WINNER OF THE 1955 PARIS- ROUBAIX
I won Paris-Roubaix on Easter Day, which was always an auspicious day for me - I’d already won two races on Easter Day.
That year, the weather was terrible, it was cold and rained. I had no plan at all in the morning that I was going to win. I knew I was in good condition and that my form was good, but I wasn’t thinking of the win. In those days the race really did start in Paris, and the race split up early, with me in the fourth echelon.
There was a hard climb in the last 40km, the Côte de Doullens, where Louison Bobet rode very hard. I attacked, to join Bernard Gauthier, then attacked alone with 30km to go and they never caught me.
Behind me, Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet were in the next group. But they were watching each other and there is no doubt at all that day that I benefitted from their rivalry. Their main plan was that they would not help the other one to win, and that meant that they didn’t chase me. I still had to ride hard, and I was exhausted - so empty at the finish that I couldn’t feel too much emotion. I was cooked, cooked, cooked. But the next day, I was very happy - ParisRoubaix is the queen of classics, the biggest race.
My training secret was that I did a lot of cyclo-cross during the winter, which taught me balance on the bike, and
I think that helped me to win Paris-Roubaix.