Pic of the Day 8 April, 2006
Fifty-nine Years Ago - The Final Kms of Paris-Roubaix
http://www.wooljersey.com/
The 1947 Paris-Roubaix was a messy event, with plenty of mud and rain-slicked cobbles. Nearing the finish, Italian rider Olimpio Bizzi (g.s. Viscontea) had a comfortable 2 minute lead, and looked set to win into Roubaix. But with 12 kms to go Bizzi hit a rut and broke his rear wheel. After his wheel change he still had a 40 seconds lead, but the Bizzi's "spring was broken", and he wasn't able to maintain the gap. Word of his misfortune spread to the group behind, and they wound it up for the final surge.
In this picture Louis Thiétard (Fra) and Brik Schotte (Bel) force the
pace at the head of the chase, as behind them Maurice Demuer (Fra) and
Georges Claes (Bel) work to close the gap. Claes would go on to win the
sprint, winning his second-consecutive Paris-Roubaix, with Adolf
Verschueren (Bel - g.s. Mercier) in 2nd and Thiétard in 3rd.
>From "Club - l'Hebdomadaire du Sport" No.38, 8 April 1947.
Aldo Ross
Middletown, Ohio