Roger Hassenforder, in 1955, congratulated by ... Annie Cordy (left).
-
AFP
Alsace lost one of its most famous cyclists with the death of Roger Hassenforder this Sunday.
He was 90 years old.
He had won eight stages of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey in 1953.
"I have a Bobet in each leg," he said, he who was also known for his temper.
Alsace has lost one of its most famous cyclists.
Roger Hassenforder, wearing the yellow jersey for the Tour de France in 1953, died this Sunday at the age of 90 at the Departmental Rest and Care Center in Colmar (Haut-Rhin).
Born on July 23, 1930 in Sansheim, the Haut-Rhinois had raced for thirteen seasons from 1953 to 1965. Not without forging a nice little track record!
He had won eight stages of the Tour de France, in six participations, and had also made himself known by his fiery character and his inflammatory statements.
“I have a Bobet in each leg,” he had notably launched in the form of a joke, referring to the three-time winner of the Tour.
His sense of repartee had contributed to his great popularity and his attacking temperament carried to astonishing exploits sometimes followed by spectacular failures.
Unpredictable runner
Generous in the extreme, unexpected as much as possible in his behavior, he won the Critérium national three times (1954, 1956, 1958), the Tour du Sud-Est (1953), theoops of the Seine (1959), as well as the French Pursuit Championship (1954).
On the Tour de France, this unpredictable rider, both a roller and a sprinter, wore the yellow jersey for four days from his first participation (1953).
But he only finished the event once, in 1956, when he was selected at the last minute in the Western team.
Legend has it that that year, he got it into his head to greet the riders at the start.
He was blissfully in a tuxedo, after partying in a nightclub.
"If you were more serious, I would have taken you because I have a package guy", then launched Leon Le Calvez, the manager of the Western team.
The prospect of finding Louis Caput, Hassenforder's great mate, won out.
"Banco," he replied, "I am leaving, promising to arrive."
The front page of "Paris-Match" against a sea bath
The Alsatian won four stages, the last at Montluçon after a long solitary breakaway of 187 kilometers.
The following year, in the Cannes-Marseille stage, he succeeded in the feat of leading part of the peloton into the Mediterranean.
Because of the heat, but more certainly because of a publicity stunt in
Paris-Match
.
"That day," he said, "I was nine minutes early and the editor-in-chief (Raymond Cartier) offered me the front page against a sea bath. When I got out of the water, everything smelled of salt. including bananas.
Other runners followed me.
In the evening, I was almost excluded.
"
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