“I’m by no means happier than once I’m writing.”
~ Ed Hood, as spoken to Martin Williamson from the passenger seat, riding alongside a level direction on the Excursion de France.
Expensive Readers – Our cherished colleague and good friend Ed Hood suffered a major stroke in February. We don’t be expecting Ed will make it again into our bunch, so we’ve began a GoFundMe web page to assist Ed along with his long term. Learn the overall publish right here – and please believe donating.
** Click on this hyperlink to donate to the GoFundMe web page to assist Ed **
We’ll be posting a number of Ed’s paintings from the previous 16 years, as a result of nice story-telling by no means will get outdated.
Ed’s 2nd Selection of DS: The PEZ digital postbag used to be filled with ideas of staff managers/DS’s that Ed Hood neglected in his fresh ‘Best Ten’ of equipe bosses, so a ‘deuxième partie’ needed to be compiled with 8 extra. Has he were given all of them now?
Julich and Legay
Ok, ‘mea culpa’ – ‘my mistake,’ there have been a couple of actual characters/gents/leaders of fellows who I neglected in my fresh managers/DS piece. ‘Section Two,’ it’s then! However once more, it’s now not supposed to be, nor can it’s, ‘the definitive listing’ – that might take a e-book, simply my private ‘take’. Let’s get started ‘BIG’. . .
‘Le Grand Fusil,’ ‘the Large Gun,’ they known as him, a large guy, a large voice and a large presence – Raphaël Géminiani, nonetheless going sturdy at 96 years-of-age. Géminiani used to be a excellent skilled in his personal proper, spending 14 years within the professional peloton; French Nationwide Champion, a podium finisher in le Excursion – the place he gained seven levels – and Vuelta. In 1955 – the yr of my beginning – he pulled off the exceptional feat of completing most sensible 10 in all 3 Grand Excursions – Vuelta, Giro and Excursion de France.
Coppi and Geminiani
And as King of the Mountains in le Excursion and Giro he knew a factor or two about motorbike racing.
Geminiani famously survived the malaria which he and Fausto Coppi shriveled right through a racing/looking go back and forth to Africa; ‘Gem’s’ bull-like charter noticed him via however his shut good friend, the delicate ‘Campionissimo’ succumbed at simply 40 years-of-age.
‘Gem’ and the well-known Anquetil
The Frenchman moved into control after his racing profession used to be at an finish and is maximum famously related to ‘Maitre Jacques’ Anquetil who he guided to lots of his largest victories, together with his now mythical Dauphine/Bordeaux-Paris again to again triumph.
Rapid issues at the highway: Geminiani, Anquetil and a Mustang
Géminiani used to be additionally an innovator, introducing ‘additional sportif’ sponsors to the game, now not simply the bicycle producers who had, till the 1950’s been the one corporations to sponsor biking groups. In addition to Anquetil’s, St-Raphael, Ford and Bic groups he additionally labored with the likes of L. a. Redoute, Fiat and Café de Colombia.
Let’s transfer closer the present day and an excellent instance of consideration to element by means of control. Allan Peiper used to be a cast, skilled for a decade, using as a ‘International Legionnaire’ with Peugeot, the mighty Panasonic of Peter Submit and after all along Peloton ‘Patron,’ Adrie van der Poel at Tulip.
Peiper – A tricky rider
The person from Victoria used to be a effective time trial rider, he gained the newbie Gran Prix des Countries and the prologues of the Excursion de l’Oise and Paris-Great. His DS profession began with Lotto and he used to be with T-Cellular via Columbia and HTC incarnations then Garmin, BMC and UAE Emirates the place his consideration to element used to be instrumental in successful the 2020 Excursion de France for Tadej Pogačar. After we spoke to him about that well-known time trial the place Pogačar snatched the largest race on this planet from the clutches of his countryman, Primos Roglič on the 11th hour, the Australian defined to us that weeks ahead of that fateful chrono:
“I rode the path and I realised {that a} shut ratio cassette used to be crucial for the climb; however maximum cassettes have two and even 3 enamel jumps. On the other hand, we bought a cassette intended for junior racing, 14-29 however within the heart it used to be 18 to twenty-five with only one enamel variations, that used to be coupled with 36/50 chainrings. On his time trial motorbike he rode a unmarried 58 ring with an 11 to 29 cassette. Tadej used to be down with us in July and we did simulation runs at the hill to substantiate the gearing and we agreed the spot for the motorbike trade and practiced it – we were given it right down to seven seconds however suppose we can have bettered that at the day.”
And that’s what you name, ‘consideration to element’.
Double Excursion successful UAE Staff Emirates
Let’s return to ‘Previous Faculty,’ and Belgium’s overdue Alberic “Briek” Schotte, AKA ‘Iron Briek’. A qualified from 1940 till 1958, two times International Champion and two times a winner of De Ronde, a race he rode, look ahead to it – 20 instances. No use to give an explanation for the nickname then?
The unique ‘Flandrien’ – Briek Schotte
He moved into control after his profession as a rider ended – with Flandria, the place else? He used to be with the staff for 20 years and proceeding the place he left off as a ‘renner,’ his riders took 11 podium puts and 5 victories in De Ronde. After the Flandria staff folded in 1979 he labored with SEM, Skil and Kas. On the other hand, now not everybody rated him because the chief of a staff, Freddy Maertens in his autobiography, ‘Fall From Grace’, stated;
“I take my hat off to Briek Schotte’s performances as a rider, however I might query his talents as a directeur sportif. He let everybody do as they needed. The one factor that mattered to him used to be that our staff and he may just generate profits, ours by means of rights, for [Flandria boss] Paul Claeys.”
I believe that used to be his task, Freddy?
Briek Schotte, Freddy Maertens and Robbie McEwen
Let’s cross south to L. a. Bella Italia; the overdue Alberto Martini used to be a qualified for 18 years, right through that point gained a level within the Excursion of Switzerland, Italian one-day races Giro dell’Appennino and Giro del Piemonte, and held the Giro d’Italia chief’s jersey for in the future within the 1950 Giro, a race he completed 3rd general in in the back of Swiss Hugo Koblet and Italian Gino Bartali.
Bettini, Cipollini and Martini
As a DS he guided Sweden’s Gosta Pettersson to Giro victory in 1970 however it’s as Italian nationwide staff, ‘Capo’ he’s perfect remembered. He took the Squadra Azzurra to triumphs all over the place the globe, taking the rainbow jersey with Francesco Moser in Venezuela in 1997, with Giuseppe Saronni in Nice Britain in 1982, with Moreno Argentin in the US in 1986, with Maurizio Fondriest in Belgium in 1988 and with Gianni Bugno two times, Germany in 1991 and Spain the next yr.
Worlds’02: Martini, Cipollini and Ballerini
Again to L. a. Belle France and DS don’t come a lot more. ‘Previous Faculty Gallic’ than this gentleman, referred to as, ‘Little Napoleon,’ the overdue Maurice De Muer used to be a professional for 9 seasons, all with Peugeot. And while his first tenure within the staff automobile used to be with Pelforth then Bic he’s most likely perfect identified for his affiliation with the staff he rode for as a professional, Peugeot.
De Muer the rider
With Bic he guided Jacques Anquetil to his ultimate primary win, The Excursion of the Basque Nation in 1969 and used to be once more within the staff automobile when Luis Ocaña gained the 1973 Excursion de France. With Peugeot he famously guided Bernard Thevenet to 2 Excursion de France victories. And it’s with Peugeot and the ACBB ‘feeder’ staff he used to be instrumental to start with what the UCi would time period, ‘Mondialisation’ – the hole up of the game to riders from around the globe – now not simply ‘The Previous International’ countries.
Peugeot: Jones, Roche, Millar and Simon
Robert Millar, Stephen Roche, Phil Anderson, Sean Yates, Allan Peiper and Jonathan Boyer had been all merchandise of that machine. De Muer used to be a troublesome process grasp; “Steadily, he would cross completely furious for quarter-hour,” Thévenet stated, “however then he would loosen up once more for a protracted time period.” While Sean Yates stated; “He commanded appreciate as a result of Ocaña and Thévenet. He used to be moderately intimidating, too, regardless that, very a lot an old-school arduous grasp. I take into account him yelling at Phil Anderson at first of the Milan-Sanremo 12 months, announcing, ‘No, no rain jacket.’ The race used to be 350 kilometres lengthy, it used to be tipping with rain, and he didn’t need Phil to have one.”
‘Little Napoleon,’ certainly.
De Muer and Double Excursion winner Thevenet
Let’s keep ‘en France’ and a person nonetheless in the back of the wheel – what else would he do Marc Madiot had a very good skilled profession, the hi-lites of which should be his two wins in Paris-Roubaix and a French Skilled Street Race Championship.
Double Roubaix winner – Marc Madiot
He’s been within the FDJ staff automobile since 1997. That uncommon hen, an Italian on a French staff is most likely a excellent guy to invite about Monsieur Madiot, right here’s what Jacopo Guarnieri informed, ‘Rouleur’ mag in 2019; “I remembered that loopy horse who used to be screaming and cheering for his rider, [Thibaut Pinot] right through a level of the [2012] Excursion de France. I assumed he used to be in point of fact mad, however, since I didn’t discuss French then, I handiest felt the power, with out in point of fact working out the which means of what he used to be announcing. On the first staff assembly in France, in November 2016, my French used to be nonetheless amateur’s stage, I didn’t perceive a lot of what he stated. Then, his power and tone of voice rose and rose. The previous couple of mins he used to be yelling. YELLING! I take into account Ignatas Konovalovas turning to me and announcing in English: “I do know he seems to be offended, however he’s in reality motivating us.”
“I had at all times been used to staff managers who know little about biking: now not as a result of they by no means rode a motorbike or anything else, however just because they become busier over the years, discovering sponsors or retaining the funds in test. I’ve at all times observed Marc another way: once he can, he jumps into the staff automobile or spectates at a juniors or cyclo-cross race. I believe he should are living and breathe biking, the actual one, the old skool: little techniques and pushing arduous. Professional biking has now not been like this for a few years, lengthy ahead of I grew to become professional.”
Chapeau! Messrs, Guarnieri and Madiot.
FDJ Staff boss
Should you sliced the overdue Giorgio Albani in two – as one would possibly do with the Italian product he’s maximum related to, salami – it will learn, ‘Molteni’. A a hit skilled for a decade with wins within the Italian semi-classics, the Coppa Agostoni and Giro dell Appennino, a Giro level winner and Nationwide Skilled Champion, his ultimate season as a rider, in 1959 used to be with Molteni.
Albani – Molteni via and thru
In 1960 he started his new position within the Philco staff automobile however inside a yr, it used to be ‘Molteni’ written at the automobile – he would stay there till 1976 when the staff folded. Albani used to be the person within the staff automobile for all of Eddy Merckx’s successes within the outdated gold and blue of Molteni. He used to be there in Mexico when the Belgian took the hour file and used to be a relaxing, low key presence all the way through the ones ‘golden years of Merckx,’ the exact opposite of the overpowering Lomme Driessens who we featured in our first piece as Merckx’s supervisor at Faema. Nevertheless it wasn’t simply Merckx he guided to victory – most likely now not a hard process given the Belgian’s ability and insatiable want to win – ‘Bigs’ Rudi Altig, Michel Dancelli, Gianni Motta and Marino Basso additionally handed via Albani’s arms.
The person in the back of Merckx
Again to France for some other of the ones Frenchmen born to take a seat in a staff automobile, Roger Legeay. A cast skilled for a decade along with his ultimate race seasons spent with the staff he’s endlessly related to, Peugeot. In that decade he took level wins within the Excursion of Limousin and Romandie and Circuit de los angeles Sarthe in addition to in the future wins in races just like the GP Fougeres.
Roger Legay within the Excursion KOM jersey
Nevertheless it’s a person in the back of the wheel he’s perfect remembered, beginning as assistant staff supervisor with Peugeot in 1983 emerging to supervisor because the staff become Z Peugeot and THAT jersey. Adore it or hate it, the jersey, promoting Monsieur Roger Zannier’s youngsters’s clothes corporate aroused massive passion on the time and continues to be mentioned – vintage or disaster? I’m with the previous definition.
Legay and Hushovd
When the Z sponsorship ended insurance coverage massive GAN stepped in and after all the staff used to be subsidized by means of French financial institution, Credit score Agricole. That sponsorship led to 2008 and Legeay’s tenure within the convoy used to be at an finish. Since then he’s been on the helm of his MPCC – Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Credible – organisation with the identify talking for itself. His legacy as a staff supervisor is spectacular with arguably his largest achievements, Greg Lemond’s Excursion de France win in 1990 and Gilbert Duclos Lasalle’s 92/93 Paris-Roubaix wins.
The highest guy at MPCC
In our first DS/Supervisor piece we discussed a definite Peter Submit, we in point of fact must have discussed the person who used to be considered one of his riders at the mighty Raleigh formation however who went directly to grow to be his countryman’s sour rival on the head of his personal groups – Jan Raas. Raas had an excellent profession as a qualified, Submit signed him for Raleigh in 1975, he rode two seasons with the staff then joined rival Dutch squad, Frisol the place his effects – together with a Milan-Sanremo victory – satisfied Submit to take him again and he shared in Raleigh’s ‘Golden Generation’ from 1978 to 1983 when he took maximum of his largest wins – The International Championships, Het Volk, Paris-Roubaix and two Excursions of Flanders.
International champion and Classics winner – Jan Raas
He joined the Kwantum Halen staff for season 1984 however a foul crash in Milan-Sanremo that yr used to be the start of the top of his professional profession and he give up the next yr shifting directly into the staff automobile. Raas used to be famed for his tactical brilliance so it used to be a herbal development. He used to be with the staff in the course of the incarnations of Superconfex, Buckler, Wordperfect, Novell and after all Rabobank. ‘Insoluble variations’ ended his tenure with the Dutch financial institution in 2003. In 2021 within the Dutch language e-book, ‘De Raboploeg’ Raas after all broke his silence about his departure from the staff and published; “the financial institution’s meddling and the scheming in the back of the scenes.”
Raas and Rabo
# Now I’ve take a seat again and look ahead to the flak on who I’ve nonetheless now not integrated. . . #
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