A well-written piece on the Badger.

[weisan]

http://www.velonews.com/2017/11/commentary/celebrating-badgers-birthday-cyclings-last-hero_452042

[bthornt]

Thanks for this. Not many cyclists like this anymore.

[Vientomas]

That article brings back some memories...I was at that Vail crit. and then a few stages later saw the crit. in Denver. That was a fun summer :)

[Spaghetti Legs]

Nice. Thanks for posting.

I rode an elevator with him in Grenoble in 2011. I showed him how to swipe his room card to get the elevator to work, but didn't say anything else or introduce myself. I still kick myself for that, but I have this thing about trying not to pester celebrities.

[John H.]

Bernard Hinault did have "panache" I will give him that.

But racing is very different in 2017- It would be difficult for someone to be as much of an all-arounder in this era.

Also- the teams are much stronger and ride for specific objectives. Not just in support of a leader like Hinault who goes for it whenever he feels like it.

[bikinchris]

He is supposed to ride a multi day ride in our area next year.

[DCilliams]

What a well written evocation of an era that I was too young to know or savor. Only one funny typo: "Hinault’s roguish good lucks..."

[Corso]

"I often wonder how the forceful character like Hinault’s would handle today’s Tour de France"

I’ll tell you:
He’d screw over his young teammates for his own results, scream like a baby when he didn’t get his way, he’d challenge another rider in fisticuffs- in which Cav would punch his lights out. Of course, the french papers and Tour organizers would protect him all the way.

[bikingshearer]

Hinault would do well in this era, or any other post-WWII era. (Pre-war racing was a completely different animal, although I would expect him to hold is own then, too.) So would Merckx. In both cases, because they combined extraordinary physical gifts with other-worldly mental toughness and desire. (The desire part is where Lance was Eddy's and Bernard's equal - they all wanted it more than anyone else and were willing to work harder than anyone else to get it. This is not meant to bring Lance into the talent and overall ability debate, but Lance was the closest thing to a peloton patron we have seen since Hinault.)

How would Eddy or Bernard get along with their teammates today? About the same as they did in their day; whatever personal likes or dislikes a teammate might have had, they still rode hard for their leader because their leader brought home the bacon. I would bet pretty decent money that the average annual pay, all in (meaning salary, splits of prize money and getting appearance fees all included), for a Molteni or Renault-Elf domestique was higher - and in some cases a lot higher - than the average for a domestique of any other team of their respective times. I have no idea how to get the information to back that up (or refute it), but I'm guessing it's true. The point is that money talks, and Eddy and Bernard made a lot more of it for a lot of riders for a longer time than anyone else of their respective times. If they produced now the way they did then, they would have zero problems getting and holding their teams' loyalties.

[rustychisel]

"I often wonder how the forceful character like Hinault’s would handle today’s Tour de France"

I’ll tell you:
He’d screw over his young teammates for his own results, scream like a baby when he didn’t get his way, he’d challenge another rider in fisticuffs- in which Cav would punch his lights out. Of course, the french papers and Tour organizers would protect him all the way.


I think we can see the cut of your jib. You'd do well to read Bikingshearer's much more nuanced reply and reflect upon the pressures of top level sports.

Hinault? Something like Peter Sagan, but in that scenario Sagan still has a bit to prove.

[jumphigher]

Hinault would do well in this era, or any other post-WWII era. (Pre-war racing was a completely different animal, although I would expect him to hold is own then, too.) So would Merckx. In both cases, because they combined extraordinary physical gifts with other-worldly mental toughness and desire. (The desire part is where Lance was Eddy's and Bernard's equal - they all wanted it more than anyone else and were willing to work harder than anyone else to get it. This is not meant to bring Lance into the talent and overall ability debate, but Lance was the closest thing to a peloton patron we have seen since Hinault.)

I agree, that mental toughness and willingness to work harder than anyone else was what seperated all three from most riders. They would do well in any era, imo.

[marciero]

"I often wonder how the forceful character like Hinault’s would handle today’s Tour de France"

I’ll tell you:
He’d screw over his young teammates for his own results, scream like a baby when he didn’t get his way, he’d challenge another rider in fisticuffs- in which Cav would punch his lights out. Of course, the french papers and Tour organizers would protect him all the way.

Was waiting for someone to say it. Totally agree, especially the "baby" part. Not to take away from his accomplishments, (though that 5th tour comes with an asterisk.) that he rode with panache, etc. The article is nice but does not tell the whole story. Yes he was combative, tough, arrogant (in a good way) but also also impetuous, immature, disingenuous. The comparison with Sagan is largely without merit.

[weisan]

Anyone in doubt of the Badger's contemporary adaptability needs only to look at these pictures.

http://inrng.com/medias/images/hinaultparisnice.jpg
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/static/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/6/9/1402329442742/Bernard-Hinault-011.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&

http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2009/07/18/2/bettiniphoto_0041352_1_full_600.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e194/xnodesign/badger.jpg

He will get you no matter what, whether it's 1984 or 2008.

Don't cross the Badger!

[DCilliams]

What is the story behind the second picture?

[marciero]

What is the story behind the second picture?

I think the guy was a poseur.

I like the bottom-right pic. Reminds me of that one of Bobby Orr.

[glepore]

Merckx? Probably would have tested positive a billion times and have had to hang his jerseys in his mancave and post pics on twitter.

I hated the Badger then, but in retrospect I think he was just a very driven guy who couldn't chain it in. Still that way.