First white cycling shoes?

[PeterW]

Summer 84: in Brittany, France, visiting family of exchange student girlfriend. Isabelle. Me, 17 years old. Afternoons, after long lunch and many glasses of cidre, watching Tour on TV, buzzed.

Anyway, I remember a few of things about that Tour. Vincent Barteau's 2 weeks in yellow, Luis Herrera, Greg in white, and somebody getting fined every stage for wearing white shoes. Italian rider, I think.

My hero! Something like 50 Swiss Francs for every stage because he insisted on wearing white shoes! I've been a white shoe (and saddle) guy since.

But I can't remember his name. And because of the cidre and lousy French, I may have misunderstood what was going on.

Anybody remember this? Who was the Rosa Parks of white shoes?

[Bill Bove]

Joe Nameth :confused:

[saab2000]

There used to be some Duegi white shoes and some Maresi white ones. I like the black athletic shoes, like those worn by Peyton Manning.

[Kevin]

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson?

Kevin

[PeterW]

Come on guys, think pasta-fed, not corn-fed.

This is a landmark event in our sport. Someone has to know!

[Louis]

Maybe this will jog your memory. It's from 1984 info from the official TDF site http://www.letour.fr/

PODIUM
1er - Laurent FIGNON
2e - Bernard HINAULT
3e - Greg LEMOND

LES VAINQUEURS D'ÉTAPE

Étape Parcours Vainqueur
Prologue Montreuil > Noisy-le-Sec Bernard HINAULT (FRA)
Étape 1 Bondy > Saint-Denis Frank HOSTE (BEL)
Étape 2 Bobigny > Louvroil Marc MADIOT (FRA)
Étape 3 Louvroil > Valenciennes
Étape 4 Valenciennes > Béthune Ferdi VAN DEN HAUTE (BEL)
Étape 5 Béthune > Cergy-Pontoise Paulo FERREIRA (POR)
Étape 6 Cergy-Pontoise > Alençon Frank HOSTE (BEL)
Étape 7 Alençon > Le Mans Laurent FIGNON (FRA)
Étape 8 Le Mans > Nantes Pascal JULES (FRA)
Étape 9 Nantes > Bordeaux Jan RAAS (NED)
Étape 10 Langon > Pau Eric VANDERAERDEN (BEL)
Étape 11 Pau > Guzet-Neige Robert MILLAR (GBR)
Étape 12 Saint-Girons > Blagnac Pascal POISSON (FRA)
Étape 13 Blagnac > Rodez Pierre-Henri MENTHEOUR (FRA)
Étape 14 Rodez > Domaine du Rouret Fons DE WOLF (BEL)
Étape 15 Domaine du Rouret > Grenoble Frédéric VICHOT (FRA)
Étape 16 Les Echelles > La Ruchère Laurent FIGNON (FRA)
Étape 17 Grenoble > L'Alpe d'Huez Luis ''Lucho'' HERRERA (COL)
Étape 18 Bourg d'Oisans > La Plagne Laurent FIGNON (FRA)
Étape 19 La Plagne > Morzine-Avoriaz Angel ARROYO (ESP)
Étape 20 Morzine-Avoriaz > Crans-Montana Laurent FIGNON (FRA)
Étape 21 Crans-Montana > Villefranche-sur-Saone Frank HOSTE (BEL)
Étape 22 Villié-Morgon > Villefranche-sur-Saone Laurent FIGNON (FRA)
Étape 23 Pantin > Paris Eric VANDERAERDEN (BEL)

LES PARTICIPATIONS


1 - ACEVEDO Rafaël COL
2 - AGUDELO Antonio COL
3 - AJA Enrique ESP
4 - ALBAN Robert FRA
5 - ALFONSEL Bernardo ESP
6 - ANDERSEN Kim DEN
7 - ANDERSON Phil AUS
8 - ARNAUD Dominique FRA
9 - ARROYO Angel ESP
10 - BAGOT Jean-Claude FRA


11 - BARTEAU Vincent FRA
12 - BATTAGLIN Giovanni ITA
13 - BAZZO Pierre FRA
14 - BERARD Charly FRA
15 - BERNAUDEAU Jean-René FRA
16 - BEUCHERIE Serge FRA
17 - BOLLE Thierry SUI
18 - BONDUE Alain FRA
19 - BONNET Patrick FRA
20 - BOSSIS Jacques FRA


21 - BOURREAU Bernard FRA
22 - BOYER Jonathan USA
23 - BREU Beat SUI
24 - BRUN Frédéric FRA
25 - CABRERA Samuel COL
26 - CARDENAS Manuel COL
27 - CARITOUX Eric FRA
28 - CASTAING Francis FRA
29 - CHAGAS Marco POR
30 - CHAPPUIS André FRA


31 - CHARREARD Michel FRA
32 - CHAURIN Jean-François FRA
33 - CIGANA Alain FRA
34 - CLERC Patrick FRA
35 - CLERE Régis FRA
36 - COLL Antonio ESP
37 - CORREDOR Edgar COL
38 - CORREDOR Israël COL
39 - CORREIA Eduardo POR
40 - CRIQUIELION Claude BEL


41 - DEJONCKHEERE Noël BEL
42 - DE KEULENAER Ludo BEL
43 - DELGADO Pedro ESP
44 - DEMIERRE Serge SUI
45 - DE ROOY Théo NED
46 - DEVOS Hendrik BEL
47 - DE WILDE Etienne BEL
48 - DE WOLF Fons BEL
49 - DHAENENS Rudy BEL
50 - DIDIER Lucien LUX


51 - DIERICKX Marc BEL
52 - DIETZEN Raimund GER
53 - DITHURBIDE Alain FRA
54 - DURANT Marc FRA
55 - ECHAVE Federico ESP
56 - FERREIRA Benediti POR
57 - FERREIRA Paulo POR
58 - FERRETTI Antonio SUI
59 - FIGNON Laurent FRA
60 - FLORES Alfonso COL


61 - FRACCARO Simone ITA
62 - FREBERT Yvan FRA
63 - GAIGNE Dominique FRA
64 - GALLOPIN Guy FRA
65 - GARDE Dominique FRA
66 - GARNIER Jean-Louis FRA
67 - GAUTHIER Jean-Louis FRA
68 - GAVILLET Bernard SUI
69 - GLAUS Gilbert SUI
70 - GOROSPE Julian ESP


71 - GOVAERTS Luc BEL
72 - GRECIANO Anastasio ESP
73 - GREZET Jean-Mary SUI
74 - HAGHEDOOREN Paul BEL
75 - HANEGRAAF Jacques NED
76 - HERNANDEZ Carlos ESP
77 - HERNANDEZ-UBEDA Jésus ESP
78 - HERRERA Luis ''Lucho'' COL
79 - HINAULT Bernard FRA
80 - HOSTE Frank BEL


81 - JIMENEZ Patrocinio COL
82 - JONES Graham GBR
83 - JOURDAN Christian FRA
84 - JULES Pascal FRA
85 - KELLY Sean IRL
86 - KNETEMANN Gerrie NED
87 - KUIPER Hennie NED
88 - LAGUIA José-Luis ESP
89 - LANG Czeslaw POL
90 - LAURENT Michel FRA


91 - LEALI Bruno ITA
92 - LE BIGAULT Pierre FRA
93 - LE GUILLOUX Maurice FRA
94 - LELEU Philippe FRA
95 - LEMOND Greg USA
96 - LEVAVASSEUR Christian FRA
97 - LINARD Hubert FRA
98 - LOAIZA Herman COL
99 - LOPEZ Alfonso COL
100 - LORO Luciano ITA


101 - LUALDI Valerio ITA
102 - LUBBERDING Henk NED
103 - MADIOT Marc FRA
104 - MADIOT Yvon FRA
105 - MAECHLER Erich SUI
106 - MAIER Harald AUT
107 - MANDERS Henri NED
108 - MARTA Carlos POR
109 - MARTENS René BEL
110 - MAS Gilles FRA


111 - MATTHIJS Rudy BEL
112 - MENTHEOUR Pierre-Henri FRA
113 - MILLAR Robert GBR
114 - MOERLEN Patrick SUI
115 - MOREAU Claude FRA
116 - MUNOZ Pedro ESP
117 - NULENS Guy BEL
118 - OOSTERBOSCH Bert NED
119 - PEETERS Ludo BEL
120 - PEIPER Alan AUS


121 - PERINI Giancarlo ITA
122 - PLANCKAERT Eddy BEL
123 - POISSON Pascal FRA
124 - PRIETO Celestino ESP
125 - RAAS Jan NED
126 -RAMIREZ Martin COL
127 -RAULT Jean-Frnçois FRA
128 -RIOS Abelardo COL
129 - ROCHE Stephen IRL
130 - RODRIGUEZ Francisco COL


131 - RODRIGUEZ Jean-François FRA
132 - ROGIERS Rudy BEL
133 - RUSSENBERGER Marcel SUI
134 - RUTTIMAN Niki SUI
135 - SANTONI Glauco ITA
136 - SERGEANT Marc BEL
137 - SEZNEC Christian FRA
138 - SHERWEN Paul GBR
139 -SIMON Jérôme FRA
140 - SIMON Pascal FRA


141 - SIMON Régis FRA
142 - SOMMERS Marc BEL
143 - THALMAN Julius SUI
144 - THEVENARD Patrice FRA
145 - TONON Carlo ITA
146 - URRUTIBEASCOA Modesto ESP
147 - VALLET Bernard FRA
148 - VANDENBRANDE Jean-Philippe BEL
149 - VANDENBROUCKE Jean-Luc BEL
150 - VAN DEN HAUTE Ferdi BEL


151 - VANDERAERDEN Eric BEL
152 - VAN DER POEL Adri NED
153 - VAN HOUWELINGEN Adri NED
154 - VAN VLIET Léo NED
155 - VELDSCHOLTEN Gérard NED
156 - VERLINDEN Gerry BEL
157 - VERSLUYS Patrick BEL
158 - VICHOT Frédéric FRA
159 - VIGNERON Alain FRA
160 - VILAMAJO Jaime ESP

161 - VINCENDEAU Claude FRA
162 - VISENTINI Roberto ITA
163 - WAYENBERG Dirk BEL
164 - WIJNANDS Ad NED
165 - WILCHES Pablo COL
166 - WINNEN Peter NED
167 - XAVIER José POR
168 - YATES Sean GBR
169 - ZEFERINO Manuel POR
170 - ZIMMERMANN Urs SUI


171 - ZOETEMELK Joop NED

[Bill Bove]

Sorry about leading the thread astray. I cannot remember the fellow you speak of but I remember the USCF rule used to say "socks, when worn will be white" I had to remove my socks for a race once because they were in violation of that rule by having red and green stripes across the top. Some of those old rules were really stupid. A friend of mine almost lost his amuteure status for being a gym teacher.

[classic1]

Angel Arroyo wore white shoes on the 84 Tour. I have the photos in an old book. No feather boa or fedora though....

[PeterW]

Thanks for the info!

Let me think, let me think, was Angel the first? I probably would have remembered that, since he was a big deal at the 84 tour.

For now, Angel it is!

[Bradford]

This is a landmark event in our sport.

How can the color of someone's shoes be a landmark event in a sport? :confused:

Perhaps in the Spring fashion shows in Milan, but hardly in the Spring Classics.

[PeterW]

As John Taylor (yes, THE John Taylor of Duran Duran fame) said, "The color of my trousers is more important than my bass playing." Said in approximately the same year as the shoes we're talking about.

Fashion not landmark?! I don't even know how to respond.

To this tifoso, white shoes are better than black socks any day.

[Bittersweet]

I believe that the Jerk, and a review of any photo of a current pro peloton, will confirm that it is all about white shoes.

Maresi's in white with the green and red stripes were the "bomb" in '84. A good friend had them coupled with his Ciocc Mod San Cristobol with two tone Benotto cellotape. Oh for the day.

Do you think Taylor is sporting his Creepers down below?

[hybridbellbaske]

I want to hear more about Isabelle, the cidre and the long languid afternoons.....!

[yeehawfactor]

How can the color of someone's shoes be a landmark event in a sport? :confused:

Perhaps in the Spring fashion shows in Milan, but hardly in the Spring Classics.
how can the color of someone's shoes NOT be a landmark event in our sport? i'd like a timeline of white. first white tape, first white helmet, first white saddle, etc.

[PeterW]

I want to hear more about Isabelle, the cidre and the long languid afternoons.....!

I feel like a dirty old man just thinking about it, and it was me.

She was a model (I mean in the tall and skinny way, not super hot way) and was in the ads of the Rennes paper in Brittany for cheap underwear. She made her own clothes (think Boy George). Her claim to fame was that, after me, she toured around Europe with New Order. My brush (so to speak) with new wave greatness.

Anyway, that summer, high on cidre from unmarked glass bottles, riding a purple Mercier around Brittany from her family's farm. With her english and my french, we invented a sign language to express the awesomeness of our love. I was fumbling and very young (as opposed to fumbling and 38 now).

The best part was my first day in Paris, at 17. Spent the weekend there alone, before getting a train to her house. Bought black espradrilles and beer at McDonalds at 11 am. I've been a Francophile since (well, I've actually evolved into more of a Danmarkphile).

Mid 90s, 10 years later, I speak french, she english, we talk on the phone. She says, "Peter, I've changed so much, you'd hardly even know me now."

"How so?"

"Peter, now, I luv da funky music!"

At that moment, I wished we could go back to sign language!

These days, Isabelle runs a night club on some beach in Israel.

[Darrell]

I feel like a dirty old man just thinking about it, and it was me.

She was a model (I mean in the tall and skinny way, not super hot way) and was in the ads of the Rennes paper in Brittany for cheap underwear. She made her own clothes (think Boy George). Her claim to fame was that, after me, she toured around Europe with New Order. My brush (so to speak) with new wave greatness.

Anyway, that summer, high on cidre from unmarked glass bottles, riding a purple Mercier around Brittany from her family's farm. With her english and my french, we invented a sign language to express the awesomeness of our love. I was fumbling and very young (as opposed to fumbling and 38 now).

The best part was my first day in Paris, at 17. Spent the weekend there alone, before getting a train to her house. Bought black espradrilles and beer at McDonalds at 11 am. I've been a Francophile since (well, I've actually evolved into more of a Danmarkphile).

Mid 90s, 10 years later, I speak french, she english, we talk on the phone. She says, "Peter, I've changed so much, you'd hardly even know me now."

"How so?"

"Peter, now, I luv da funky music!"

At that moment, I wished we could go back to sign language!

These days, Isabelle runs a night club on some beach in Israel.

There is an airport novel in that there tale!

[hybridbellbaske]

I used to think those Penthouse Forum letters were just made up, until the summer of 84.....

Seriously though- thanks for sharing. I'm jealous- thinking back to what I was doing in that summer. Just finished Law School- no money- spent some time picking grapes at Mc Laren Vale- hard work- no fun...

Great Story Peter W, thanks for sharing.

[Fixed]

bro poor joop last rider on the list i liked the way he climbed for a flatlander .cheers