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| Jacky Durand (image credit: Sławek CC-BY-SA 2.0) |
Durand's career was somewhat sullied by his unfortunate tendency to cheat. He received a one-month ban for doping in the 1996 Tour de la Côte Picarde and was kicked out of the 2002 Tour de France after being caught getting a tow from a team car - several riders claimed to have seen him doing the same in 2001.
Born in Laval in 1967, Durand became known for his aggressive style of riding and ability to attack at any point in a race. However, like many riders with those characteristics, he could be hot-headed and frequently attacked to early, exhausting himself in superhuman solo breakaways that could prove disastrous for his final standing - in fact, he did this so often that Vélo magazine started printing a monthly Jackymeter, recording the number of kilometres he clocked up in solo breaks throughout the year.
Sometimes, it worked - and when it did, he could ride his opponents off the road; as proved to be the case at the 1992 Tour of Flanders when he became the first French winner for 36 years (as an outsider, his success earned him the admiration of the Belgians as well as the French). It also worked in one-day races, such as National Championships, which he won in 1993 and 1994.
Unfortunately, while it meant he could grab the occasional stage here and there in longer races, it was never going to be a wise plan in a three-week Grand Tour. It netted him a few stage wins here and there (Stage 10 in 1994, prologue in 1995 - partly through luck as he'd set out before it started to rain, but he kept the yellow jersey for two days, Stage 8 in 1998), but didn't help him at all in the overall General Classification - he abandoned the race soon after his victory in 1994 and was lanterne rouge in 1999 even though the same year brought the second of his Combativity classification wins that, in the end, proved to be the finest achievement of a rider who was simply too unruly, too wild to threaten the GC contenders. It may have been the worry that he would never be reined in and put to productive use that led to his retirement in 2005 when he received no offers during transfer season.
Naturally, the spectators adored him.
Frederiek Nolf, born on this day 1987 in Kortrijk in Belgium, died on the 5th of February of a heart attack as he slept between Stages 4 and 5 at the Tour of Qatar. Due to his age, suspicions immediately arose that he'd been doping - EPO is frequently linked to heart attacks as it thickens the blood, putting more strain on the heart as it pumps harder in an effort to keep blood flowing around the body. However, no evidence of EPO or any other doping product was ever found and his death is generally assumed to have been caused by an undiagnosed heart defect, a tragically common cause among young athletes who might not have previously exhibited any symptoms due to their high level of fitness. Nolf was a close friend of Wouter Weylandt, who would be killed in a crash at the Giro d'Italia two years later.
Marty Nothstein was an American track (and later, road) cyclist born on this day in 1971 who achieved more than 70 victories during his professional career. His nickname, "The Razor," was frequently attributed to his ability to cut through the pack, but those who followed his career from the early days insist it began due to his tendency to win by razor-thin margins. He retired in 2006 and now competes in drag racing.
Other births: Nathan Williams (USA, 1988); Kim Eriksen (Denmark, 1964); Nemesio Jiménez (Spain, 1946); Bobby Livingston (USA, 1965); Gaston Alancourt (France, 1888, died 1964); Sergio Tesitore (Uruguay, 1967); Siegfried Denk (Austria, 1951, died 1982); Somkuan Seehapant (Thailand, 1946); Gang Dong-U (South Korea, 1978); Gunn Rita Dahle-Flesjå (Norway, 1973); Fernando Correa (Venezuela, 1961); Ainārs Ķiksis (Latvia, 1972); Won Chang-Yong (South Korea, 1973); Oleg Grishkin (USSR, 1975).
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