Thanks, Ray..remind me to do the same for you sometime! I might be a pre-senile French-wine-glugging Yorkshireman, but while many of us cannot read a calendar, we can read the name printed on the top-tube of the bike...because, as you well know, Yorkshiremen like to get good value for their money!
In all there were six Pro racing cyclists in the Danguillaume family, of whom, disputedly, Camille was the best known. He was featured in "Pic of the Day" some months ago. I will concede that Jean-Pierre was very well known too as one of Bernard Thevenet's team-mates as well as in his own right. He was what is known in France as "un puncher" meaning someone who can sprint out of the bunch to take points for the green jersey (perhaps you Ray are a "puncher" too), or who can sprint for victory at the end of a stage. Andre Darrigade was just such a rider as was, Barry Hoban..one of the best UK riders.
Jean-Louis was Jean-Pierre's younger brother, by three years. D.O.B J-P 25/05/46, J-L 14/12/49. So Jean-Pierre has just celebrated his 60th birthday..and those two victories, 30th place on G-C and 9th in the Final Points (behind Hoban who was 6th) in the 1977 T-d-F seem like only last week!
The 56cm Peugeot 531SL team machine came to me from one of "Danguillaume's" friends. "It is from the late 70s.." I was told. A French friend who lived near to the seller collected the bike for me, for me to pick up later. It was some 15 months before I actually went to collect it..so you can imagine the tension that had built up, just waiting to see my T-d-F jewel, the bike that had been photographed so many times for Press articles and books.
Alain, the friend, had kept the bike in his small locker in the apartment block where he lives, just outside Versailles. We descended in the elevator to the basement crossed the ill-lit "sous-sol" parking, stepped through a heavy door to the locker rooms..Alain swung the key nonchalantly in his hand, milking the minute for all he was worth..Finally knowing that I had those 15 months of pent-up anticipation bursting to be released, he clicked the key in..turned it clockwise very deftly and in the same movement as it were, swung open the locker door..to reveal my prize.
He must have sensed my sheer bitter disappointment because it was palpable..there before me stood not the Peugeot Team machine resplendent in its silvery livery with the black and white checker-board bands next to the "World's" bands on the seat and down tubes...but some effeminate machine in pearl white, emasculated of its damniers, these being replaced by a "fade-out" type of checker-board panel..the result of some misguided loon in the marketing department.
Not wishing to upset Alain who had so long guarded my investment I stepped forward to take a closer look..Picking it up..was it really as light as it felt..were those really all SPIDEL components..and what is that black writing on the top-tube just in front of the seat cluster...It looked like a name...Danguillaume was easy to decipher..as was "Jean-.." but that next word wasn't "..Pierre" at all, but "...Louis".."Jean-Louis Danguillaume"!
Later I found out that Peugeot had changed the Team livery at the end of the 1978 season ( or was that 1979, Ray?)..so my bike never had been used to outsprint the bunch in the T-d-F...and I finally found out that Jean-Louis had raced with the Peugeot 1st team..but that he had never delivered the "punch" of his elder brother..and that he had like all the Danguillaume's before him, retired, after the peloton days were over, to live in Joue-les-Tours, in the Loire valley, where he had been born. I have his address to call on him..and then visit Regis Delapine, a former team mate in a sense, who lives just a little further down the Loire, near Angers, where, having retired from his job as a "rep" for Sachs-Maillard, now spends much of his time riding his bike..his new alloy-framed bike..as President of the local Velo Club...And that is part of the story of how I managed to buy his Peugeot 753 Team Pro...
Must have another glass of wine..it's thirsty work this emailing...
Norris Lockley..Settle UK