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• Rubbed shoulders with Greg Lemond back in the early '90s... - genungo 11:34:43 05/09/16 (1)
  In Reply to: RE: Met and shook hands with Eddy Merckx at the Long Beach Bike Show back in the 80's... posted by Ivan303 on May 09, 2016 at 08:05:39

  As an amateur racer I was cycling along the back roads of Healdsburg (California) and suddenly Greg swooshed past. I struggled to keep up as long as I could, but he had hired a big fat guy on a motor scooter to use as his windbreak ("motorpacing") for some high rpm fitness training so within a few minutes he was out of reach.
  
  Later on, I bumped into him again at Sawyer's News stand in Santa Rosa. We talked briefly, Greg seemed to be slightly discouraged by the state of competitive cycling at that point. He was nearing the end of his career and he was looking forward to a "retirement" consisting of golf and other restful activities.
  

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  • Ran into him a couple times when he was racing as an amateur..... - Ivan303 13:50:24 05/09/16 (0)
    In Reply to: RE: Rubbed shoulders with Greg Lemond back in the early '90s... posted by genungo on May 09, 2016 at 11:34:43

    Nevada City and his last amateur race before turning pro, which was a rainy 'Tour de San Francisco' in North Beach.
    
    Not making that up, but I might be spelling it wrong!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

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• RE: Met and shook hands with Eddy Merckx at the Long Beach Bike Show back in the 80's... - rbolaw 11:14:09 05/09/16 (1)
  In Reply to: RE: Met and shook hands with Eddy Merckx at the Long Beach Bike Show back in the 80's... posted by Ivan303 on May 09, 2016 at 08:05:39

  I was standing at the finish line of the final stage of the 1975 Tour de France, when Bernard Thevenet beat Eddy Merckx, after a French fan leaned over and punched Merckx during a key mountain stage a few days earlier and he dropped from 1st place to 2nd.
  Every time Merckx cycled (inches) past me on the circuit course on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the French fans would shout "Pou-Pou!", a taunting reference to frequent 2nd and 3rd place finisher Raymond Poulidor, who never won the Tour.
  

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  • RE: "Pou-Pou!" - genungo 16:22:42 05/09/16 (0)
    In Reply to: RE: Met and shook hands with Eddy Merckx at the Long Beach Bike Show back in the 80's... posted by rbolaw on May 09, 2016 at 11:14:09

    Funny story, thanks.

    However, I don't think it was ever established that Merckx was *intentionally* punched in the gut as he ascended one of the toughest climbs in the race.

    The man responsible for "punching" Merckx, was later questioned about it. He claimed that he was only doing what hundreds of other fans were doing at the time (whirling his arms forward in an effort cheer the leader on), and when Merckx veered too close to the side of the road he (Merckx) inadvertently collided with the man's whirling hand.

    Whatever the truth is, Merckx probably suffered some permanent damage as a result of having the wind knocked out of him while under exertion in the extreme altitude.

    And whatever the truth, the French WERE known for harboring an ugly form of nationalism back then. For instance, they adored "eternal second" Poulidor because he seemed "typically" French (brunette, dark-eyed, poor working class roots, etc...), but disliked champion Anquetil because he was Norman French and had blue eyes/blonde hair.

    So we can only imagine how the French felt about Belgian Eddy Merckx, routinely kicking their asses in the big tours. It's quite possible that he WAS intentionally assaulted on that day.
    
    

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    Edits: 05/10/16

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