Roger Rivière

Roger Rivière was a French track and road racing cyclist, born on 23 February 1936, who raced as a professional from 1957 to 1960 and died on 1 April 1976. A time trialist and all-around road talent, he began on the track at the Saint-Etienne velodrome, beat Jacques Anquetil for the national pursuit title at 19 and became a three-time world pursuit champion. He broke the hour record at the Vigorelli track in Milan in September 1957 and again in 1958, the second time becoming the first rider to exceed 47 kilometres in the hour. In the 1960 Tour de France he was a favourite until he crashed on the descent of the Col de Perjuret while following Gastone Nencini, fell about 20 metres into a ravine and broke two vertebrae, which left him in a wheelchair and ended his career. He later admitted taking a painkiller on the climb, and he died of throat cancer at 40.