{"id":178846,"date":"2020-08-05T14:12:58","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T14:12:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=178846"},"modified":"2020-08-05T14:14:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T14:14:55","slug":"rene-vietto-made-the-craziest-sacrifices-in-the-history-of-pro-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2020\/08\/05\/rene-vietto-made-the-craziest-sacrifices-in-the-history-of-pro-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Ren\u00e9 Vietto Made the Craziest Sacrifices in the History of Pro Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you consider yourself loyal and determined? If so, stop for a while and think about the sacrifices you would be willing to make for a cause you deem important in your life. Now, let\u2019s play a little game and compare your results with two Frenchmen: Apo Lazarides and Ren\u00e9 Vietto.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jean-Ap\u00f4tre Lazarid\u00e8s (nicknamed Apo) was born in 1925. While finding joy in cycling, he also found its other benefits. During the German occupation of France, Apo became one of the two-wheeled suppliers of the French resistance. But let\u2019s focus on his professional cycling career.<\/p>\n

Young Apo became a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of a famous French champion Ren\u00e9 Vietto, a man already known for being devoted not only to victory but also to his team. In 1934, the then 20-year-old promising Vietto was climbing the Pyrenean slopes of the Tour with the yellow jersey within arm\u2019s reach. That\u2019s when the marshal on a motorcycle informed him that his team leader crashed, buckled his front wheel and could not continue the race. Vietto turned back, rode to his leader and gave him his front wheel. A picture of him sitting on a stone wall, watching the race and sobbing became notorious.<\/p>\n