So as we stood atop lofty Mont Ventoux, I just shook my head in disbelief as Father Herman walked around talking to people, shaking hands and even signing autographs. He thoroughly kicked my ass on the climb and still looked fresh as a daisy. Finally I could stand it no longer and I walked over to a man who Father Herman had already talked to and asked him how he knew Father Herman. The response once again was a beaming, "Alla da people luv Herman van Springel!
Herman van Springel (born 14 August 1943) is a Belgian former road racing cyclist, from Grobbendonk, in the Flemish Campine or Kempen region.
He was an accomplished time-trial rider, almost winning the Tour de France in 1968, when he was beaten in the last stage by Dutchman, Jan Janssen, ironically in a time-trial. In the autumn that year, he won the classic Giro di Lombardia.
He won seven editions of the marathon Bordeaux-Paris. He also won the green jersey in the 1973 Tour de France without winning a single stage. However, he did win five stages during his ten participations in the Tourrance. He kept on cycling through the seventies and ended his long career at the end of 1981. But that doesn't mean he's not still out there handing it to yokels like me on a regular basis. Ouch!
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