article by Nicola Pucci
In telling the story of sport, and in this specific case of cycling, we inevitably become aware of how much the historical context in which the events developed affected the athletes’ careers. Even more so, when the event in question is one of the two world wars, which they turned off (too many times, alas, forever when the duty paid was existence itself) dreams of affirmation of entire generations of champions.
Let’s take the protagonist of our story today, Louis Hardiquestwhich will probably say absolutely nothing to the vast majority of pedal enthusiasts, but than during the Thirtieswhen great champions of the caliber of Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra and Gino Bartali performed in Italy, he wrote very interesting pages in the great online races. Especially those that in his area, i.e. in Flanders, belong to the legend of cycling. Well, the Flemish would have very valid reasons to complain about the interruption imposed by the second war, which came at the best moment of his competitive adventure.
Born in 1910, native of Hoegaarden, in Flemish Brabant, Hardiquest has all the qualities of the classic hunter, excellent pace and quick accelerationso much so that, as an amateur, he won the prestigious Tour of Limburg in 1930, then turning professional two years later, initially racing as an independent, which did not prevent him from immediately conquering a stage in the Tour of Catalonia, overtaking Mariano Canardo who he will then make the final ranking his own.
Nonetheless, and it is also logical that this is the case, Hardiquest prefers cobblestone and wall racingthose which in Flanders are equivalent to real cycling world championships, and in 1933 he began his personal collection of podiums finishing second in the Grand Prix de l’Escautbeaten by his compatriot Jan-Jozef Horemans, which, also resulting in a victory at the Tour de Correze and second place behind Alfons Schepers in the first edition of Paris-Nicegave him the opportunity to be signed by the transalpine team the following year La Française-Dunlop. E in the five years that followed, Louis was among the best performers in one-day racing.
In 1934, having achieved final success on the Morbihan Circuit, Hardiquest was eighth on his debut at Paris-Roubaix, while the following year, when he moved to De Dion-Bouton, he demonstrated himself on the roads of both Paris-Brussels (second behind Edgard De Caluwè) and Liège-Bastogne-Liège (third in a sprint with Schepers himself and Frans Bonduel)as well as obtaining a flattering ninth place at the Paris-Tours.
A prestigious success would be missing, the kind that truly elects a rider among the immortal champions, and in 1936 Hardiquest hits the mark, triumphing in the race that every self-respecting Flemish would like to put in his bulletin board, the Ronde Van Vlaanderenwhen on April 5, after more than seven and a half hours of effort, a quartet including the other Belgians De Caluwé, Francois Neuville and Cyriel van Overberghe sprinted across the finish line in Wetteren.
The 1936 season was in fact that of Hardiquest’s consecration, which in addition to the success at the Tour of Flanders finds a way to finish third in Paris-Brusselsa classic of great lineage, preceded only by Eloi Meulenberg and Bonduel himself, as well as sixth in Liège-Bastogne-Liègeconfirming that even the valley routes are suited to his skills, also climbing onto the second step of the podium at the Belgian national championshipdefeated by Jean Aerts.
In 1937 Louis came close to achieving a double at the Tour of Flanders, finishing in the wake of Michel D’Hooghe and Hubert Deltour who prove to be quicker than him in the sprint, and then, in 1938, taking fourth place exactly one week before attacking Paris-Roubaix.
On the uneven stones of the “queen of the classics” Hardiquest, who is also an excellent cyclocross rider as demonstrated by his third place at the 1932 national championships, gives battle in the crucial moments of the race, remaining alone in the lead with Lucien Storme, a pedal carver, who for the opportunity of a lifetime has the merit, truly no small one, of being a tad faster than him in the two-man sprint at the Roubaix Velodrome.
Retired in his only three participations in the Tour de France (in 1933 he was top-ten in the first five stages before finishing outside the maximum time at Gap), Hardiquest still found time to appear in ninth position in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, again in 1938 , but when the winds of war begin to blow with impetus and destructive fury, Here the curtain falls for Louis, not yet 30 years old and at the height of his technical and athletic maturity, with a future still full of prospects in front of the handlebars..
Dreams of greatness fade away, swept away by hostilitiesand luck would have it that the Flemish almost dies, accused of collaboration and sentenced to 8 years in prison. Many of his colleagues had it even worse…
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2023-11-02 07:49:00
#LOUIS #HARDIQUEST #KING #FLANDERS #STOPPED #WAR #SportHistoria
