Some riders are lost in the shadows. We hear a lot about the cycling greats. Eddy Merckx. Fausto Coppi. Greg LeMond. But what about the lesser-known riders?

There\’s Stan Ockers, Eddy Merckx\’s idol. Ockers is another tragic case of a cyclist being killed in a crash. There are only too many such stories.

There\’s Michael Rogers, of Australia. I love this video of him taking a bow on his bike as he won stage 16 of the 2014 Tour de France; my favorite TdF video/pic of all time! It was his first stage win in ten Tours, so he really earned that bow!

I never heard of Alfonsina Strada until very recently. She sounds like one tough lady! Imagine having to repair your handlebars with a piece of  broomstick during a race!

I hadn\’t heard of Gino Bartali, either. There was a lot more to him than cycling. He must have had a great deal of courage to do the work that he did to save Jews during World War II.

Doubtless there are a great many more cyclists out there whose names aren\’t well known, if at all. Just to begin with, how many of this year\’s TdF riders could I name? Precious few.

I guess that\’s the way it\’s always been, and always will be. Only a few will shine brightly, but that doesn\’t mean the ones \”in the shadows\” aren\’t important. And you never know when one of them might turn supernova!