1981 World Cycling Championship Praga

[gutsrace]

This was filmed in 1981? Wow Can you imagine how long the power cord was that went to the motorcycle camera man?

[19swan61]

Grande De Zan..." le due più grandi equipe della Boemia.." . Solo lui avrebbe potuto esprimersi così. Un pezzo di storia che se n' è andato!

[teufelspass1967]

piú grande errore nella storia ciclistica di beppe. ultimi 2 km sempre davanti. avrebbe potuto dominare.

[napomania]

@teufelspass1967 non poteva essere che invece non si sentisse in grande forma e ha fatto cosi per far perdere moser?

[equinoxranch]

Numerous great - phenominal talent on parade here...... How few today sadly have any idea of their timeless superiority.

I recall a very astute British publication that made a host of spot on remarks about many, decades long greats and their remarks amongst several on Meartens (most UCI wins in a single year - 55..., unreal! No, Meartens) was along the lines that if a race came down to a sprint and Meartens was in the mix, "......there could only ever be one outcome........".

[sprintbass]

that was cyclesport i read it too..Freddy Maertens was a bass ass..i have his book..i feel bad for him he had alot of fight with taxes and people not paying him..he also had an alcohol problem as well..in 81 that was the last time he shinned..lbut in the 70s he was a machine..i think it would be great to find a way to compare Freddy Maertens to mark cavindish, now that kid is brilliant i think he won 6 stages in the 09 TDF..always loved sprinters..i was to big to be a good climber, but a sprint!

[kvmusic]

maertens was much more than a sprinter. he won time trials and a vuelta . the year he won the vuelta, he won 13 stages!!!

i think in 73 or 74, he won 8 stages in the tour.

he could have had a better career, though. he never won a monument classic.

[walter4092]

@kvmusic it was in 76 that Freddy won 8 stages , it s true he never won Paris-Roubaix or tour de Flandre , very sad , in the giro 77 he won 7 stages and felt in the sprint and that was the beginning of a bad times .

see me at 08 de vraag van 1 miljoen 02 .

[sharpstat]

I remember reading the results in International cycling,remember that magazine LOL. Beppe definitely was led out too early and Freddy Maertens my favourite sprinter pipped him! Mertens won 5 tour stages that year also. His last year of being competetive.

[Sssccirea7]

One of the greatest sprinters of all time as shown at Goodwood in 1982. Beppe should have won more in his career but pushed his body too much early on. The 1970's-1980's was the last golden era of cycling, makes cycling of today look boring and characterless!