{"id":25635,"title":"Drama at Milan-Sanremo","description":"The weather, a new course and some unlikely contenders made the 1982 Milan San Remo one of the most dramatic editions of this classic cycle race.","content":"

Published in<\/strong>: COBBLES & CLASSICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

The weather, a new course and some unlikely contenders made the 1982 Milan San Remo one of the most dramatic editions of this classic race.<\/p>

\"AlainAlain Bondue Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

Six and a half hours after they departed under leaden skies from the grandeur of Milan\u2019s Piazza del Duomo, two riders remain at the head of the 1982 Milano-Sanremo.<\/p>

Pursuit to the Poggio<\/h3>

Thirty kilometres and one final obstacle the climb of the Poggio stand in their way before, possibly, one of them will emerge victorious when they sweep down the Via Roma and cross the finish line. Their closest challenger, Italy\u2019s Claudio Bortolotto, is reported to be a mere 200 metres behind.<\/p>

It\u2019s impossible for them to verify the proximity of his threat. A phalanx of cars, motorbikes and cameramen mask Bortolotto\u2019s pursuit. The two leaders, have put aside their rivalry and are united in distancing the Del Tongo rider for good.<\/p>

\"Milan-sanremo<\/u><\/a>Propelled by a tail-wind, the grace with which they pedal disguises their supreme effort and they take turns on the front at regular intervals. The striking orange trade kit of Wolber-Spidel professional Marc Gomez contrasts against the ashen day. He looks the more aerodynamic of the pair hunched low across his bike riding on the drops of his handlebars.<\/p>

His companion and collaborator, Alain Bondue, resplendent in the green and white, but now tarnished, jersey of La Redoute-Motobecane has a more upright style and he rests his hands on the hoods of the brake levers.<\/p>

Milan-Sanremo favourites<\/h3>

Neither of these two riders appeared in the list of favourites. In reality, had they not joined the day\u2019s early break of thirteen riders they would by now have been added to the long list of abandons.<\/p>

\"MarcMarc Gomez (in glasses) rides to ninth at the Amateur World Championships. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

When the 250 or so competitors had set off in the morning, the name of one rider was on the lips of most pundits. Giuseppe Saronni was in stellar form. Already that season he\u2019d won three out of four stages at the Giro di Sardegna, Tirreno-Adriatico and one-day classic Milano-Torino.<\/p>

Surely the might of the home riders would prevent the embarrassment of the previous year when Belgians secured the first two places through Alfons de Wolf and Roger de Vlaeminck with Frenchman Jacques Bossis third.<\/p>

Early break<\/h3>

From the start, a group of thirteen soon surged clear and eventually, thirteen riders coalesced into a working unit. None of the riders was considered a serious threat and Saronni had Claudio Bortolotto in the break as insurance.<\/p>

The grey skies soon released their rain turning to hail and then sleet. It was truly miserable and bitter. Riders who had no chance of victory or no particular role to perform were soon dropping out.<\/p>

And then falls and the chill factor took its toll on the favourites. Many of the top Italian riders were unable or unwilling to cope. Battaglin, Beccia, Baronchelli, and even Saronni sought refuge in a warm team car.<\/p>

Over the Passo del Turchino<\/h3>

On persisted the thirteen leaders, reaching a maximum lead of nearly a quarter of an hour. Cipollini was the first to be left behind and then one by one they drifted back to the lethargic chasing bunch. Despite leading over the Passo del Turchino, Giro d\u2019Italia stage winner Bontempi is left behind too.<\/p>

Only Bondue, Gomez, Italians Bortolotto and Delle Case, and Belgian De Vos remain of the leading group. Behind, with so many teammates and fellow favourites having withdrawn, it\u2019s necessary for top talent Francesco Moser, Saronni\u2019s despised rival, fellow Italian Moreno Argentin, and Bianchi pair Tommy Prim and Silvano Contini to give chase.<\/p>

\"visualREAD MORE<\/strong>: In the late summer of 1982, West Sussex was subject to a minor invasion by Soviet and Eastern Block riders who had arrived to take part in the World Championships at Goodwood. We look back at a time when the USSR and East Germany dominated amateur<\/strong><\/a> cycling and an encounter with a KGB minder.<\/p>

\"1982<\/u><\/a><\/p>

Now just Gomez, Bondue and Bortolotto are left from the original group of thirteen. Two climbs remain to be tackled, the Cipressa, included for the first time and finally the Poggio. Gomez launches a searing attack on the Cipressa, doubtless aware that he will almost certainly lose in a sprint to his more experienced rivals.<\/p>

Unlikely heroes<\/h3>

Gomez drops down from the summit of the Cipressa alone. Behind, the canny Bondue has forced Bortolotto to chase. The Frenchman sits on the Italian\u2019s wheel and when he feels the Del Tongo domestique is tiring he surges across the gap. Bortolotto is left alone as Bondue joins Gomez at the front.<\/p>

It\u2019s unthinkable in the minds of the Italian tifosi that one of these two will win. Gomez is in the first few months of his professional career and at the age of 27 he\u2019s a late entrant to the paid ranks. The highlight of his largely unremarkable amateur career included third in the French national championships and ninth in the World Championships.<\/p>

\"Bianchi\u2019sBianchi\u2019s Tommy Prim. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

It was these results that propelled the former computer student into the ranks of the modest French team Wolber-Spidel. With his trade mark prescription glasses and luxuriant dark curls, Gomez always looked more student than a professional cyclist.<\/p>

In contrast, Alain Bondue, although five years younger than Gomez, was riding his second full season for the La Redoute-Motobecane professional team. He was better known as a track pursuit rider having already won a silver medal at the Olympics and was the reigning professional champion.<\/p>

Lower slopes of the Poggio<\/h3>

As they reach the lower slopes of the Poggio their fluid pedalling style disappears as the gradient increases. Bondue, in particular, looks laboured as he struggles to turn over his gear. His head and whole body weave and bob like a punch-drunk fighter.<\/p>

Gomez leads the two as the road twists its way towards the peak. He looks the better climber of the pair and surely his best hope lies in jettisoning his fellow countryman. Perhaps he is confident of beating Bondue in the inevitable sprint.<\/p>

Or maybe he\u2019s just too tired to launch another attack and realises that second place would secure his future in cycling. Bortolotto is making the same calculation. He favours riding as hard as he can in the hope he\u2019ll hang on to the third place.<\/p>

His team manager however advises him to wait for the chasing group of Moser et al. Maybe his team manager can\u2019t believe either that Gomez or Bondue can win. If Bortoltto joins the chase group he can rest for the final sprint. Reluctantly, the strong climber in his ninth year as a professional eases and awaits the inevitable catch.<\/p>

The final summit is reached<\/h3>

Gomez is relieved that the rain has halted although the roads remain damp. He\u2019d struggled to see clearly earlier as the rain lashed against his glasses. He needs a clear vision for the treacherous descent to the Via Roma.<\/p>

As they reach the summit they are greeted with polite applause by the dedicated supporters who have waited for this moment. Two minutes later the same fans urge and roar Moser on and beseech him to catch the leading duo. But it is too late. Far too late.<\/p>

The race to the bottom<\/h3>

As they pass over the top of the climb, Bondue undertakes Gomez as they approach a sharp left-hand bend. Perhaps Bondue has braked too hard or caught a divot in the road but suddenly he is sprawling along the wet tarmac.<\/p>

Gomez needs no other invitation and he is off down the descent as fast as he can go. Bondue does not hesitate and has quickly remounted. The gap is small just two or three seconds. Can Bondue rejoin his former breakaway partner?<\/p>

All the way down the sinuous descent the gap grows rather than shrinks. As much as he tries, Bondue cannot close the gap. Gomez remains agonisingly close ahead but it looks like one pursuit match that Bondue will lose.<\/p>

Finally, after over seven hours of racing from the world\u2019s fashion capital through grit and grime and glacial conditions to the Italian Riviera, Gomez crosses the line for victory. He seems as stunned as the Italian fans who look on with disappointment. Whatever happened to the great champions of the past?<\/p>

Bondue crosses the line ten seconds later whilst Moreno Argentin takes the pointless sprint for third place ahead of Moser, Prim, Bortolotto and Contini. The recriminations will soon start.<\/p>

Marc Gomez<\/h3>

Marc Gomez\u2019s win in his first season was as good as it was going to get for the Breton. He would go on to win three stages of the Vuelta, win the overall at the Tour of Sweden and become National Champion in 1983.<\/p>

After eight years as a professional, he retired in 1989. In his final year, he rode Milan-Sanremo one final time and finished in 99th place over five minutes behind Laurent Fingon. Fignon also won in 1988 when he became the tenth Frenchman to win in Sanremo. Gomez had been the ninth.<\/p>

Alain Bondue<\/h3>

Alain Bondue would never be so close to winning a major classic although he did finish third in 1984 at Paris-Roubaix. His sole road race victory of note was a stage of the Vuelta although he retained his title as professional pursuit world champion in 1982.<\/p>

He retired in 1987 after seven full seasons as a professional.<\/p>

Moreno Argentin<\/h3>

Moreno Agentin, despite winning the monuments Giro di Lombardia, Ronde van Vlaanderen and Liege-Bastogne-Liege never would win Milan-Sanremo. His nearly fifteen-year career included thirteen stage victories at the Giro d\u2019Italia - something quite remarkable for someone who was neither an outright sprinter nor a classification contender.<\/p>

\"ItalianMoreno Argentin never won Milano Sanremo. Image: The Mick Searle Collection<\/em><\/p>

As well as becoming World Champion in 1986 he achieved three victories at Fleche Wallonne. The final triumph in 1994 became notorious when he and his Gewiss-Ballan teammates Giorgio Furlan and Evgeni Berzin simply rode away from the world\u2019s best riders.<\/p>

\"1982<\/u><\/a>It\u2019s a result that is forever linked with widespread doping using the new drug of choice EPO.<\/p>

Claudio Bortolotto<\/h3>

Claudio Bortolotto would never again finish as high as sixth in one of cycling\u2019s monuments. His eleven-year career would end in 1984 having won two stages at the Giro d\u2019Italia as well as three King of the Mountains titles and the overall at the GP du Midi-Libre.<\/p>

15 March 2023, Tim Costello<\/em><\/p>

\"Rijden<\/p>

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