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Great Heroes of cycling
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| Shonak |
Posted on 03-05-2016 19:20
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I was wondering when I watched a youtube Top 10 of movie heroes.. who are cycling heroes? I don't mean on a sportive or achievement sort of level, so don't come up with guys who are only interested in personal success or that you consider personal heroes because of their style etc.
I mean actions by heart, intellect..
I think of two names first and foremost. Bartali as a helper of the jews in fascist Italy something I hold him in very high regard for. And Bassons for calling out openly against doping in a time of epo dark age & omerta.
Do you guys have some other names to add to that list? Are there any other heroish, selfless acts on & off the bike you can think off and find inspiring?
PS Would you consider Armstrong a hero for fight against cancer?
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Riis123 |
Posted on 03-05-2016 19:43
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I think Betancur inspires those who naturally seem to carry a few kgs too much on a daily basis; he shows he is able to compete on a high level without being super skinny. A bit of a plus size model in cycling, if you will. Political correctness. A man of my heart.
Armstrong have helped thousands and thousands of cancer victims. Ultimately, I don't think it mattered to him at that point, but whether he truly tried to raise awareness or PR-stunt, he helped. Definitely.
I also think Brailsford is a one of the great heroes of cycling. He is really spearheading the fight against doping and has done so with some of the most natural gifted british talents like Wiggins and Thomas and helped an African boy getting food on the table and a place to sleep |
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| Strydz |
Posted on 03-05-2016 19:58
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Shonak wrote:
PS Would you consider Armstrong a hero for fight against cancer?
Maybe at the start but I have read some things that cast Armstrong and Livestrong in a bad light in regards to conflicts of interest with companies Armstrong was involved with that some Livestrong money ended up, that is money people donated to Livestrong for Cancer Awareness ending up in Armstrong/Stapleton/Tailwinds pockets
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-05-2016 20:11
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Like him or not Armstrong was, and still is, a huge inspiration for thousands and millions of people right across the world. He is absolutely a huge cycling hero because of that. I've always believed in trying to separate Lance the cyclist from Lance the cancer survivor. He still fought through and came back to win, and he will always be a huge hero to me for that regardless of what i think about him as a doper.
I also loved him for his tribute to Casartelli, paying tribute in such a style makes me love him.
There's a whole host of riders from the war periods to consider. A whole generation of cyclists through WWI and WWII, and not just the famous names like Bartali or Coppi but those keen amateurs who gave it all up. (Yep, that was soppy).
I'm also always a fan of riders who come back from big injuries. Boeckemans, Phinney and even Degenkolb will fall into that catagory.
Finally i'll ad Pioneering riders. Those guys coming who came from outside the heartland of cycling back in the day and blazed a trail. People like Opperman, Robinson, that North African TDF team. Guys that came with nothing but themselves and bike riding ability. Forged a career in a forgeign, often unfreindly land and opened the doors to thousands of cyclists and millions of fans since.
Edit: Plus there's Erik Hammarling who inspired his son to winning a huge monument double and more beyond. #ad
Edited by TheManxMissile on 03-05-2016 20:25
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| roturn |
Posted on 03-05-2016 20:31
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Team Embrace The World Cycling
Great cycling project. Might not really use the word "hero" though but they definitely help a lot with every kilometer they ride as also offering lots of free bikes and other stuff to 3rd World Nation teams.
''...why shouldn't it be possible to make a change with every single bike ride'' |
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| Strydz |
Posted on 03-05-2016 21:13
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I forgot about the North African so thanks TMM!!!
Ahmed Kebaili was an interesting story
Kebaili's personal story, in particular, seems indivisible from the tortured history of his nation. In 1946, he was the lone Algerian to participate in the amateur French championships in Besançon, and he would go on to participate in five Tours during his professional career. Yet as the 1950s progressed, so too did his involvement in the armed Algerian liberation movement, specifically the Comité Révolutionnaire d'Unité Algérienne, or CRUA, the forerunner to the FLN.
On one occasion following the beginning of the Algerian War in 1954, his sporting fame helped him to evade arrest as he drove with the revolutionary leader Amar Ouamrane as a passenger near Mitidja. "Coming up to a military blockade, Ouamrane told me to drive through it but I hesitated and I did well," Kebaili said. "The soldiers recognised me when I slowed down and we talked about my cycling performances. Naturally, they allowed us to pass, almost with honours."
Kebaili would be less fortunate when he was halted near Blida in July 1955, just a year after his final Tour. He would spend the next five years in prison, where he learned Arabic from his cellmate, the poet Moufdi Zakaria. In 1962, two years after his release from prison, Algeria was granted its independence from France, but it would take decades for local cycling to begin to recover from the conflict.
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| ursul |
Posted on 03-05-2016 21:17
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Does anyone else remember Albert Richter? He was a track world champion in the 1930's. He got arrested and later killed by the gestapo for refusing to use the nazi's symbol in competition and for keeping a jew as his coach.
When Nothing goes rigth, go left...
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| Strydz |
Posted on 03-05-2016 21:25
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TheManxMissile wrote:
Like him or not Armstrong was, and still is, a huge inspiration for thousands and millions of people right across the world. He is absolutely a huge cycling hero because of that. I've always believed in trying to separate Lance the cyclist from Lance the cancer survivor. He still fought through and came back to win, and he will always be a huge hero to me for that regardless of what i think about him as a doper.
I also loved him for his tribute to Casartelli, paying tribute in such a style makes me love him.
The Casartelli salute was classy no doubt about it but the inspirational cancer story for other cancer victims is a double edged sword. Yes he did inspire some but he also disillusioned many when the story finally came out and his miracle comeback was built on a fraud and not a miracle, this coming directly from people I know who did fight cancer and looked up to him, they felt that they had been taken for fools which I could understand. I respect where you are coming from and certainly not trying to attack your opinion but just explaining mine.
And to be straight up if his story helped people in dark moments find hope then who can begrudge that
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 03-05-2016 21:29
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Two for the Brits: Percy Stallard and Charles Holland
I won't go into huge detail. Percy and Charles were probably the two central figures in the war between the NCU and BLRC.
Percy rode three WC's in the 1930's and was an avid Road Racer, but mass-start racing was banned in the UK. He spearheaded the return, organising the first mass-start race in decades between Llangollent and Wolverhampton in 1942. He was banned from the NCU and subesquently helped found the BLRC and was key figure in their fight to bring back road racing. Without Percy Stallard there's a good chance UK cycling would still be a time-trialing backwater.
Charles Holland rode two Olympics and WC in the 30's. In 1937 he was the first Brit to the ride the TDF, alongside Billy Burl. The story of their first Tour is very interesting in its own right. He joined Stallard as a key player in startig the BLRC and it's early years as he was too old to return to pro-racing after the war.
In 1959 the NCU and BLRC came together to form the BCF which we know today. Other riders at the time like Robinson played their parts but Stalard and Holland are in my opinion two of the biggest and most overlooked players in the formation of modern Britis cycling.
Both should be true heroes to any and all British cyclists
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 04-05-2016 07:57
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Lance is shame of humanity, no one sane can call him a hero. Maybe here of frauds
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 04-05-2016 10:37
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you have to open so many mental hospitals. Like they say he is still hero for millions. Cancer survivor who did beat decease and was one of the best after that.
He did cheat and get caught. Yes also I did not liked that and hated he's tyranny acting at cycling for decade.
Still he is big hero for lot of people..you can not ban that as he's cycling career. |
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 04-05-2016 11:06
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Guido Mukk wrote:
you have to open so many mental hospitals. Like they say he is still hero for millions. Cancer survivor who did beat decease and was one of the best after that.
He did cheat and get caught. Yes also I did not liked that and hated he's tyranny acting at cycling for decade.
Still he is big hero for lot of people..you can not ban that as he's cycling career.
Armstrong is the reason I got back into cycling in the early 2000's. I used to watch with my dad when I was younger (5 or 6, born in 85). I vaguely remember watching the channel 4 coverage in England of Indurain winning and Boardman wearing the yellow jersey every now and again. The theme tune is legendary in it's own right 
Everything that has happened in the last few years has obviously cast a very heavy shadow over his legacy. However you can't deny he is a huge figure in the sport of cycling and has had a huge influence over it's current popularity.
His battles with Ulrich, Hamilton and Beloki are as legendary as anything from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Hamilton's collarbone, Armstrong's crash with the fans bag and Beloki's crash are some of the most legendary events of all time in the Tour's history. |
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| Avin Wargunnson |
Posted on 04-05-2016 11:28
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ringo182 wrote:
Guido Mukk wrote:
you have to open so many mental hospitals. Like they say he is still hero for millions. Cancer survivor who did beat decease and was one of the best after that.
He did cheat and get caught. Yes also I did not liked that and hated he's tyranny acting at cycling for decade.
Still he is big hero for lot of people..you can not ban that as he's cycling career.
has had a huge influence over it's current popularity.
And maybe even bigger influence over its unpopularity...
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| ringo182 |
Posted on 04-05-2016 11:42
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
ringo182 wrote:
Guido Mukk wrote:
you have to open so many mental hospitals. Like they say he is still hero for millions. Cancer survivor who did beat decease and was one of the best after that.
He did cheat and get caught. Yes also I did not liked that and hated he's tyranny acting at cycling for decade.
Still he is big hero for lot of people..you can not ban that as he's cycling career.
has had a huge influence over it's current popularity.
And maybe even bigger influence over its unpopularity...
I'm sure all of the other 1000's of cyclists, doctors, trainers and teams involved in doping have had just as much of a hand in that. How many have had as much of a positive influence as Armstrong? |
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 04-05-2016 11:49
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Can we not have a long winded discussion about Armstrong, pretty sure we've all covered him to death by this point.
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| ianrussell |
Posted on 04-05-2016 13:42
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Hincapie flying down the Champs Elysees strapped up with a broken collarbone in 2009 with Renshaw and Cavendish on his wheel. He powers to the front before delivering them for Cavendish to take his first win in Paris.
Maybe that classifies as an anti hero moment now, another memory sullied... |
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| trekbmc |
Posted on 04-05-2016 15:39
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What about Gino Bartali, who smuggled jews out of Italy during the second world war.
Or champion by spirit, strength, etc. Eugene Christophe, raced in the 1900's and 1910's but had incredible bad luck, lost the tour three times due to a broken fork and never gave up.
"What done is, is one." - Benji Naesen
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| Shonak |
Posted on 04-05-2016 18:36
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trekbmc wrote:
What about Gino Bartali, who smuggled jews out of Italy during the second world war.
What about him, I mentioned him in the opening post..  
Some very nice names, especially thanks to the unsung heroes.
Do you guys know of acts of chivalry and virtue, like helping a rider in need. I remember a picture of a Lotto(?) rider who helped another guy who looked awful. I think it was Marcel Sieberg. I also value such moments of compassion in the pro peloton.
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 04-05-2016 19:15
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Avin Wargunnson wrote:
ringo182 wrote:
Guido Mukk wrote:
you have to open so many mental hospitals. Like they say he is still hero for millions. Cancer survivor who did beat decease and was one of the best after that.
He did cheat and get caught. Yes also I did not liked that and hated he's tyranny acting at cycling for decade.
Still he is big hero for lot of people..you can not ban that as he's cycling career.
has had a huge influence over it's current popularity.
And maybe even bigger influence over its unpopularity...
Fuentes did that 2006. Then cycling lost most of the money/ sponsors/ germany |
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| Guido Mukk |
Posted on 04-05-2016 19:17
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ianrussell wrote:
Hincapie flying down the Champs Elysees strapped up with a broken collarbone in 2009 with Renshaw and Cavendish on his wheel. He powers to the front before delivering them for Cavendish to take his first win in Paris.
Maybe that classifies as an anti hero moment now, another memory sullied...
I am fan of these moments..also here hated Rogers. 2014 tour..was man who fixed Berties bike on descent..was man who was last with him when Bertie knee just did not bend after crash and descent. Good team mate / domestique is gold. |
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