Some photos to supplement Mike's posting:

http://tinyurl.com/7erq3




--- In kom_@yahoogroups.com, Michael Fletcher <mjbflr@y...> wrote:
>
> Charly Gaul died on Tuesday.
>
> For me he was with Federico Bahamontes the greatest of the
climbers over the last 50 years. I took up cycling in 1956 in a club
and region full of hill-climbers and immediately tried to model Gaul's
small-geared, seated climbing. To me every picture of him shows the
perfect mountain stylist. I followed his exploits in Miroir-Sprint
and But-Et Club as well as Cycling Weekly for the Tour. As he and
Bahamontes were eclipsed I remorselessly searched each year for
reports of a new climbing sensation – Jiminez, Fuentes, Motta, Van
Impe, Herrera … but one never emerged until perhaps the unfulfilled
Pantani. Gauls' mountain wins were over the Alps, Pyrenees and
Dolomites. He was prominent on all the major climbs of Galibier, Croix
de Fer, Izoard, Ventoux, Aubisque, Puy de Dome, Stelvio,
>
> Althogh it seemed he was comparatively ignored in the 1970s and
1980s now in this age of statistics and pre-occupation with climbing
the English speaking press at least recognise Gaul for his worth and
his achievements are well-documented. His rivals whom he beat in the
mountains were Tour, Giro or KoM winners such as Bobet (a 3 times TdF
winner), Anquetil (5 times winner), Bahamontes, Kubler, Nencini and
formidable riders such as Geminiani. It was said that "in the
mountains when Gaul presses on his pedals the following race convoy
press on their accelerators".
>
> He triumphed in the worst of cold, stormy, windy or freezing
conditions but many times suffering and failing in the heat. In a
Tour national team regime as a Luxembourger he rode with weaker teams
so had to be an opportunist. His first exploit was aged 17 when he
won on the Glossglockner. Later he said "In the hills I dominate
easily when either there's a hill finish or a long stage". Only now
does one realise how rare such riders are who as Tour contenders can
attack from the beginning of stages. And can recover from 10 minute
setbacks.
>
> In 1954 at 21y he won the Circuit des Six Provences (Dauphine
Libere) over the Galibier "in a massive snow-storm following tyre
marks of race cars". In 1955 he led over the Galibier by 16m winning
by 14m over Kubler, Bobet. The next day he attacked to have an 11m
lead on the Vars and la Cayolle with icy rain and strong winds to be
later dropped before Monaco by Geminiani. His first 1956 Giro win was
in the same freezing conditions that Andy Hampsten won in the
Dolomites. Near the end of the Dolomite stage on Mont Bondone he was
carried frozen to a hostel to recover then continued at the finish
having his jersey cut off and no memory of the last 4km. I remember
the photographs of Gaul and Geminiani in his 1958 Chartreuse win in a
terrible icy rain-stormy day over the Luitel, Porte, Granier and
Cucheron where in a lone breakaway he gained 15m on maillot jaune
Geminiani. Bahamontes was on his wheel but was dropped. It was said
"he attacked on the first bend and wasn't seemn on
> the second of the Luitel". In the last 20km he got hunger-knock
and seized a proferred baguette from a spectator thinking it was a
banana "riding on dry bread".. In the heat two days previously he'd
lost 10 minutes on the Gap stage where he'd been dropped by Anquetil
on the Casse Deserte Izoard to such effect that Anquetil could stop
for a drink. In 1956 he'd been second to Huot over the Izoard. As
Francois has recounted he was rushed to an ambulance after his 1958
Ventoux win in the heat after beating Bahamontes by 31s.. Three years
previously in 1955 in strong Ventoux heat of 40C in the shade he'd
lost 5m23s to Bobet the reigning world champion who had led at the
summit. That was the year Mallejac collapsed to near death, van
Genechten nearly asphyxiated and Kubler finished 20m down – Kublers
mind affected by the heat and ending his career. In 1959 in the heat
of the Pyrenees he and Bobet lost 32m to Anglade and Anquetil on the
Albi-Aurillac stage. Later he was 2nd on
> the Puy de Dome TT to Bahamontes and won the St Etienne-Grenoble
stage after a 66km breakaway from the Col de Romeyere with Bahamontes
at 3m over Graczyk., 12m over Bobet.
>
> Pierre Chany says he climbed with a heart-rate at best performance
of 90BPM for long periods even with accelerations and high altitude
effects and at a cadence of 65 when most riders were 47-55. But
Chany's data could be innaccurate. A recent book shows his team
looking in wonderment at his results of a lung test before the Tour.
Gaul said "On a hill I don't bother about others. I pedal at my own
rhythm and if there's someone still there I ride faster then faster
until he's dropped. Sometimes somebody escapes but I don't bother
about following immediately, it would be an error - in the mountains
one's muscles tire easily and I'd have to then recover at some point".
Chany assessed him as a cool tactician who didn't panic in adversity
but with the panache of a boxer to deliver knock-out blows of 14
minute wins at the most opportune time and place. The day before his
classic 1958 Chartreuse 7m win he said "Tomorrow I will attack on the
Luitel if it rains". His sense of their
> climbing status caused him and Bahamontes to accelerate and drop
the lowly Englishman Vic Sutton needlessly on the Col de Romeyre in
1959 (the start of a classic 66km duo breakaway win) when Vic
approached them on a mountain stage to form a threesome. Even when
Gaul performed relatively badly finishing 32m down in the flat 1956
Tour he still took the KoM from Bahamontes winning the Turin-Grenoble
stage by attacking on the Croix de Fer and Izoard. He beat Anquetil
in the Tour of Italy in 1959 climbing at speed on the Petit St
Bernard.. He won on the Stelvio climbing it 15m faster than 1960 and
1961 world champion and multi-classics winner Rik van Looy.
>
> Gaul had a well-documented enmity with 3 times Tour winner Bobet
across the Giro and Tour. In 1955 he'd dropped Bobet by 16m on the
Galibier. He lost the 1957 Giro because of a duel with Bobet who
linked with Italians to attack him but whom Gaul later despatched by
coalescing with Nencini. But they are photographed together in the
1955 Tour which Bobet won sharing food "in an epic struggle where the
enemy wasn't the other but hunger and thirst" on the Aubisque where
Gaul led Bobet by 50metres at the top, Gaul had won the previous days
stage to St Gaudens.over the Aspin, Peyresourde.
>
> He came 5th to Longo in the world cyclo-cross championship and was
twice Luxembourg c-c champion, He won flat or hilly time trials
beating Anquetil – who would have expected to win on such courses - in
his 1958 Tour victory averaging 44.2kph for a 74km TT. But he'd won
other non-mountain TTs in the Tour such as 1956 in Rouen. So as we
all know a specialist mountain climber should also be also a top roadman.
>
> He was called the Butcher of Battenberg from his beginnings as
butcher's boy, The Helicopter, the Angel of the Mountains, the Angel
of the Rain , the Archangel and he won the King of the Mountains. He
was slender with steely blue eyes, 173cm height and 64kg weight.
More recently J-M Leblanc described him as very modest, a true cycling
fan of the current scene with his home packed full of cycling photos.
It's said he worked as archivist for L'Equipe
> .
> He congratulated Vaughters on his 1999 Ventoux win of 56m55s and
supported Pantani.as his friend. His own time was 1h2m9s in 1958 on
a hot day beating the favoured Bahamontes by 31s and 5th placed
Anquetil at 4m9s. Considering the roughish surface and probably
around 1kg (or 2% rider/bike) extra bike weight this was a fast ride.
>
>
>
>
> Mike Fletcher
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>