I was waiting to see if anyone else would answer, but is this the rider to whom you are referring?
http://www.wooljersey.com/
(from "La Course en Tete" - sorry for the poor quality, but I filmed it from the VHS on my tv)
If that's the footage, the rider is René Grelin, the race is stage 19 of the 1970 Tour de France, and he is withdrawing on the Tourmalet climb.
I've always found this footage very painful to watch. Here's a man who, through illness injury or exhaustion, simply cannot continue. In tears, he falls into the arms of his directeur sportif, the great Jean De Gribaldy. You can understand what Grelin is saying, even without subtitles: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry".
René Grelin, born September 21st 1942 in Gigny-sur-Saône, France, raced professionally from 1969 through 1975. Teams included Tigra, Ovaphil - Bonanza, Fagor - Mercier, Gan, and U.N.C.P.
1970 was probably Grelin's best racing season, with wins at Nice-Seillans and the Tour du Haut-Var.
Aldo Ross
Middletown, Ohio
>
> One of the gifts that I recieved this year was a DVD called "Crash! Road
> cycling's Greatest Crashes". At the end is a clip in black and white show
> ing a cyclist wearing Frimatic gear, a hat and jersey, having to drop out
> o
> f a race. Can anyone identify the rider and/or the race?
>
> Paul Patzkowsky
> Longmont, Colorado