The drama in the Giro d'Italia 1977
Freddy Maertens was just a shadow of himself in 1978. It all started in the Giro d'Italia 1977 where he had started well. He won 7 stages and also went for the final classification. Maertens was the new cannibal for several years and not only in Belgium but also in Italy where he was very popular.
Until that dramatic 8th ride from Mugello to Mugello. Maertens was on his way to his 8th stage victory when he got hooked in full sprint with his bike in that of that other Belgian top sprinter Rik Van Linden. Both riders fell and Maertens ended up in the crush barriers where he broke his wrist.
View the crash of Freddy Maertens and Rik Van Linden below
The Giro ended immediately for Freddy Maertens. In addition, his team mate Michel Pollentier won the final classification and he had taken the role of leader after the departure of Maertens.
Maertens was immediately dropped by his team leader Lomme Driessens, who obliged him to ride the Tour of Switzerland because he received starting money there. Much too early because his wrist had not healed yet. Maertens therefore quit after several stages.
Michel Pollentier the new leader of the Flandria team
Michel Pollentier also wins the Belgian championship and claims the leadership in the Flandria team. In the year 1978 Maertens wins 2 more stages in the Tour de France but for his talent that's not enough. He is also struggling with all kinds of injuries, has many financial problems, the Flandria team goes bankrupt and Maertens does not see his money.
The result is that he loses his motivation, no longer wants to train and occasionally drinks a lot. In 1979 and 1980 he wins a few more criteria but it doesn't get more than this.
There is Lomme Driessens again
Suddenly Lomme Driessens appears again after being fired by the management of the Flandria team and replaced by Fred De Bruyne as sports director. Lomme still believes in the enormous talent of Freddy Maertens and decides to take care of him. He obliges Freddy to live and train like a real pro, bans alcohol at the table and make Freddy sign a contract with the Boule d'Or team.
Freddy Maertens in the colours of his new team Boule d’Or
But Freddy doesn't ride a single price, worse, he doesn't finish a single race, but what only his closest entourage knows is that he trains in den duik. He partecipates at lower level races in preparation, halfway he stops, changes clothes and then leaves by car to a place where no one sees him and continues training.
Lomme Driessens also becomes mad and says that if he will not finish the races in preparation for the Tour de France 1981, he will not be allowed to join the Tour.
The Tour de France 1981
The Boule d'Or team, renamed Sunair - Sport 80 - Colnago for the occasion, starts without ambitions at the start and the main objective is to bring as much advertising as possible. Lomme Driessens even thinks that if Freddy will get through the first week well, his condition will improve and he might win a ride at the end of the Tour.
He orders his riders to protect Freddy as much as possible and to keep an eye on him so that he doesn't quit.
The other teams are now wondering what Freddy Maertens and Boule d'Or will do in the Tour and mockingly ask him when he will quit. Freddy, of course, is irritated by all that negative criticism and promises to get revenge and shut them all up.
His hard training work will pay off soon. Already in the 1st stage Freddy wins the mass sprint. However, a difficult stage with a lot of dislevel. Neither his opponents, nor his teammates, nor the sponsors, nor Lomme Driessens don't believe their eyes and says it's only luck.
How can someone who has not been able to finish a race in recent months suddenly take the victory in a difficult stage in the Tour de France.
Freddy also wins the 3rd stage, with which he clearly shows that it is not good luck and is now completely silencing his opponents. He wins 3 more stages, including the sprint on the Champs-Elysées and also the green jersey.
Hieronder kun je de overwinning op de Champs-Elysées zien
Freddy Maertens is back after almost 4 years of struggling and he already has another goal in mind: the world championship in Prague.
