Roger Rivière's career is one of the most tragic and dramatic in the history of cycling. On the 60th anniversary of his death, we remember the once famous French racing cyclist.
In the sixties and seventies of the last century, endless and heated discussions were sparked among fans and journalists about whether Roger Rivière could have been the greatest cyclist of all time instead of Eddy Merckx, if, yes, if not ...
When Rivière burst onto the cycling scene in 1953, the unusually talented young man quickly caught the attention of the cycling-interested public - which in France was practically the whole country. As a debutant, he won three races in his first year on the cycling circuit in his home town of St Etienne. Rivière was characterised by his lightness, elegance, speed and swagger. In 1956, he won his first French championship in the single pursuit as an amateur and repeated this success a year later - ahead of Jacques Anquetil, who was two years older and already much better known, having already won his first Tour de France in 1957. In the same year, Rivière also won the world title in the single pursuit and improved the world hour record for the first time to 46.923 kilometres. A year later, he surpassed his own mark and pushed the record to 47.346 kilometres. The French sports daily "L'Èquipe" voted him Sportsman of the Year in 1957.
Early successes on the road
Rivière also achieved early success on the road. In 1955 he won the Circuit d'Auvergne and in 1956 the Tour d'Europe, which was only held twice in total (1954 and 1956). In 1959, he won two stages in the Tour of Spain and his first stage win in the Tour de France. At that time, the Tour of France was still contested by national teams. With Jaques Anquetil, Roger Rivière, Louison Bobet and Raphael Geminiani, the French team had an exquisite line-up and was considered the firm favourite. However, the team was so internally divided that Rivière and Anquetil in particular largely neutralised each other and Spain's climbing ace Federico Bahamontes was able to win the Tour - followed by the four Frenchmen Henry Englade, Anquetil, Rivière and Francois Mahé.
Roger Rivière found it difficult to deal with these marginal conditions in the French team and the resulting demands. Witnesses and journalists at the time often described him as anxious, overwhelmed and pressurised by the proximity of the fans. The duel with Jacques Anquetil, which was highly publicised by many in the media, was particularly hard on him. It is said that the sensitive young man became susceptible to whispers of the wrong kind, which helped him to boost his self-confidence with the help of banned drugs.
The drama of the 1960 Tour de France
Nevertheless, Rivière was considered the top favourite for the 1960 Tour de France - Jacques Anquetil decided not to start after taking part in the Giro d'Italia. After winning the first individual time trial and two further stages (6th and 10th), Rivière was in second place, 1:38 minutes behind the yellow jersey worn by the Italian Gastone Nencini. The 14th stage from Millau to Avignon follows on Sunday 10 July. The Pyrenees are behind the riders, the Tour rolls on one of the so-called transfer stages over narrow roads through the low mountain landscape of the Cévennes. On the winding descent from the Col du Perjuret, Roger Rivière is chasing the man in yellow when he suddenly rams into the low boundary wall at the side of the road and plunges into the abyss in a high arc. The German cycling journalist Hans Blickensdörfer later described it as "fatal reporter's luck" that his support vehicle came to a halt right at the scene of the accident. He witnessed the drama and later described it in his books:
"Dense bushes block the view; low down, metal flashes in the sun - the front fork of the smashed racing bike. For seconds, all you can hear is the chirping of crickets.
We all have the eerie feeling of staring down into a grave.
Then someone shouts: "It's Rivière".
We only find out for sure a few minutes later, after we have laboriously climbed down the steep slope. Next to a young cherry tree, Roger Rivière, the Tour de France favourite, lies pale and motionless with a gaping wound on the back of his head. The sight of him makes me fear the worst. For the first time, I see hardened photographers foregoing a sensational photo in order to provide first aid."
Early and tragic end
First aid arrived. Rivière was flown by rescue helicopter to hospital in Montpellier with serious injuries to his head and spine. Drugs containing banned substances were reportedly found in his jersey pockets and it was suspected that these substances could have impaired his ability to react. Roger Rivière then used all the strength he could muster for his recovery and the months-long battle against a life in a wheelchair, but his career was over. The public turned away, journalists lost interest. His ventures - a bar, a car repair shop, a campsite - failed. Rivière lost his footing and found no help. He sought refuge in drugs and died of cancer on 1 April 1976, aged just 40.
Roger Rivière - about the person
Most important successes
- Pursuit World Champion 1957, 1958 and 1959
- Tour d'Europe 1956
- Hourly world record in 1957 (46.923 km) and 1958 (47.436 km)
- five Tour de France stage wins (1959 and 1960)
- two stage victories Vuelta a Espana (1959)
Thomas Musch
Publisher
