Since the histories of our past heroes are usually not off topic I thought the following worth mentioning. In the famous film by Marcel Ophul's (should be on two dots over the u) "The sorrow and the Pity." about collaboration with the Nazis in Vichy France, Geminiani is prominently profiled behind the bar he owned in a small French town. His views can be interpreted as equivocal at best and collaborationist at worst. Edward Albert Chappaqua, New York, U.S.A.
On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 12:24 AM, <thteach@sonic.net> wrote:
> A list member suggested I post the link to the 1961 Raphael Geminiani Bike
> I have for sale on ebay. This is for any folks on the fence.
>
>
> http://ebay.com/
>
> For those who don't know Raphael Geminiani was a pro racer from 1946 to
> 1958. He was a well respected racer who didn't get the big wins but was
> always in the mix. Sort of like George Hincapie is today. George is a
> Rouler. Gem was a Climber. He was Champion of France in 1953. Geminiani
> has a more outgoing and aggressive personality than Hincapie. He was
> leading in the Tour de France in 1958 before he had a bad day then lost to
> Charlie Gaul. He helped both Bobet and Coppi to great wins. After he
> retired he was the Director Sportif of the St Raphael Team and then later
> Eddy Merckx's Fiat Team. His efforts transformed pro road racing. The
> format of commercially sponsored teams versus either national teams or
> individual start with agents, was Geminiani's greatest contribution to
> cycling.
>
> Todd Teachout
> Hercules, CA