Five Tours de France, eight Grand Tours; a cycling genius, but who was the real Jacques Anquetil?
He was the first cyclist to win five Tours de France, the first to win all three Grand Tours, and arguably the greatest time triallist cycling has ever seen. Immaculate, calculating, supremely confident.
Or so he appeared, but behind that cool, sophisticated exterior was a very different man.
Anquetil was deeply superstitious, believed in clairvoyants and was haunted by fears of dying young. During the 1964 Tour, a prediction that he would die on a mountain stage almost destroyed his race. His manager Raphaël Géminiani had to shock him into action.
He suffered recurring nightmares about his great rival Charly Gaul. Despite his apparent self-assurance, he depended heavily on his first wife Janine, who managed his career, negotiated his contracts and provided the reassurance he constantly needed.
He could be ruthless. Once, paired with Raymond Poulidor in a two-man time trial, Anquetil allegedly sacrificed victory rather than allow his rival to claim a prestigious treble.
Yet there was another Jacques. A man who challenged cycling's absurd dietary conventions, enjoyed fine food and wine, drove a Ford Mustang in the Monte Carlo Rally, and once travelled between races aboard a presidential jet supplied by Charles de Gaulle.
After retirement, the mask finally slipped. The fierce competitor became a gentle countryman, happiest tending his animals and wandering through nature. Even Poulidor, his bitterest rival, became a close friend.
The public knew Anquetil the champion. Very few knew Anquetil the man.
Drawing on conversations with those closest to him, including his wives, teammates and rivals, Cycling Legends 03: Jacques Anquetil - The Man Behind the Mask explores the extraordinary contradictions of a champion whose greatest achievement may have been concealing his true self from the world.
A fascinating, complicated man. And a far more remarkable story than his victories alone could ever tell.
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