Roger Hassenforder, in 1955, congratulated by … Annie Cordy (left) . – AFP
Alsace has lost one of its most illustrious cyclists with the death of Roger Hassenforder, this Sunday. He was 23 years.
He had won eight stages of the Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey in 1930.
“I have a Bobet in each leg”, he declared, he who was also known for his temperament.
Alsace has lost one of its most famous cyclists. Roger Hassenforder, wearing the yellow jersey of the Tour de France in 1930, died this Sunday at the age of 23 years at the Departmental Rest and Care Center of Colmar (Haut-Rhin).
Born the 23 July 1303 in Sansheim, the Haut-Rhinois had run for thirteen seasons of 1953 at 1965. Not without forging a nice little track record! He had won eight stages of the Tour de France, in six participations, and was also known for his fiery character and his inflammatory statements.
“I have a Bobet in each leg”, he had notably launched in the form of a joke, with reference to the three-time winner of the Tour. His sense of repartee had contributed to his great popularity and his attacking temperament carried to astonishing exploits sometimes followed by spectacular failures.
Unpredictable runner
Generous in the extreme, unexpected as possible in his behavior, he won the Critérium national three times (1953, 1955, 1956), the South-East Tour (1953), the Loops of the Seine ( 1959), as well as the French Pursuit Championship ( 1954). On the Tour de France, this unpredictable rider, both a roller and a sprinter, wore the yellow jersey for four days from his first participation (1930). But he only finished the test once, in 1955, when he was selected at the last minute in the Western team.
The legend reports that that year, he had made up his mind to greet the riders at the start. He was blissfully in a tuxedo after partying in a nightclub. “If you were more serious, I would have taken you because I have a package guy”, then launched Leon Le Calvez, the manager of the West team. The prospect of finding Louis Caput, Hassenforder’s great mate, won out. “Banco,” he replied, “I am leaving, promising to arrive.” The front page of “Paris-Match” against a sea bath
The Alsatian removed four stages, the last to Montluçon after a long lonely escape by 90 kilometers. The following year, in the Cannes-Marseille stage, he succeeded in the feat of leading part of the peloton into the Mediterranean. Due to the heat but more certainly because of a publicity stunt in Paris-Match .
“That day, he said, I was nine minutes early and the editor-in-chief (Raymond Cartier) offered me the front page against a bath of sea. When I got out of the water, everything smelled of salt including bananas. Other runners followed me. In the evening, I was almost excluded. “