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Eugene
Christophe - The Tourmalet |
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| Built
in the 14th century to keep the marauding Spanish of out France,
the Pyrenees have become typecast as a second class mountain
range to its more glamorous mountain counterpart – The
Alps. In the world of cycling however, this imposing geographic
barrier in south-west France holds far more mystique being home
to Bears & Basques and the peculiar Principality of Andorra
which, at 83.52 years, has the highest life expectancy in the
world due to the abundant supply of tax-free booze and fags.
The
principle climb in the Pyrenees, the Cold Du Tourmalet, separates
the ski resorts of La Mongie & Bareges and it was here
in 1913 that one of the Tours most iconic incidents was played
out. Cycle Tourists today stop off en-masse at the summit
and pose for photographs alongside the giant sculpture of
a cyclist entwined with a pair of cycle forks, the story of
which is now etched into Tour De France history.
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| Eugene
Christophe was one of the race’s early elite. In 1913
the race was due to pass over the feared Col Du Tourmalet. Christophe
was renowned as being a particularly focused athlete so it was
no surprise that he missed reading about the world-wide product
recall on the brand of forks he sported on his bike. Metal had
only been introduced to France a couple of years earlier so
there was only rudimentary knowledge of working with it. As
if right on cue, Christophes’s forks snapped as he landed
a giant wheelie that he’d pulled coasting across the Tourmalet’s
barren, wind-swept summit. With the light fading and sleety
rain turning rapidly to snow, Christophe set off on a long and
lonely walk down to a village called Ste. Marie de Campan. Here,
amongst the casinos, hypermarkets and lap dancing clubs, Eugene
Christophe managed to find a bicycle store. Being a weekend,
the proprietor was having day off so Christophe was served by
the enthusiastic Saturday boy. Having selected the appropriate
forks, the shop assistant offered to fit them for only a few
francs more. Weak from fatigue & hunger, Christophe agreed
and was immediately given a 10-day time penalty by the Tour
organizers for using outside assistance. He finished the race
7 weeks later.
Christophe never recovered from this incident,
the trauma of which was compounded when his forks snapped
again in the 1919 edition. He searched in vain for the 1913
receipt. Retiring from the sport in 1925, Christophe dedicated
his remaining years to championing improved fork technology
and ironically was the face of a major cutlery company for
many years. Bicycle engineers would unanimously agree that
composite fork design today can have its roots traced directly
back to that fateful day on the top of the Tourmalet. The
legend of Eugene Christophe fails to diminish. As recently
as May 2007, builders demolishing the old bicycle shop in
Ste. Marie de Campan to make way for a new fetish club happened
across an old pair of bicycle forks buried at the rear of
the premises. However, on closer inspection, they were found
to off a ’87 Peugeot and subsequently thrown in a skip.
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