Re: [CR]Freddy's birthday

[Luis] Ocana was also there during the closing stages of the world championship in 1973 at Montjuich, when he rode in a leading group with Gimondi, Merckx and Maertens, and where a chasm was created between the two Belgians that was never healed. At the time, all the newspapers were not only full of the details of how Gimondi won, but more particularly of how Merckx and Maertens had lost. Merckx’s explanation for what happened is that at the request of Maertens—who claimed to have nothing left—he kept a low profile. If that had been the situation, Maertens would have led out the sprint for Merckx. Yet Merckx only slowed down over the last few hundred meters. “Treachery!” screamed Maertens at the finish. “Mercx has sold it to Gimondi.

Merckx would never have sold a major race, least of all a world championship,” said Ocana, full of conviction. “At least I was never aware of him doing so and I never heard anyone else say anything. With two kilometers to go, it was clear that Maertens was sacrificing his own chances to help Merckx, because he was keeping the tempo very high. Gimondi was following him, then Merckx, and I was sitting in fourth position. When Gimondi took off, it was to my astonishment that I noticed Merckx wasn’t able to go with him. Before I had time to get over the surprise, the gap had opened wide enough for Gimondi. If I’d had more belief in myself, I would have won the world championship in front of my own people, without a doubt."

At the time, Mercxk claimed: “I couldn’t feel my legs due to the nerves.” He adds to that now: “The way Maertens led out the sprint was all wrong. You lead out a sprint by gradually increasing the tempo, not by suddenly exploding away. When he did it, he opened up a gap of about two to three lengths in no time. In that sprint he blatantly rode me toward an inevitable defeat.”

from pp. 48-49, EDDY MERCKX, The Greatest Cyclist of the 20th Century, by Rik Vanwallenghem, Velo Press (Boulder, Co. 2000)

The depression you see on Merckx's face in the film is not simply of losing, but, more precisely, of feeling betrayed by Maertens. Viewed from that angle, his intense agony makes more sense. The film never gives us any details, and hence it is one situation where, I believe, a thousand words are worth MORE than a picture. No matter what is the ultimate reality as to what happened there on that day, it is clear that both Maertens and Merckx felt betrayed. In a way, it's too bad that Ocana didn't jump on the situationa and take the rainbow jersey in front of his fellow Spaniards.

Peter Jourdain
Whitewater, Wisconsin