Luis Ocaña
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía |
| Date of birth | June 9, 1945 |
| Date of death | May 19, 1994 (aged 48) |
| Country |  Spain |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climber |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1968–1969 1970–1974 1975–1976 1977 |
Fagor Bic Super Ser Zeus Frisol Gazelle |
| Major wins | |
| Tour de France 1973 Vuelta a España 1970 Dauphiné Libéré 1970, 1972, 1973  Spain road race champion 1968, 1972Grand Prix des Nations 1971 |
|
| Infobox last updated on: | |
| September 6, 2007 | |
| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Spain |
|||
| Road bicycle racing | |||
| World Championships | |||
| Bronze | 1973 Barcelona | Elite Men's Road Race | |
Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía (June 9, 1945 – May 19, 1994) was a Spanish road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1973 and the Vuelta a España in 1970.
Contents |
[edit] Early professional career
Ocaña was born in Priego, Cuenca, Spain but his family moved to Mont-de-Marsan (Landes, France)in 1957. Ocaña took up racing in with a club in Mont-de-Marsan and began his professional career in 1968 with the Spanish Fagor team, becoming Spanish champion that year. The following year he won the prologue and two time trials, the mountains classification as well as finishing second in the Vuelta a España.
In 1970, Ocana signed with the French team Bic. In the 1970 Vuelta a España, he battled with Augustín Tamames, losing the leader's jersey to him on the 13th stage. Ocaña time-trialled back into the jersey on the final day and won his first Grand Tour with one minute and 18 seconds over Tamames. The Spanish newspaper Dicen said Ocaña was "the best time-trialist that Spanish cycling has ever had".[1] In the 1970 Tour de France, Ocaña won the stage to Puy-de-Dôme and finished 31st in the Tour.
[edit] 1971 Tour de France
Before the Tour de France, Ocaña had finished third behind Eddy Merckx in Paris-Nice and second behind Merckx in the Dauphiné Libéré.On the uphill finish of ttage 8 with four kilometres to go, Ocaña launched the decisive move and broke away from the elite group of favourites for that year's Tour which included Merckx. He succeeded in only a 15 second gain on Merckx at that stage but he built on that the following day and then on stage 11 Ocaña rode himself into the yellow jersey with over 8 minutes over Merckx. After a rest day, Merckx cut that lead down to over 7 minutes and in the Pyrenees on the Col de Menté, Merckx, an excellent descender, attacked as he descended dangerously down the mountain road. To stay in contact with Merckx, Ocaña took risks descending. Flying through the corners Merckx lost control and skidded into a low retaining wall at the side of the road. Ocaña trailing close behind could not avoid the fallen Merckx and fell himself. Merckx was up quickly and sped away. Ocaña struggled to release his cleats from the toe clips and was struck by the pursuing Joop Zoetemelk. The Maillot Jaune lay on the ground screaming with pain. Help arrived quickly and Ocaña was rushed by helicopter to the hospital in St. Gaudens. He recovered from his injuries, but his 1971 Tour dreams had come to an end. [2] The following day Merckx refused to wear the yellow jersey in order to pay tribute to Ocaña. There is now a memorial plaque at the scene of the accident on the eastern side of the Col de Menté in the French Pyrenees.
The following year, 1972, Merckx had originally intended on not participating in the 1972 Tour de France in order to ride the Vuelta a España for the first time, but due to the critics saying that Merckx only won the Tour because of Ocaña's fall, Merckx decided to ride the Tour. There was much speculation of a duel between the two which was talked about a lot in the media. At the start of the Tour, Ocaña was fresh from winning the prestigious Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré and also the Spanish National Championships which allowed him to wear the Spanish Champions jersey as he challenged Merckx. In the Pyrenees, Ocaña repeatedly attacked Merckx but each attack was marked by the Cannibal. Ocaña withdrew on the stage 15 with bronchitis/heart problem.
In 1973, Merckx decided to ride the Vuelta a España and Giro d'Italia. It was the first time that Merckx contested the Vuelta a España and that year he would not be contesting the Tour de France. Ocaña battled Merckx in the race with Bernard Thevenet also present. In the end Ocaña finished second almost 4 minutes behind Merckx.
[edit] 1973 Tour de France
Because Ocaña had only finished one out of the four previous editions of the Tour de France that he had started, Ocaña was not considered a favourite for the overall victory. Merckx who was not competing the race, had picked José Manuel Fuente, Joop Zoetemelk and Raymond Poulidor as those finishing on the podium. Indeed Zoetemelk and Poulidor had finished first and second after the prologue while Ocaña crashed during the first stage when a dog ran into the peloton.[3] However on the third stage of the race, Ocaña and his team distanced his rivals. The stage began in Roubaix and when the peloton went over a section of cobblestones at Querenaing, Ocaña and four of his teammates together with a group of 6 riders attacked and got an advantage. This advantage was over five minutes at one point but the chasing group reduced this to two and a half minutes at the finish. However Fuente finished seven minutes back.[4] Ocaña won the first mountain stage and took the maillot jaune while Thévenet won the second mountain stage. The l'équipe newspaper predicted a dual between the two.[5] However on the third mountain stage, Ocaña delivered a crushing defeat to all his rivals. Fuente attacked the peloton early on the Col du Télégraphe and a group of favourites were established. On the following climb, the Col du Galibier Ocana lead up the climb. After the descent Ocana and Fuente were together and had a lead of one minute on Thevenet while the next chasing group were five minutes and 30 seconds behind. Fuente got a flat tyre and Ocana won the stage with 52 seconds over Fuente, almost seven minutes over Thevenet and Martinez and 20 minutes and 24 seconds over Zoetemelk, Van Impe and Poulidor. Ocana then led the General Classification by nine minutes over Fuente, ten minutes on Thevénet with Zoetemelk in fifth over 23 minutes behind.[3] Ocana won the stage 12 individual time trial. A dual in the Pyrenees was expected between Ocaña and Fuente but Ocaña won the longest stage in the Pyrenees. For his ease in controlling the race and winning, l'équipe had the headline Ocaña apuie sur l'accélérateur translated as Ocaña steps on the accelerator.[6] Ocaña won the last individual time trial and also the mountain stage to Puy-de-Dôme eventually winning the race with 15 minutes over Bernard Thevenet. He also won the Combativity award. After his win, Ocaña declared that after the 1974 Tour de France, he wished to battle the Hour Record.[7]
[edit] Post-Tour career
After his win in the Tour de France, Ocana finished third and won the bronze medal in the world championship road race. He also won the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco in 1973 and finished fourth in the 1974 Vuelta a España, won by Fuente. Ocana was unable to defend his Tour de France win in 1974 due to an injury sustained during the Midi-Libre. He finished again in the 1975 Vuelta a España. In 1976, he was back to top form and finished third in Paris-Nice and second overall in the Vuelta a España, a minute behind José Pesarrodona.
Ocana retired at the end of 1977 after finishing 25th in the 1975 Tour de France. He had won 110 races including nine stages of the Tour de France. He retired to his vineyard in 1977.
Ocaña committed suicide, in Nogaro Gers, France) by gunshot in 1994. It is said he was depressed over financial matters and was also suffering from of a hepatitis C infection.
[edit] References
- ^ Vuelta retro;Luis Ocana. Chechu Rubiera.info. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ Top 25 All Time Tour 1971- Unbeatable Merckx Gets a Major Scare. Barry Boyce, CyclingRevealed Historian. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
- ^ a b Moutiers-Les Orres, 237.5km. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ Roubaix-Reims, 226km. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ (July 9th 1973). "Ocana-Thévenet:Duel engage". . L’équipe newspaper. page 1
- ^ (July 14th-15th 1973). "Ocaña apuie sur l'accélérateur". . L’équipe newspaper. page 1
- ^ (July 24th 1973). "Projet d'Ocana:"l'heure" apres le Tour en 74!". . L’équipe newspaper. page 1
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eddy Merckx |
Winner of the Tour de France 1973 |
Succeeded by Eddy Merckx |
| Preceded by Roger Pingeon |
Winner of the Vuelta a España 1970 |
Succeeded by Ferdinand Bracke |
