Читать книгу Etape. The untold stories of the Tour de France’s defining stages онлайн

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He had made his point. And as he drains the dregs of his cappuccino, he reminds us, in his brusque but amused manner, and with a typically Hinault-esque combination of pride and contempt: ‘How many riders today who are capable of winning the Tour de France even ride Paris–Roubaix?’

Hinault shrugs and answers his own question: ‘None.’

Classement

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1 Hinault is mistaken. He returned one more time, in 1982, placing 9th.

Wilfried Nelissen Lands; Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Head Down, Sprints for the Line.

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1 July 1994. Stage One: Lille to Armentières

234km. Flat

They are sprinting for the line in Armentières at 70kph: a heaving, jostling bunch, a slightly downhill finish, a right-hand bend with 400 metres to go, another right-hander with 150 to go; then the road kicks slightly up; all heads go down …

Phil Liggett, the TV commentator, is shouting, his voice shrill: ‘We’ve got Ludwig up in second place … The Novemail team still trying to bring their man through, and Abdoujaparov is here! He’s on the wheel of Nelissen … Abdoujaparov is swinging from left to right, this will be a shoulder-to-shoulder battle … As they come up to the line, Nelissen …