[CR]Pic of the Day - Opperman Wins 1928 Boule d'Or

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From: "Aldo Ross" <aldoross4@siscom.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 21:36:07 -0400
reply-type=original
Subject: [CR]Pic of the Day - Opperman Wins 1928 Boule d'Or

Seventy-Eight Years Ago - Hubert Opperman on his way to winning the 1928 Boule d'Or on the Buffalo velodrome in Paris:

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/aldoross/pd/Opperman.JPG.html
>From "Match l'Intran" No.014, 4 September 1928. Three-page article with five pics of Opperman in action, but no mention of sabotaged chains, or Oppy riding his interpreter's heavy bike with fenders.
>From Wikipedia: "In 1928 he won the prestigious Bol d'Or 24-hour classic at a 500m velodrome in Paris. The feat of winning this race is even more astounding. Both his racing bikes had been sabotaged by the chains being filed down so that they soon failed. His manager had to find a replacement bike quickly, and it ended up being the bicycle of his interpreter with heavy mudguards and wheels and upturned handlebars. Effectively he was out of the race for about an hour. But Opperman was determined and rode the old bike for 17 hours without dismounting. He won the race by 30 minutes to the cheers of 50,000 French citizens yelling "allez Oppy". He received a hero's welcome when he returned to Melbourne later that year."

Aldo Ross
Middletown, Ohio