A taste of heaven in Hell: Roger Rosiers, 1971 (III/VI)
March 27 th 2018 - 12:12
Luck and fortune are sometimes a decisive factor in Paris–Roubaix. Twists of fate, false moves and strategic blunders can all make the favourites' best-laid plans go awry. Opportunists who fish in troubled waters can become heroes for a day and get a taste of glory in the Hell of the North. Back in 1971, with Eddy Merckx at the height of his powers, Roger Rosiers (Bic) survived the carnage to open up the gas and claim a solo victory in the Velodrome —the biggest achievement of the Belgian rider's career.
The Age of Merckx was in full swing, with the peloton acting and reacting to the Molteni leader, but the 1971 Paris–Roubaix was one of those rare occasions when Eddy seemed a mere mortal. Despite a clear lack of form and three punctures, the defending champion and big favourite fought like a lion to match the attacks of Felice Gimondi, with the Italian surpassing even Roger De Vlaeminck as Merckx's strongest rival. However, the real threat would come from Roger Rosiers, who also had his fair share of bad luck with three punctures, the last one of which came with 31 km to go. Right after getting back on his bicycle, Rosiers launched an attack and caught and overtook Eric De Vlaeminck —Roger's younger brother, still too inexperienced to make the breakaway stick.
Rosiers held the trust of the Bic team and his consistency was widely recognised in the peloton, but he had never performed at the same level as his teammates Jan Janssen and Luis Ocaña. The Belgian's biggest wins so far were the Brabantse Pijl, the Nokere Koerse and a stage of the Vuelta a España —a meagre bounty compared with those of Merckx and the other favourites, but still it was him who entered the Velodrome alone. The 24-year-old, soon nicknamed 'the man in the hellish mask' by Pierre Chany writing in L'Équipe, seemed destined for greatness, but Roubaix was his last great victory. For example, even though Rosiers kept racing until 1980, he did not manage to finish any of the three editions of the Tour de France he entered. Paris–Roubaix would remain the highlight of his career.
