Fate is indeed a mysterious thing. In that Los Angeles race, Alexi Grewal was in the position to contend for the win because he was to be at the front for support when Keifel and Phinney would begin to position for a typical lead out and win. They never made it there - perhaps because Bauer was pushing the pace, and Grewal had his finest moment.
And Bauer would have one of his many excellent second place finishes. What a great era in N. American cycling!
Greg Overton tapping out now Denver, CO
Quoting NHell39123@aol.com:
> The numerous e-mails recently on the CR list about the 1960 Oympic Road
> race in Rome once again recharged my aging brain cells. I remember meeting
> THE GREAT MAN at the NY Bike Show in the Coliseum, (how many CR members
> remember this fun event), and one of the questions that I asked him
> in French
> was whether he had any regrets in his great cycling career. He said yes,
> that he regretted not taking a medal home for Belgium at the 1964 Olympic
> road race in Tokyo( he finished 12th). Fate,however, was kind to the Merckx
> family when his son Axel brought home the bronze in a heroic effort in Athens
> in 2004. Merckx , in an interview after the race,said that Axel winning the
> bronze was one of the happiest days of his life.He was absolutely
> overjoyed that his son won one of these precious few medals in
> such a difficult
> race. I have heard other top cyclists voice similar comments. Davis Phinney,
> imagined himself coming across the finish line,in the LA games road race in
> 1984,arms up , to claim the gold but it was not to be. He said that he
> went over the LA road race thousands of times in his head as to what went
> wrong at the very end. I believe he finished 9th. The same was true
> for Lance
> Armstrong , who wanted an Olympic medal in the road race in several Olympic
> road races that he competed in, but once again that precious medal, whether
> it would have been gold, silver, or bronze, eluded him. Norm Hellman,
> Bronx, NY.