Friday Throwback: Ezquerra in the mountains

Continuing our occasional series of photographs from cycling history, this week we're going back in time to the 1934 Tour de France, when Spanish rider Fédérico Ezquerra powered his way to the top of the Galibier mountain in this classic photograph from the Dutch National Archives.


 
The pace cars, bike frame and technology may have all moved on, but the cyclist's physique and look of grim determination would not look out of place in the great race today.  Two years after this photo was taken, Ezquerra won stage 11 of the 1936 Tour de France in Cannes - the only stage victory of his long career.

Ezquerra died in 1986 aged 76, but you can still ride in his shadow today.  The exact spot where this photograph was taken is captured on Google Streetview and still looks like a fantastic ride, 80 years later....

The Friday Throwback is our ongoing series of posts looking at images of cyclists from The Commons on Flickr. You can catch every post from ibikelondon by connecting with us online; join the conversation with us on Twitter @markbikeslondon, or give us a "Like!" on our Facebook page. 

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