Roger Walkowiak has died aged Walkowiak felt wronged by this label, his triumph in the Tour de France was mocked and this turned into a sadness that weighed on him for years. After completing his military service Walkowiak found work in a local bike shop and resumed racing, getting enough results to turn pro for the local Riva Sport-Dunlop team.
While the sport had its nascent trade teams, the Tour invited national teams, and regional teams from France. It sounds parochial today but reflected the vast supply of riders as almost the entire the peloton came from France and countries along its border; plus the Netherlands and minus Germany.
But he never made the French national team for the Tour de France that year. Bobet himself said Walkowiak deserved a place in the national team. Come July and Walkowiak again missed out on the French national team and qualified for the the regional Nord-Est-Centre team… managed by Ducazeaux.
Federico Bahamontes and Charly Gaul were tipped to win but the two star climbers had a route ahead of them with few mountains. Bahamontes, the Eagle of Toledo, got plucked alive during the opening days and lost 30 minutes on one flat stage; Gaul surrendered 10 minutes on another flat day. Walko meanwhile was regularly at the front of affairs and Stage 5 placed was part of a group of 20 riders who put ten minutes into Bahamontes and 15 minutes into the field.
The next day Walko made another breakaway that put over five minutes into the next group and 11 minutes on the bunch. Stage 7 was the decisive day. On the roads from Lorient to Angers Walkowiak infiltrated a breakaway of 35 riders that finished 18 minutes ahead of the bunch led home by a dejected Darrigade. Walkowiak was part of this maxi-breakaway and so were Belgian Jan Adriaensens and Dutchman Wout Wagtmans and each would earn a brief spell in yellow as Walkowiak lost time in the Pyrenees.
