1959, FROM THE CITY OF LIGHT TO THE ETERNAL CITY

February 29 ^th 2024 - 14:30

 THE HEROES GROW TIRED (IV/IV)

The Promenade des Anglais finish on 10 March acts as an invitation to July’s Tour de France, where riders will make their final sprint far from Paris for the first time, on Nice’s Place Masséna. A dig through the archives of the Race to the Sun reveals that it has something else in common with the Grand Boucle 2024: the 17th edition took the peloton from Paris to Rome via Nice and Florence. At the start of the 1959 season, the “Race of the Two Capitals” saw the aborted duel between Jacques Anquetil and Roger Rivière, the emergence of a new generation with the two winners (yes, two!) Jean Graczyk and Gérard Saint, and a few incredible missed opportunities such as Gastone Nencini's frustrating setback at home in the Tuscan capital. This is a four-part account of an eventful Franco-Italian adventure – and a unique one at that.

The assault on San Gimignano

The White Jersey wearer had been living under a great deal of pressure since he took over on the last French-dominated stage of Paris-Nice-Rome. And the route from Florence to Siena was definitely where Jean Graczyk spent his most stressful day. For Raphaël Géminiani, it was always about finding the right formula. Which is probably why he launched the Rapha-Géminiani counter-offensive on the climb up to San Gimignano, with around fifty kilometres to go. He took Everaert and Gerard Saint along with him – the latter being the designated leader for bringing down Graczyk – while Roger Rivière joined them just long enough to reach the village described as the “Tuscan Carcassonne”. Behind them, Graczyk absorbed the blows and struggled along as best he could. It would have been a complete rout had Gerard Saint not been momentarily stopped by a crash on the descent. By the time he reached Siena's main square, where the “Palio” has been played out every summer since the Middle Ages, it was clear the attack had fallen short: “Popof” retained his position at the top of the GC, but now had a lead of just 15 seconds over Saint. And they still had to contest the longest stage of the race: the 242 kilometres to Rome.

Anquetil, Graczyk's teammate

Partly to avoid comparisons with Rivière, Anqeutil warned his fans from the start that Paris-Nice-Rome was far too early for him to make it a real goal. That he would end up playing the role of lieutenant to a young Jean Graczyk was not a foregone conclusion either, however – a menial rank compared to the heights he was used to. But following Gerard Saint's attempted putsch on the road to Siena, Maître Jacques helped the race leader to retain his position: “I regained my confidence when he came back”, he explained that evening. “He put in a real shift for me! My God, if I win this Paris-Rome, I guarantee you I’ll give Jacques anything he wants, there’s nothing I won’t do for him”. The next day, this sort of mutual support spread through the Helyett-Leroux team, who once again saw their White Jersey threatened. And it was again thanks to Anquetil that the 15-second lead remained intact until the finish in the Italian capital. In no small way, Graczyk's owed his greatest victory to that of his illustrious colleague.

Two leaders' jerseys in the peloton

Because the race was divided into two sections, there were two winners to celebrate at the finish in Rome. Regardless, it was the Marseillaise that resounded in the Colosseum during the official ceremony, played for Jean Graczyk who, after winning Paris-Nice, was able to keep the White Jersey awarded to the winner of the combined GC of the two races. But the second part of the race, between Menton and Rome, was dominated by Gérard Saint, who attacked right to the end in an unsuccessful attempt to topple the leader. According to observers, the young and in-form rider of the “Rapha” team was the most convincing in the peloton. The winner of the Green Jersey – awarded to the leader of the Italian stages – was said to have almost been handicapped by earning it. At least that's what his teammate Roger Rivière believed, as he told L'Equipe the following day: “If he hadn't earned the Green Jersey, Gérard would definitely have tried harder to take the white one!” Maybe too many jerseys has a dilutive effect…

The race reaches an end

Featuring the sumptuous setting of the Colosseum at its end, the 12 episodes of Paris-Nice-Rome gave rise to some superb battles. A delegation of riders was even received in the Vatican by Pope John XXIII. But the route’s 1955 kilometres, most of which were cycled in the cold and rain of early March, left the participants exhausted. Suffering from a fever, Louison Bobet dismounted during the last stage, and the cascade of withdrawals for Milan-Sanremo, which took place five days later, revealed the widespread state of exhaustion in the peloton. Ultimately, there were very few candidates for another edition in the same format in 1960. Moreover, heightened tensions between the Italian cycling authorities – who were pushing for the inclusion of branded teams in the Tour de France – and Tour boss Jacques Goddet – who was still firmly attached to the national teams (not for much longer) – did not bode well for initiatives that required a good understanding between stakeholders on either side of the Alps. A few years later, in 1966, the launch of Tirreno-Adriatico made a project of this type even more unlikely at this time of the season. Paris-Nice-Rome remained a unique event.