The Gavia Pass, the 1988 Giro d’Italia and Andy Hampsten are carved in the stone of cycling history. But Hampsten didn’t win the Gavia stage, Eric Breukink of the Netherlands did. And he wasn’t first to the top of the climb - that was another Dutchman, the man in today’s photo, Johan van der Velde.
It’s an epic tale, and one he told Chris a few years ago. “I won the two hardest mountain stages of the 1987 Giro, so I was looking forward to the Gavia. It was cold and wet, but I tried to race normally and stay near the front.
“The Gavia was the last climb, and my legs felt great on the early slopes, so I pushed and was soon clear. Once on my own I tried to block out the conditions, telling myself everybody was cold, but higher up the rain turned to snow and I got colder and colder. I just thought- try to ignore it, try to control my reaction, which I did.
“I got to the top first, still cold, but I felt ok. I said to myself, now I just have to go downhill all the way to Bormio and I have won. I didn’t think for a moment I couldn’t do that, but I quickly saw that without the effort of climbing to warm me, I would freeze. I went down two or three kilometres and was shaking so much I couldn’t control my bike. I couldn’t use my brakes and it was difficult to see, so I stopped by my team car and drank some hot tea with cognac.
“It didn’t work, I was still shaking. I put on extra clothes, even poured some hot tea over my fingers, but nothing worked. My soigneur tried to rub life into me, but it was hopeless. I couldn’t continue.
“When a big bus they had for stopped riders got to me, I got in it. There were other riders in there, and we went down by bus with our bikes and got out three kilometres from the finish and rode over the line.
“I thought the Giro was over, but that evening the race organisers said about 60 riders had come down the mountain in cars, vans and busses, and they could not disqualify all of them, so I was okay to continue.
