This photo was taken on the Morgul Bismark in the 1986 Coor’s Classic. It is of me and Giuseppe Saronni sprinting for a $500 prime at the top of The Wall. (I won by the way.) Saronni won the Pro World Road Championships in 1982. He finished 3rd a couple weeks later at the World Championships in Colorado Springs to his countryman, Moreno Argentin.
I thought of this shot because Saronni is in the middle of this whole new Italian doping investigation and is giving up his postion with Lampre-ISD.
I don’t believe I ever raced with him in Europe. He seemed pretty human during the Coor’s Classic that year, but obviously rode great at the Worlds.
Obvious Aero advantage w the Vuarne’s…..Just guessing here, looks like you are using clipless pedals…..although it may be just a fuzzy pic obscuring your straps….
We had the first Look pedals way before they were available to the general public. I guess we got them before Del Tongo-Colnago. They probably had a Campy sponsorship that prohibited the use.
Check out the legs! His look like he hooked his air pump up to them, while your legs look the exact same as today! Yeah. I am sure he was clean… 😉
BTW How have you always gotten those wringled flabby things to go so fast?!
The ’80’s What a great period for bike racing in N.America
I remember being 15 that summer and trying to emulate your look after watching the SF stages. I showed up to a swim party at a girls house whom I liked with a tan line across my forehead from my headband.
Your photo is going to bring back the Vuarne sunglasses to the peloton…I’m going ebay now.
A snap-shot of when times were more joyful for many people. With all the BS going on in today’s world it’s so much fun to look at a photo like that and think back to those days. Proof? I noticed this post broke all your blogging records (see below). That is a testament to how much we all urn for those simpler/etc days.
This is an awesome photo! No one commented on the Swatch…the 80’s were the best for US Bike racing!!!
Most definitely your cycling-god photo. Those early Looks hung low like a fat belly pig, as might be said in Texas. There was plenty of clipping of corners that year.