I never heard of him before today......
Quote:
Blyau became a roadside fixture for 35 years and part of the peaceful convoy of campervans that follow the Tour de France and other races. Not for them outrageous costumes and selfie-sticks, just banners and applause offered up to the riders.
Blyau went further and began to hand up drinks to the riders. “Each day I try to stand about 20km from the finish on an uphill part where the riders won’t come past too fast. I hand up small bottles of water and cans of coke. I must say my bar’s quite the success” he told Belgian sports paper La DH. Only unlike other bars there was no tab or bill to pay for the riders. He’d stock up on supplies at his own expense, handing out about 800 drinks during the Tour according to DH. “Many friends think I’m mad when I tell them I pay for it all out of my own pocket. I tell them it’s my greatest pleasure and that’s something you money can’t buy“. He wasn’t just at the Tour but attended many other races during the season which added to the expense and especially the pleasure.
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The full story is at
http://inrng.com/2016/08/lucien-blyau-obituary/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zCCryqNdHCA
08-17-2016, 06:06 PM
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