Cycling team BIC 1967-1974
Although the bridge is intended exclusively for walkers, cyclists are allowed to use it during the less busy winter months. As we sit on the bench, I see a cyclist approaching in the distance, wearing an orange and white cycling jersey with a short black text. I immediately recognize the famous BIC outfit. The cyclist (a somewhat older man) stops practically next to us and when he has stretched a little, I say to him, pointing to his jersey: Luis Ocaña. Somewhat indignant, he says with his finger raised: Joaquim Agostinho. The man doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Portuguese, so little is added to those two names. He soon gets back on his bike. And then I realize that I should have taken a photo of the good man. I manage to do so as he rides away. In a way, it’s a missed opportunity.
Nevertheless, my curiosity is piqued and at home I decide to delve into the history of BIC. Looking back at the past can’t hurt. This French team was only part of the peloton for eight years, but it was a team that made history, mainly thanks to a number of top riders who wore the recognizable orange and white jersey.
What about names like Jacques Anquetil, Lucien Aimar, Joaquim Agostinho, Charly Grosskost, Arie den Hartog, Jan Janssen, Eric Leman, Luis Ocaña, René Pijnen, Rogier Rosiers, Edward Sels, and Jean Stablinski? In the twilight of his career, Anquetil won the Critérium International (1967), Boucles de d’Aulne (1968), and the Tour of the Basque Country (1969). Three classics were won: Arie den Hartog won the Amstel Gold Race in 1967, Roger Rosiers won Paris-Roubaix in 1971, and Eric Leman won the Tour of Flanders in 1972. However, the big man is the Spaniard Luis Ocaña (it’s not surprising that I mentioned him first when I saw the rider) with three wins in the Critérium du Dauphiné (1970, 1972, and 1973). The Spaniard also wins the Vuelta a España in 1970 and the Tour de France in 1973. Of course, the Portuguese is not entirely free of chauvinism when he mentions Joaquim Agostinho. Agostinho rode for Bic in 1976 and 1977 and won the 14-kilometer individual time trial in Cartagena in the 1976 Vuelta a España.
Despite the fact that Agostinho was also a great rider with numerous victories and podium places, it will still be Ocaña who will remain most associated with the Bic jersey in the cycling world!
Text and image: Teus Korporaal
