Pic of the Day 18 January 2009
Preparing for the 1934 Racing Season.
The original caption reads "The workshop for preparation and development of racing equipment in large bicycle company." Here a technician works on one of the "Olympique" (France) team bikes for the 1934 season. Two frames hang from the ceiling (upper left) - I've included an enlargement of the downtube logo in the insert (upper right). Note the full mud guards and lack of rear brake, although there appears to be a lever clamp beneath the tape on the left side of the handlebars... perhaps this handsome bike is a fixed gear for winter training, rear brake removed for whatever reason? Note also lots of new and used tires hanging from hooks or horizontal board, lots of shiny new aluminum water bottles arranged on top of the cabinet, the pile of new rims in the lower right of the photo, and a copy of "Match l'Intran" on the drafting table (lower right).
The Olympique company fielded professional teams intermittently through
the 1920s, 1930s, 19402, and 1950s. Their greatest successes came from
Swiss rider Heiri Suter in the mid-1920s.
>From "Match l'Intran" No.444, 12 February 1935.
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Aldo Ross
Middletown, Ohio, USA