article by Nicholas Pucci
It can happen to an athlete that a highly prestigious success obtained at the dawn of a career can then condition the results in the following years to the point of not being able to confirm himself at those levels of excellence that allowed for a bright future to be foreseen.
Take, for example, Faustino Ruperez, an Iberian cyclist who pedaled at a good pace between the end of the Seventies and the first half of the Eighties. Castilian from San Esteban de Gormaz, where he was born on July 29, 1956, he turned professional in 1979 in the pay of the Moliner Veracitye already in the first year, climber of race that he was, he showed his talents to the point of finishing the Vuelta of his debut in fourth place5’51” from Joop Zoetemelk and in the wake of Francisco Galdos and Michel Pollentier, conquering the title of Spanish champion on the road following the disqualification for doping of the winner Isidro Juarez.
A year passes, and in 1980knit Zor-Truthfulness, Ruperez is ready for the new appointment with the most important Spanish race. The 35th edition is running, from 22 April to 11 May for a total of 21 stages and 3225 kilometers of effort, and if Freddy Maertens, winner in 1977 with the still unbeaten (and probably unbeatable) record of 13 successes in stage, declares a flat rate on the day of departure from La Manga del Mar Menor, the organizers lined up athletes of any name at the start, such as the Belgian triptych composed by Michel Pollentier himself, albeit limited by a crash in the last Paris-Roubaix, by Johan De Muynck, king of the Giro d’Italia in 1978, and by the rampant Claude Criquielionwho beat Ruperez himself at the 1979 Catalan Week. The Irishman Sean Kelly aims for the points jersey of partial successes, the young but talented Roberto Visentiniexcellent time trial man who runs for the St. James, is the striker in the home-Italy, Bernard Thevenet is at the last pennies of a brilliant career which saw him twice on the throne of France, and Spain, which is now looking at the generational change of the “old“now retired, relies on Lasa, Galdos and Torres. With Ruperez who would love to do better than fourth place in his debut year.
Prologue of 10.2 kilometers to La Manga del Mar Menor, therefore, to begin with, and Visentini is the fastest of allanticipating Kelly by 2″ and wearing the first jersey “yellow“. The captain of Splendor has the opportunity to redeem himself in the next two stages, in Benidorm and Cullera, making use of his fast starting point in the sprint, and if Giuseppe Martinelli (yes, the future sporting director of Marco Pantani), Visentini’s teammate, and the German Klaus -Peter Thaler make them the finish lines of Vinaros and Sant Quirze del Valles, the fifth stage, 200 kilometers that lead to La Seu d’Urgell climbing over three second-category hills, gives Ruperez wings, who attacks 40 kilometers from the goal, quickly gains a 2-minute advantage over the group, and reaches the finish line, in vain chased by Visentini’s supporters and with Pollentier drifting, accusing more than 10 minutes of delay, with a margin of 3’28” which gives him the lead of the classification with 2’39” on Visentini and 2’41” on Kelly.
There are still fifteen stages to go, but Ruperez, he is sure, has already put a good stone on the final success in Madrid. Also because, after the success of Martine Heredia in Viella, towards Jaca the captain of the Zor-Vereco is first forced to chase after an attack by Torres, Thaler, Viejo and Criquielion, who then breaks away, to then, once back on the fugitives, beat them on the finish line, increasing by 21″ his advantage over his closest pursuers in the standings, with Torres now second with a delay of 2’56”.
After Eulalio Garcia and the Dutchman Jos Lammertink prevailed in Logrono and Burgos, Thevenet and Criquielion dare the attack on the shirt “yellow” in the tenth stage, between Burgos and Santander, extending over the Col d’Alisas. The Frenchman passes to the top of the hill in first position, alone, but the Belgian, taken up by Ruperez, Torres and Marino Lejarreta, is not far away, and if Thevenet is no longer the rider he was capable of doing “jump” Merckx al Tour de France, Ruperez flaunts confidence, finally giving only 11″ to Criquielion and Torres, making a match with Thevenet and Lejarreta and clearly distancing Kelly, Visentini, Lasa, De Muynck and Galdos, who give up a minute. And halfway through the Vuelta, Faustino has 2’55” on Torres and 3’22” on Criquielion.
Emotion and melancholy condense in the Santander-Gijon stage, won by detachment from Jesus Lopez-Carril, brother of that Vicente Lopez-Carril who was third in the 1974 Tour de France and who, having retired recently, died of a heart attack playing football on a beach in Gijon on March 29th. Then there is room for Etienne De Wilde (first in Pontevedra), for Rolf Haller (who beats Hernandez Ubeda in Vigo), for Kelly (who drops his personal trio in Ourense by putting on Martinelli), for Francisco Javier Elorriaga in Ponferrada, who a day marred by bad weather and in which 20 runners arrive at the finish line outside the maximum time, everyone detaches, and for the French Dominque Arnaud (who mocks Leon in a two-man sprint Jorge Ruiz Cabestany), beforecrucial appointment with the 22.8 km time trial in Leon.
And here, if Visentini confirms his superiority in races against the clock beating the competition, with Pollentier finishing at 48″ and Kelly at 1’02”, Ruperez, even if the leader’s jersey multiplies his energies in an exercise certainly not congenial to him, proves to be inferior to his direct opponents, Torres and Cruquielion, who snatch him 37″ and 23″ respectivelyhowever not sufficient to question its primacy.
Primacy that the two direct pursuers try to break in the eighteenth stage, 197 kilometers between Vallodolid (where Kelly played poker) and Los Angeles de San Rafael, which involves climbing five hills. Torres ventures the forceful action with Galdos, Lejarreta, Fernandez Ovies and Esparza, the leader is in trouble, but here the team enters the scene di Ruperez, la Zor-TruthfulnessThat thanks to the commitment of Lasa, Arroyo and Juan Fernandez he closes the gap, brings the captain back to the front and saves the shirt “yellow“, without preventing Esparza from flying away in blissful solitude on the Col de Los Leones and winning the most prestigious stage of the Vurelta 1980
That the following day, on the Madrid catwalk that gave Kelly a fifth win and points jersey, goes on file with the victory of Faustino Ruperez, who beats Torres by 2’15”, Criqiuelion by 3’00”, Kelly by 3’31” and Marino Lejarreta by 4’32”the first Spaniard to establish himself since José Pesarrodona succeeded in 1976.
Do you remember what I told you at the beginning? That a great success at the beginning of your career can then condition the following years? Here you are, That’s really what happened to Ruperez, because that triumphant Vuelta of 1980, not yet 24 years old, was not followed by other great victories, retiring in 1985 at age 29. Come on, it’s okay anyway…