--- In kom_@yahoogroups.com, "Karol Zielonko" <karol.zielonko@h...>
wrote:
>
> when I was a teenager,
> having picked up a copy of an old, used book called, "My World
> on Wheels", written by an Aussie roadie
> named Russell Mockridge who rode concurrently with Gaul. On
> Gaul's notriously high RPM climbing style he said that if anybody
> else tried to pedal like that it would kill them.

Hi Korol

Thanks for reminding me abouty the book. I bought a new copy when it
came out in UK and have just brought out of my garage to read.
Mockridge says Gaul had a low gear of 50 inches (126cm?) and pedalled
at 120 revs not the 65 that journalist Chany said. 50 inches is 45 /
24 - my gear set was 52-45 / 14,15,19, 24,26, which was maximum range
I (or anyone as far as I'm aware) could get on a racing gear. I used
Simplex Juy543 but I've heard riders used to tweak Campags to extend
top 24 to 26. Gaul used Campag.

As the book shows Mockridge was an an exceptional rider not least for
winning road races although he had Olympic gold track medals. He won
Tour of Vaucluse over Mt Ventoux. There's many many who still
respect him.

> Did I read right what you said about his alleged heart rate of
> 90 BPM while riding up a mountain? > I have to admit that
> that sounds absolutely absurd to me.

90BPM is what Pierre Chany says - but he seems to have made a
mistake about the 65RPM instead of 120. But I think Gaul's heart
rate could have been abnormally low. Much lower for example than the
190BPM which Theunisse, whom I find also a great climber, is shown as
having in a TTT for over an hour.

> It struck me, the difference between winners and their rivals in
> those days and now - losing 15 minutes in a stage. Seesh.
> If these guys at the top were takling this much time out of
> each other I wonder how much they were taking from the gregarios.

Mockridge who was a gregario for Gaul finished 36m13s at 58th behind
Bobet on the 1955 Marseille-Avignon stage over Ventoux. Mockridge
mentions Brian Robinson who was in my club. He finished at 16th
14m9s. In 1956, 1957 he was in Gaul's team in the Tour and finished
23rd in 1958 at 7m42 from Gaul in the Ventout TT. Apparently he's
still riding 3 or 4 times a week on 80 mile jaunts but not racing.
Last year in a presentation I think he said that the top riders such
as Gaul, Bobet, Geminiani just went away. He said Bobet was the
rider he most respected because of the degree to which he could push
himself. Tony Hoar from UK was Lanterne Rouge in 1955 Tour and
finished that stage at 36m13s, with Darrigade, van Steenbergen ( they
still had the big trailing group), from Bobet. He's still riding and
racing around Vancouver, Canada. He said on the Ventoux stage a
rider (I think Roger Hassenforder) put a jam tart on the seat of
another rider ('competing' with Hoar for LR) when he got off saddle
on Ventoux and who promptly sat on it.

> Now, when Lance takes a minute thirty out of Jan it's a
> big news.
>
They're both 'complete' riders, at the top in climbing, sprinting,
TT, road-racing. Gaul didn't seem prominent in road racing and was
exceptional climber and needed to make time in mountains. Chiapucci
similarly attacked in mountains.

Mike