>From reading many posts about American KOF framebuilders on the List, I thought it might be of some interest to point the attention of CR members towards a French KOF frame that is currently for sale on Ebay. The frame, a PROFICA, - item No 120192935808 - is the result of a collanboration of three well-known Parisan personalities, namely Alain Prost, former Formula One racing driver, Jacques Cadiou, former Pro cyclist with Jean De Gribaldys' teams in the 60s, and co-equipier of Joachim Aghostino, and, of course, none other than Laurent Fignon..twice winner of the Tour de France..and many other races. It is very fashionable in Paris to ride on an a large eliptical track in the Bois de Boulogne, not far from the Arc de Triomphe, on Sunday mornings. When Alain Prost decided to take up cycling again to exercise a leg injury, the Bois was where he started out, then, having got a liking for the sport and having found that he had an aptitude for it, he ventured into the serious stuff such as the L'Etape du Tour and other "sportif" events. he even went up to see an old friend of mine, Jean-Marie Duret to get measured up for his "GELIANO" bike. Around the same time Cadiou was also keeping his legs spinning in the Bois...and also Fignon, who by this time was beginning to fill out a bit, after giving up his day job as a Pro. The theree of them decuided to team up and open up a "pro" shop - Cycles Profica - in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Mollineaux, the point of entry into Paris of most of the last stages of the Tour.
I doubt whether any of this trio ever really got their hands dirty in the venture, but the collaboration led to the production of some very elegant and understated frames. All this took place sometime in the early to mid-90s...but of course Cadiou and Fignon permit this contri to fit into the CR List time-frame, even if the PROFICA bikes don't. I never found out just who built the frames but would guess at either Denis Quillon, with whom Fignon had had connections during his racing career, or Philippe, at Blois, who had built some of the superbly elegant frames that equipped Cyrille Guimard's MAXI-SPORT team...of which Fignon was a member.
Norris Lockley...from a very damp Settle UK
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