Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 â€“ 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964.

He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the yellow jersey on day one and wear it all through the tour, a tall order with two previous winners in the field—Charly Gaul—but he did it. His victories in stage races such as the Tour were built on an exceptional ability to ride alone against the clock in individual time trial stages, which lent him the name "Monsieur Chrono".

He won eight Grand Tours in his career, which was a record when he retired and was surpassed only by Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.

Early life

Anquetil was born on 8 January 1934 in a clinic in Mont-Saint-Aignan, a suburb of Rouen in Normandy situated next to Bois-Guillaume, where his parents had a house at the time. His father Ernest was the grandson of a Prussian soldier called Ernst, who died in the Franco-Prussian War after having an affair with Melanie Grouh, Ernest's grandmother. Melanie later married Frédéric Anquetil, who adopted her son Ernest Victor, Jacques' grandfather, who would later die in World War I, leaving Jacques' father Ernest as the head of the family at the age of 11. On 25 May 1929, Ernest married Jacques' mother Marie, who had been orphaned since the age of 2 and been raised by nuns in an orphanage. Jacques had a younger brother, Philippe.

Anquetil received his first bike from his father at the age of 4. When Jacques was seven, his father Ernest returned from his service in World War II and, unable to find building work except for the German occupying forces, moved with the family to Le Bourguet close to Quincampoix to become a strawberry farmer. It was here that the young Anquetil attended school, receiving good grades, particularly in mathematics. Ernest Anquetil often became violent after excess alcohol consumption, and Jacques' mother eventually moved into an apartment in Paris, leaving her sons with their father. As his second bike grew too small for him, Anquetil needed a new one at the age of 11. With his father being unable to afford it, Jacques argued successfully to allow him to replace one of the workers on the strawberry fields, earning him the necessary money to buy a Stella bicycle on his own. At the age of 14, he began to attend Technical College in Rouen's southern district of Sotteville to become a metalworker. It was here that he met and befriended Maurice Dieulois, who rode amateur bike races on the weekends and whose father had been president of the local cycling club AC Sottevillais. Through him, Anquetil got into bicycle racing, signing up to the club under the tutelage of André Boucher late in the summer of 1950. Since it was too late to participate in any more races that year, he instead focussed on getting into shape for the coming season. Boucher recognized Anquetil's talent and offered him two bikes, one for training and one for races, as well as free supply of tyres, bike maintenance and a performance bonus. At the end of 1950, Anquetil gained his diploma and by the end of January 1951 had taken a job in a workshop in Sotteville, for a meager pay of 64 francs an hour. Since his employer would not allow him Thursday evening off, which the club used for training rides, he quit his position at the beginning of March, moving back to working on his father's farm while pursuing a career in cycling.

Amateur career

Anquetil's first race as an amateur was in Le Havre on 8 April 1951. While Dieulois won, Anquetil finished in the field. He took his first victory in his fourth race, the Grand Prix Maurice Latour on 3 May of the same year. Over the remaining course of the season, he won a total of eight races, including winning the Normandy team time trial championships with his teammates in July. Ending the season was his first ever individual time trial, which was also the last race of the season-long ''maillot des jeunes'' competition for local amateur riders. Setting off last as the leader of the competition, four minutes after Dieulois, Anquetil showed reluctance to catch and overtake his friend, but eventually did so, winning both the race and the competition as a whole.

For his second amateur season in 1952, Anquetil moved up from the junior into the senior ranks. The year produced another eleven victories and five more top-three placings. During the regional championship race for Normandy, he was marked the entire race by rival riders from the powerful cycling club from Caen. from the finish, frustrated by his opponents' tactics, Anquetil was ready to retire, but Boucher urged him on. Anquetil then pretended by untie his toe-straps, falling back in the group, causing his opponents to assume he would retire. He then attacked from the back of the group, left the competition behind, bridged a five-minute gap to the leading group and won. He was also victorious in the Grand Prix de France time trial, winning the event by a significant 12-minute margin. His first ever appearance at a national race came at the qualification event for the Olympic Games, he came third. Shortly after, he won the French amateur championships in Carcassonne, securing a call-up for the French squad at the Helsinki Olympic Games later in the year. On 3 August, he lined up for road race at the 1952 Summer Olympics, but was disappointed to only finish twelfth. He fared better in the team race, taking the bronze medal alongside Alfred Tonello and Claude Rouer. Next, he competed in the amateur road race at the 1952 UCI Road World Championships in Luxembourg, which also featured future stars such as Charly Gaul. The course, being run over a flat terrain, did not suit Anquetil, and he finished in the bunch, being ranked in equal eighth place with all finishers in his group.

For his final season as an amateur, Anquetil took a licence as an "independent", a category between amateur and professional, which was abolished in 1966. This allowed him to enter races with young professionals to further test himself. After winning the independent championship of Normandy, his first race against professional competition came in August at the three-stage Tour de la Manche. On the first stage, he finished second, 24 seconds behind future World Champion Jean Stablinski. In the following day's time trial, Anquetil won by almost 2 minutes, taking the lead of the race. On the final stage to Cherbourg, the riders on the rival teams tried to dislodge him, going so far as to force him into crashing into a ditch. Anquetil has then helped by another independent rider, Maurice Pelé, who disapproved of the others' tactics and assisted Anquetil in getting back into the group. Anquetil went on to finish safely in the peloton and won the race overall. In the amateur category, Anquetil was leading the season-long ''maillot des As'' competition run by the newspaper ''Paris–Normandy''. The last race of the competition was a time trial on 23 August 1953. Anquetil won the event by a margin of nine minutes over second-placed Claude Le Ber at an average speed of , a speed unheard of from an amateur rider. This led journalist Alex Virot from Radio Luxembourg to joke that "In Normandy there can only be 900 metres in a kilometre!". Following this exploit, Anquetil was invited to race in the Circuit de l'Aulne, the most prestigious criterium race in France, which that year included Tour de France winner Louison Bobet. Anquetil finished in the leading group but during the final sprint was held by the jersey by another, unknown rider, preventing him from victory, which went to Bobet.

Professional career

1953: Grand Prix des Nations

After his success at the Tour de la Manche, Anquetil was approached by several professional teams. Francis Pélissier, a former professional and sporting director of the La Perle team, offered him a contract in order to race in the Grand Prix des Nations in September. It was back then considered the most prestigious time trial event in the world, often described as the "unofficial world championship" for time trialists. Anquetil, still a minor, needed consent from his parents to sign the contract, which initially ran for two months from September to October 1953. He was paid 30,000 francs per month. The contract with La Perle briefly led to conflict between Anquetil and his coach Boucher, who threatened legal action. The two made up however in time for Boucher to help Anquetil prepare for the race.

The Grand Prix des Nations took place on 27 September over a distance from Versailles to the Parc des Princes in Paris. Anquetil prepared meticulously, sending himself postcards from different places along the route describing the course. On race day, he started strongly, even though he was held back by a puncture and a bike swap within the first couple of kilometres. He eventually won the time trial by a margin of almost seven minutes ahead of Roger Creton. Even though still just 19 years of age, he came within 35 seconds of beating the track record set by Hugo Koblet two years earlier. The victory made Anquetil an instant sensation in the sports press, with the Tour de France director Jacques Goddet writing an article in '' L'Equipe'' titled: "When the Child Champion was Born."

Anquetil followed up his victory three weeks later with another in the Grand Prix de Lugano in Switzerland. Anquetil was then invited to ride the prestigious Trofeo Baracchi, a two-man time trial in Italy. On his way there, Anquetil visited his idol Fausto Coppi, still considered the best cyclist of the era at the time. They both competed in the Trofeo Baracchi, with Coppi winning alongside Riccardo Filippi. Anquetil and his partner, experienced rider Antonin Rolland, finished second. Rolland commented after the finish: "I was well prepared and in very good form. Nevertheless, Jacques assassinated me and for the last 30 kilometres I could not go through; I was clinging on by the skin of my teeth."

1954–1956: military service and Hour Record

The first big challenge in Anquetil's first full season as a professional was the week-long early-season stage race Paris–Nice. Albeit still only 20 years old, he managed to win the time trial stage and finished seventh overall. Strong results, although without victories, still secured him a spot on the French team for the World Championships held in Solingen. from the finish, Anquetil was part of an elite group at the front of the race, containing Bobet, Coppi, and Gaul. While Anquetil dropped back soon after, Bobet won the world title, but Anquetil finished a credible fifth, ahead of Coppi. All throughout the season, tensions grew between Anquetil and Pélissier, who felt that his young prodigy did not show enough discipline in terms of diet and constraint with alcohol. When Pélissier decided to follow Hugo Koblet during this year's running of the Grand Prix des Nations, Anquetil was enraged by this perceived loss of trust. Come race day, he beat Koblet comprehensively. At the finish, Anquetil ignored Pélissier and then drove to Pélissier's café outside of Paris and delivered the winner's bouquet to his director's wife.

Following an eleventh-place finish at Paris–Tours, Anquetil had to enroll for compulsory military service, which at the time in France lasted 30 months. He was transferred to the sportsman's battalion at Joinville and was given great leeway to train and continue his cycling career in the following years. At the Trofeo Baracchi, Anquetil this time partnered Bobet, but having had only three hours of sleep prior to the race and arriving late in Italy, the pair finished second, again to Coppi and Filippi.

The 1955 season would be the last for the La Perle team, as funds were running low. In the spring, Anquetil finished 14th at Paris–Roubaix after breaking a chain during the race, while he was forced to abandon the Critérium National after a crash. He gathered more experience when he placed 15th at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. At the French National Road Race Championships, he supported his teammate André Darrigade to beat Bobet for the title. Towards the end of the season, Anquetil won the national championship in the individual pursuit on the track, finished sixth in the world championship road race, before adding a third straight victory at the Grand Prix des Nations.

Momentum had been building in the press, urging Anquetil, known for his strength in time trials, to attempt to beat Coppi's hour record for the longest distance covered in an hour, set in November 1942. Eventually, Anquetil announced that he would attempt to break the record, set for 22 October 1955 at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan. Anquetil started his attempt in a very high speed and was soon up on Coppi's split times, but eventually slowed and he grew exhausted towards the end and failed, posting a distance shorter than Coppi. His final race of the season was once again the Trofeo Baracchi, this time teamed with Darrigade, only to again come second to the pairing of Coppi and Filippi.

Due to the ongoing Algerian War, every military service included a six-month stint in Algeria, which Anquetil had to begin in the second half of 1956. He therefore decided to make another attempt at the hour record before. Beforehand, he won another national pursuit title, but had to drop out of Paris–Nice due to a crash. Now riding for the Helyett team, he went on to win a stage at the Three Days of Antwerp. Anquetil then made his second attempt at the hour record on 25 June. Having again started too fast, he abandoned the attempt with five minutes to go. Another attempt was scheduled just four days later. This time not starting too fast and keeping to a rigid schedule, Anquetil finally managed to beat Coppi's distance on the third attempt, breaking the hour record with , further than Coppi.

After his record, Anquetil continued the season by taking the silver medal in the individual pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships. Another victory at the Grand Prix des Nations followed. Anquetil and Darrigade then went together to Italy to compete for the first time in the Giro di Lombardia, one of cycling's monument classics, a race that Darrigade won. Anquetil was then posted to Algeria and ended his season.

1957: first Tour de France victory

Anquetil was discharged from the army on 1 March 1957. His first race back came just one day later, at Genoa–Nice, where he finished second in the sprint to Bobet. The result was impressive, considering that Anquetil had gained during his time in the army. It took him one month and of training to get back to his previous weight, before he started Paris–Nice. In the race, he won the mountainous stage 5 time trial, putting him into the overall lead, which he defended until the end. In a last-minute decision, Anquetil then again competed at the Track World Championships in the individual pursuit, but lost his race against eventual champion Roger Rivière.

By now, Anquetil was considered a possible favourite for the Tour de France, the most prestigious cycling race in the world. At this time, the riders in the Tour did not compete in trade teams, as in every other race, but in national teams. The selection for the French team was difficult for its manager Marcel Bidot. The previous year's race had been won by a relatively unknown French rider from a regional team, Roger Walkowiak. This made him an automatic pick for the national team this time around. Meanwhile, three-time Tour winner Bobet, and with him his teammate Raphaël Géminiani, were also expected to be in the selection. Anquetil and Darrigade on the other hand publicly announced they would only ride if both were selected together. The selection was decided in Anquetil's favour when Bobet announced during the Giro d'Italia that he would skip the Tour.

At the Tour, Anquetil was the only debutant in the French team. On stage 1, he was involved in a crash, but was safely brought back into the field. Anquetil's first stage win came on stage 3 into his home town of Rouen. On stage 5 into Charleroi, Anquetil escaped with another rider and gained the yellow jersey of leader in the general classification for the first time in his career. He held the lead for two days and then attacked on stage 9 and won the into Thonon-les-Bains to reclaim the yellow jersey, gaining 11 minutes on his principal rivals. Federico Bahamontes, another race favourite, retired on the following rest day, due to the intense heat wave affecting the race. On the first high-mountain stage of the race into Briançon, Anquetil finished fourth, less than two minutes behind stage winner Gastone Nencini and Marcel Janssens, but retained the lead, 11 minutes ahead of Janssens. Following some uneventful stages, Anquetil's rivals took advantage of him riding towards the back of the peloton to attack on stage 14, building a seven-rider lead group, all of which were within the top ten in the general classification. Darrigade fell back and worked with Anquetil to close the gap back down. The following day, Anquetil won the time trial at the Montjuïc circuit in Barcelona to extend his overall lead. He lost small amounts of time on stage 18, but bounced back to win the stage 20 time trial to seal his first victory in the Tour de France. His eventual winning margin over Janssens was almost 15 minutes. At 23, he was the youngest Tour winner since the end of World War II.

After the Tour, Anquetil competed in the World Championships in Waregem. The final part of the race was contested between a six-men group consisting of three French and three Belgian riders. Rik van Steenbergen won the sprint ahead of Bobet and Darrigade, while Anquetil finished sixth. He then won the Grand Prix des Nations again, beating Ercole Baldini