Information About Racing Bicycles from 1960 to 1970

Racing bicycles as a sport has been done since the invention of the bicycle, which took place in the mid nineteenth century.  As bicycles evolved, so did the sport of cycling.  At the end of the nineteenth century cycle races were quite popular, and many towns had their own cycling teams.  However, with the invention and rise of the automobile, cycling in America took a back seat for some time, though it did regain its popularity in the second half of the twentieth century.  The sport's rise in popularity during the 1960s and can be traced along with the evolution of what eventually became a major cycling publication in the United States.

During the decade of the 1960s, there were some exciting changes in the world of bicycle racing. These changes can be seen by looking at some important events in the bicycle world in America:

• The year 1960 saw the publication of the Bicycle Owner's Complete Handbook. 
• In the following year, Peter Rich, who owned a bike shop in California’s Bay Area, published the Velo Sport Newsletter.  In 1962 the newsletter became the Northern California Cycling Association Newsletter. 
• A writer for the magazine named Peter Hoffman stated that at that in 1962, approximately 1,500 racing cyclists existed in the United States. 
• The year 1962 also saw Steve Tesich and Dave Blase win the Little 500 bicycle race in Bloomington, Indiana. The movie Breaking Away is based in part on the events surrounding that race.   
• In 1964, Nancy Neiman Baranet’s book The Turned Down Bar was published.  The book told of her racing experiences. 
• Also in 1964, the Northern California Cycling Association Newsletter was renamed the American Cycling Newsletter. 
• 1965 saw 5.6 million bicycles sold, a 51% increase from five years before, and once again the cycling magazine changed its name, going from the American Cycling Newsletter to simply American Cycling.  Pete Hoffman was still writing for the magazine, and from 1965 -1969 took it over. In December 1968, the periodical’s name changed once again to Bicycling!
• By 1970 bike sales in the U.S. had increased to 6.9 million.

Most Famous Bicycle Races

During the 1960s, many famous bike races also occurred.  The most famous bicycle races took place outside of the United States during the decade of the 60s, and many of these bicycle races are still held each year.

Tour de France

The Tour de France is probably the most well-known race, and takes place each year in July. The winners of the Tour de France during this decade were:

• Gastone Nencini of France in 1960
• Anquetil in 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964
• Felice Gimondi of Italy in 1965
• Lucien Aimar of France in 1966
• Roger Pingeon of France in 1967
• Jan Janssen of the Netherlands in 1968
• Merckx in 1969 and 1970

Giro d'Italia

Another famous tour is the Giro d'Italia, a tour of Italy that occurs at the end of May into early June. The winners of the Giro d'Italia during the 1960s were:

• Anquetil in 1960
• Arnaldo Pambianco of Italy in 1961
• Franco Balmanion of Italy in 1962 and 1963
• Anquetil in 1964
• Vittoria Adorni of Italy in 1965
• Gianni Motta of Italy in 1966
• Gimondi in 1967
• Merckx in 1968
• Gimondi in 1969
• Merckx in 1970

While all these people were winners, in the 1960’s, the most famous names in cycling were Jacques Anquetil from France and Eddy Merckx from Belgium.  

Steroids and Bike Racing

As unfortunately happens in professional sports, athletes sometimes turn to illegal substances to attempt to enhance their performances.  By the early 1960s, many professional cyclists were using amphetamines as a stimulant, Palfium, to keep them from feeling the pain in their legs, and sleeping pills at night. 

The results of this are often tragic, as can be seen by what happened to French rider Roger Rivière in the 1960 Tour de France.  Riviere was in fierce competition with another rider and was riding right behind him, but while going downhill during Stage 14 of the Tour, he lost control and fell off the side of the mountain and into a ravine. Though he survived the fall, he broke his back and was never able to ride again.  His crash is attributed to the fact that he was taking such a high dosage of painkillers that he could not feel his brake levers to manage his speed going downhill.

Racing Bikes

The evolution of cycling cannot be discussed without looking at the evolution of the racing bikes professional cyclists used.  In 1960, Schwinn began producing bikes that were equipped with derailleurs, meaning that cyclists were able to change gears while riding.  Bike frames also improved and became lighter. This contributed to the evolution of the sport of bike racing during the 1960s.