Cyclist known as the ‘eternal second’ stole the hearts of Tour of France fans
Raymond Poulidor, who has died aged 83, was a cyclist who, had his career not coincided with those of Jacques Anquetil and Eddie Merckx, would surely have won a clutch of Tours de France; as it was, “the Eternal Second” became even better loved than his two rivals.
His duels with Anquetil particularly caught the imagination of the French people. Anquetil, with his air of aloof superiority, was the supreme tactician, a master of the time trial who always seemed to ride within himself and suffer less than other riders (that was an illusion, he insisted).
Poulidor, warm and outgoing, was the more adventurous and flamboyant, the pain of his striving etched on his face as he shone in the mountains.
Anquetil’s domination came from the head;
Poulidor’s challenges sprang from the heart.
Two sociologists, Jean-Luc Boeuf and Yves Leonard, made a study of their rivalry and what it meant to the people of France: “Those who recognised themselves in Anquetil liked his priority of style and elegance in the way he rode . . . Humble people saw themselves in Poulidor, whose face – lined with effort – represented the life they led on land they worked without rest or respite.”
Poulidor came from the land. He was born on the farm owned by his parents in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. “The soil was poor and we had to work hard,” he recalled.
With his services required on the farm, he left school at 14; his only recreation was the inter-village cycle races. He spent three years as an amateur before being called up for National Service; he was sent to Algeria, where he worked as a driver. By that time Anquetil, though only two years older, was already an Olympic medallist.
Back in France, having put on about 10 kilograms, Poulidor quickly shed his excess weight and won his first race by six minutes. When he won 80,000 francs for finishing second in his next outing, it was, he calculated, more than he would have earned in six years on the family farm.
Turning professional in 1960, he made his Tour de France debut in 1962. He finished third behind Anquetil – who could only look on as his new rival won French hearts. The press nicknamed him “Pou-Pou”, which he detested, preferring “Pouli”.
The following year saw another win for Anquetil, with Poulidor in eighth. On the crucial 17th stage, in the Alps, as Anquetil raced to victory, there were groans on the finish line as news came through that further back, Poulidor had cracked.
The 1964 Tour represented his best chance to snatch victory from the master: on stage 20, it was almost hand-to-hand combat as they duelled their way up the unforgiving slopes of the Puy de Dome in central France: for 10km, they rode side by side through an estimated half a million fans. They both recalled being able to feel the other’s hot breath on their arms as they drained their reserves. “I never felt that bad on a bike,” Poulidor would recall.
He pulled away from his bitter rival, but had not shaved enough off Anquetil’s lead to prevent his overall victory. The following year Anquetil was absent from the Tour, but Poulidor failed to capitalise, and the race was won by young Italian Felice Gimondi. Anquetil was back in 1966. In terms of winning, he was a spent force, but put his efforts into assisting his team-mate, Lucien Aimar, who beat Poulidor into third place.
During that 1966 Tour, the popular Poulidor alienated his colleagues by becoming the first rider to be drug-tested, while all the others fled the hotel. The next day the others staged a protest and slammed Poulidor for his acquiescence. “After that, they did me no favours in the peloton,” he recalled.
By 1969, a new rival kept him off the top of the podium: Eddy Merckx, the fiercely competitive Belgian. A joke went round that Poulidor and Gimondi were fined for taking a tow from a truck up the Col du Tourmalet. Where was Merckx? Towing the truck.
By 1972, time seemed to be running out for Poulidor’s Tour ambitions, and with Merckx rampant, he finished only third. In 1974, Merckx proved to be his nemesis yet again.
Suffering badly from bronchitis, he had a miserable 1975 Tour, finishing only 19th at the age of 39, and calls for his retirement grew louder. But he returned a final time in 1976, finishing third. He had raced 14 Tours, finishing second three times and third five times, and winning seven Tour stages. In all those years, he never once wore the leader’s yellow jersey.
Although he never won the big one, there were consolations, he mused: “The more unlucky I was, the more the public liked me and the more money I earned.”
He is survived by wife Gisele, and their two daughters. One of his grandsons is the Dutch cycling prodigy Mathieu van der Poel. –
“The more unlucky I was, the more the public liked me and the more money I earned.”