The for me Eighties signals the end of an era, when Cyclists in the professional peloton used to race all events. The Tour Contenders where active in races like Paris Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, you'd also see the same at the end of the season with races like Giro di Lomardia being important.
Today's film covers the Paris Roubaix finish in 1988 where the eventual winner would be a Dirk Demol. What is strange is that the finish is a traditional sprint finish and not in the iconic Roubaix Velodrome (the finish would return in 1989 when Jean-Marie Wampers would win).
Watchin Fignon fly over the pave is a fantastic site, his long stretched out position, compared to Kelly's more upright, and in some ways more modern, was a beautiful contrast to see, Laurent was in good form, winning the Italian Classic San Remo abour six weeks earlier. These are the types of racers that I miss, competitive from March to October, unfortunately EPO changed all that, along with the dominance of riders like Big Mig in the Tour.
We are as unlikely to see these days again as we are to see Pro's riding on Steel machines with downtube shifters. So enjoy the film, the quality is crap but soak up the atmosphere.
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