win the Giro-TdF double, it would be very cool. I think Basso can pull this off.
“A hero does not have to grow from humble stock. History is full of heros with privileged backgrounds. Where a person begins is irrelevant; it’s where he ends.”
Well, true, but I think people identify with a hero figure to a greater degree if their backgrounds are parallel or similar.
I will disagree with you, in that where a person begins does in fact matter. I will say that it maters far less where you end, what is important is how far the journey was to get there.
That would nullify many of our “heros” then…
“A hero does not have to grow from humble stock. History is full of heros with privileged backgrounds. Where a person begins is irrelevant; it’s where he ends.”
Well, true, but I think people identify with a hero figure to a greater degree if their backgrounds are parallel or similar.
I think it makes for a better story… but not a deciding factor if one is thought of as a hero or not…