Capital idea!
Of course I've suggested this in passing before.... I am sure no professional, but if I have no problem in pacing and passing all these newfangled 19 pound wonders ridden by 22 year olds riding my '72 PX-10 or, dare I say, my '49 RRA (with a four-speed FM), I simply cannot imagine professionals riding the best examples of racing machines of their respective eras could not make an equally worthy showing. We keep hearing "It's Not the Bike", well how better than to prove it?
Given the woeful state of French cycling of late, I am sure you could get a lot of interest going in a Retro Equipe Peugeot to remind of the heady days of the past. And begs the question what's missing in the equation; champion French cyclists or the lack of classic all-French machines? Or indeed would British riders relish the thought of winning on British-built Raleigh Team Professionals c. 1976? Or are they all indoctrinated in the bland mishmash of multinational "bitsa bikes"?
Anyway, It's not going to happen anymore than pro tennis returning to the old wood rackets and white flannels. Pros, regardless of sport, seem loathe to going back to basics when it comes to equipment. And I rather fear most pro cyclists have about as much affinity to their machines as they do their socks.
What would be fun, if this were a more compact country, would the kind of wonderful retro races organised in England by the V-CC etc. Amateurs riding 50 year machines and putting in some impressive timings. I admire them as much as Lance Armstrong any day.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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