A rider I would really like to find out more about is Ottavio Bottecchia. The first Italian to win the Tour be was another character of the peloton. The picture from the stage over the Tourmalet show's the conditions these riders had to take part in. I think mountain bikers of today would bulk at having to climb scree like this but these machines were the working class, hard as nails and for a time where courage was the order of the day. Bottecchia himself was a bricklayer and and in the 1924 Tour he would go on to win the grand prize after rattling through the Pyranees and building up a 50 minute gap.
Photo from L'Equipe
Any information on this post or any stories you would like to share can be sent to me. Don't be shy, lets share the history of our great sport
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| Ottavio Bottecchia, Bayonne - Luchon |
Any information on this post or any stories you would like to share can be sent to me. Don't be shy, lets share the history of our great sport
