B
B. Lafferty
Guest
"Razorback" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> B. Lafferty:
>> Proof? [about Merckx being paid not to race]
>
> Besides the fact that Merckx has said so, the 1973 Tour Director
> Jacques Goddet publicly stated that they would rather have "someone
> else win the Tour for a change." Merckx had won the previous four Tours
> and the French were starting to get itchy that someone might equal
> Jacques Anquetil's then-record 5 Tour wins.
>
> Merckx was so dominant in those four Tours (1969-1972), he won the Tour
> and the points competition in all four. And in the first two (1969,
> 1970) he additionally won the King of the Mountains, the only two times
> a rider has ever won the yellow, green, and polka dot jerseys in the
> same Tour.
>
> This isn't proof that he received payment not to race the '73 Tour. But
> it sure is evidence that supports Merckx's assertion.
In 1973, Merckx won the Tour of Spain and the Giro in the spring.
"Trying to equal Jacques Anqetil's record of winning the Tour five times did
not interest me. I have always ridden according to my instinct rather than
to a certain plan. Besides, I got a lot of resistance from Thevenet and
Ocana in that Vuelta. The nice thing about July was that for the first time
since becoming a professional, I had a chance of getting some rest. I even
went with my family to the coast for a few days. I never really gave any
thought to riding the trio: Vuelta-Giro-Tour."
Eddy Merckx quoted in Van Walleghem's book at p.143
news:[email protected]...
>> B. Lafferty:
>> Proof? [about Merckx being paid not to race]
>
> Besides the fact that Merckx has said so, the 1973 Tour Director
> Jacques Goddet publicly stated that they would rather have "someone
> else win the Tour for a change." Merckx had won the previous four Tours
> and the French were starting to get itchy that someone might equal
> Jacques Anquetil's then-record 5 Tour wins.
>
> Merckx was so dominant in those four Tours (1969-1972), he won the Tour
> and the points competition in all four. And in the first two (1969,
> 1970) he additionally won the King of the Mountains, the only two times
> a rider has ever won the yellow, green, and polka dot jerseys in the
> same Tour.
>
> This isn't proof that he received payment not to race the '73 Tour. But
> it sure is evidence that supports Merckx's assertion.
In 1973, Merckx won the Tour of Spain and the Giro in the spring.
"Trying to equal Jacques Anqetil's record of winning the Tour five times did
not interest me. I have always ridden according to my instinct rather than
to a certain plan. Besides, I got a lot of resistance from Thevenet and
Ocana in that Vuelta. The nice thing about July was that for the first time
since becoming a professional, I had a chance of getting some rest. I even
went with my family to the coast for a few days. I never really gave any
thought to riding the trio: Vuelta-Giro-Tour."
Eddy Merckx quoted in Van Walleghem's book at p.143