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/
>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