• Raymond Poulidor. Legend in the shadow of Anquetil and Merckx

Dressed in that yellow jersey that was always forbidden, sitting by a modest table in the villages of the last editions of the Tour de France, with infinite patience he attended the VIP guests of the Grande Boucle and signed hundreds of autographs to the fans They revered him. Raymond Poulidor (Mérignat, 1936) was the idol of the people, the rocky cyclist who never gave up, brave and always generous with the coequipiers . A country guy who conquered for his courage. A climber with an extraordinary record, but who was always listed as a second for his frustrated intentions of embracing victory in the Tour. Three times he finished second (1964, 1965 and 1974) and five in third place (1962, 1966, 1969, 1972 and 1976). On eight occasions he was on the podium, a great feat, he won seven stages in 14 participations, but he never dressed in the leader's jersey.

The French champion always endured an unfair qualifier, it can not be a second person who adds 189 wins, scores the general of the Tour of Spain (1964) and wins Milan-San Remo (1961), the Championship of France on the road (1961) , the Walloon Arrow, the Grand Prix of Nations (1963), the Criterium Dauphiné (1966 and 1969) and the Paris-Nice (1972 and 1973). Triumphs in great races, in tests of a week and in classics. Extraordinary versatility.

Pou Pou died on Wednesday, a few weeks after being hospitalized in Saint-Léonard de Noblat, near Bordeaux, due to fatigue. He barely had the strength to communicate with his relatives, the doctors responded only with monosyllables. He managed to recover, he could even cheer up his grandson, the Belgian Mathiew van der Poel , at the Yorkshire Road World Championship.

Son of some modest farmers, he embodied the effort of the humble, condemned to face the best cast of cyclists ever: the Norman Jacques Anquetil , tremendous time trialist; the Belgian Eddy Merckx , insatiable cannibal; the Breton Bernard Hinault , complete in all modalities. It also coincided with the Spanish pioneer climbers, Bahamontes and Julio Jiménez , and with the unforgettable Felice Gimondi and Luis Ocaña . Pou Pou fought against everyone and learned from everyone. The essence of cycling. The most illustrious pages of cycling include that shoulder-to-shoulder stamp with Anquetil in the Puy de Dome de Tour of 1964, in which his rival was wearing the yellow jersey. «Anquetil the winner, Poulidor the hero», titled L'Equipe .

Too greedy

He knew how to live with humor with that unfair appeal. "They tell me I had bad luck, but it's not true, because I never had a serious fall," he joked. He always held places of honor in major races. Not even at the beginning of his sporting decline did he stop shining, he retired in 1977, shortly after obtaining silver at the 1974 Montreal World Cup, where he was only surpassed by Merckx. The Belgian, unsurpassed brake for Pou Pou , was a gigantic adversary, but both, after hanging the bicycles, strengthened ties. «A great man, a great champion, much loved by the French. Its simplicity, the warmth of its contact with the public were not manufactured qualities, it was simply Raymond. He was in life as in the race, loyal, clean, warm. I have a great sadness. During my career we were rivals, but then I frequented it often. It is a great loss, a great friend who leaves, ”lamented the pentacampeón of the Tour.

Born in the humble family, Poulidor knew how to make the loser's aesthetic profitable. During his professional stage he filled his pockets. His rivals accused him of being too greedy. «It was my historical rival, an enemy on the first level road, which also made me great tasks. Once he stamped me against the fences by climbing Envalira, in the Tour of 1964, to get a cash prize. He was somewhat anxious for the money, he fought unscrupulously if there was any amount at stake, ”said Julio Jimenez , a native of Venezuela on Wednesday.

In his legacy is a grandson, Mathie van der Poel, who aspires to conquer the impossible yellow. "He is better than me, he will win a Tour," the Frenchman ventured when the kid began to impact the start of this year. Mathie, the heir who will avenge Pou Pou .

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