CQ27_FINAL_SPREADS (1)

the long nose, the fresh smile.
A symbol of a country that few
other images of the time could
offer.
So much so that, like all great
heroes, Veselý was greater
in defeat than in all his victories.
Tenth anniversary of
the Friedensfahrt, 1957. A
Bulgarian wins, a novelty that
was never repeated. His name
was Nentcho Christov, and he
looked like he could pull trucks
with his legs. Veselý . . . not that
year. He hasn’t trained properly
for a long time, he feels old,
tired. He’s almost thirty-four
years old, man, what do you
expect? But everyone believes
in him. The spectators shout,
“Long live Veselý, long live
Veselý.” He salutes shyly, almost
unwillingly. His country’s federation
ends up sanctioning him. He
retired from the race, despite
being uninjured. He gave them
so much, and that’s what he got
in return.
Gustav ‘Täve’ Schur, for his
part, was the perfect man for
his time. Easily marketable,
perfect for the export market.
A socialist Übermensch. He
was perfect – so handsome, so
strong, so dignified. Put him in a
Gorky novel and I’d say, no he’s
not credible, he’s too much of a
cliché. Nonetheless . . .
As a young man he becomes a
metal worker. A mechanic and
welder. Until he discovers the
bicycle. Late in life, in his early
twenties. He joins the Aufbau
Börde Club in Magdeburg,
which is rather humble (in his
heyday he would join the Sportclub
Deutsche Hochschule für
Körperkultur in Lepizig, which
was the best of the best). No
matter: almost from the start, he
sweeps all before him. Victories
here and there. Small town
races, then bigger ones. Rund
um Berlin. The national championships
of his country, six times.
The Tour of the GDR four times.
Then came the leap to bigger
and better things. The Peace
Race, of course. He was there
at three essential moments.
1953 was the first time the East
Germans won the best team
jersey. He was on the podium
in his own right too. Two years
later came the pioneering victory
for his country. He repeated
the feat in 1959. Others would
follow (Hagen, Ampler, Peschel,
Hartnick, Ludwig), but the first is
always special.
But there’s more. Victories,
and defeats that are victories,
because this blessed sport is
made of more than numbers and
palmarès. Among the successes
were two world championships
– amateur, of course: he wasn’t
allowed to ride the other one.
Reims and Zandvoort, in 1958
and 1959 respectively. (The pro
races of those years were won
by Baldini and Darrigade, for anyone
interested.) He never won
gold at the Olympics. Bronze in
Helsinki and silver in Rome. The
100km individual time trial. Bearing
the flag of a unified Germany
at the request of the International
Olympic Committee. And
then there was his third Worlds
– the one he lost, and which
became an even greater victory.
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