Les Courses Disparues #2 : Boucle de Sospel
The René Vietto memorial at the top of Col de Braus sits so discretely in the parking area opposite the col sign, that you could easily miss it. As well as the memorial there is a wooden sign marking this as the Aire René Vietto.
You might be more accustomed to seeing an ‘aire’ on the French autoroute – the service stations where you can get a very thick sandwich and bitter coffee whilst the rest of the traffic races by. As it turns out the aire Vietto used to be passed by racing traffic for a solid 26 years between 1922 and 1948.
It was the half-way point and the main event of our next Course Disparue – Le Boucle de Sospel.
Unlike Nice – Mont Agel, the Boucle de Sospel was not for the big names of the relatively new world of professional cycling.
It was for the local amateurs and the ‘débutants’- the up and coming juniors. And as a breeding ground for local talent, the Boucle bore fruit from its rugged Alpes-Maritimes terroir.
It was also inter-changeably known as Le Boucle de L’USTNL (Union Sportive des Tramways de Nice et du Littoral) the organising club, whose employer’s objective was to build a network linking Nice to several towns along the coast and the hinterlands with railways, just like the abandoned one that can still be seen on the Col de Castillon.
They undoubtedly had sporting objectives but their partner, L’Eclaireur de Nice, followed the established trend amongst the bigger national publications of boosting circulation by making news with bike racing.
As a valley town in the Alpes-Maritimes, the only way in and out of Sospel is by col. Three Cols – Nice, Braus and Castillon - provided the loop into the mountains and back to the coast at Menton. And the climbing did not stop there. The final ascent of the Grande Corniche to the town of La Turbie, meant a climb literally from sea level back up to 658m.
The finish on Boulevard de Risso within the city limits, ensured the viewing public could enjoy the finale at their convenience. That said, city centre finales created their own problems: during the 1930 edition a young couple crossing the road caused the race leader, Amilcar Cavandoli, to crash and be passed by the winner Charles de Ambrosi as he desperately remounted his bike.
But it was rare that the peloton arrived together in Nice. From the beginning, the race was a war of attrition - during the first edition in 1922 the race blew to pieces on the Col de Nice and the bunch reduced itself from 75 to 16. This ‘gentle’ 6.5kms climb may not have been critical in the race’s outcome but it was where the selection was made and usually formed the group from which the vainqueur would emerge.
To summit the Col de Nice is to pass through the gateway to the mountains, and for the Boucle de Sospel it was into the amphitheatre for the main act of this play – the Col de Braus.
It was on the slopes of the 10km climb that winner of the first edition, Second Ganora, managed to escape from the leading pack and stay away for victory. A long solo victory, that is every racing cyclist’s dream. The Braus was a launchpad to success.
And it is undoubtedly René Vietto’s climb. In 1931 he was one of the debutants to line up at Place des XV Corps at the tender age of 16. His youth goes some way to explaining why he didn’t dominate the race. But his natural climbing ability meant he was part of the select group that arrived first on the Col de Braus.
The weather was bad, with rain and fog making visibility difficult. There were attacks on the ascent and descent of the Braus. Vietto remained in the chasing pack, and it was only in the last climb to La Turbie that he let his ability loose and reeled in the leaders. Vietto rode into Nice with Paolo Bianchi and took the sprint by a bike length.
In 1934 René returned to the Boucle parcours, but not in the local race. It was the year of his Tour debut, during which he announced himself as one of the best grimpeurs in the world. He dominated the traverse of the Alps taking two stage victories by soloing over the Galibier and then repeating the feat over the Col de Vars and Col d’Allos, where the high alps meet the Alpes-Maritimes.
The final alpine stage followed an extended version of the Boucle de Sospel route, finishing in René's hometown of Cannes, rather than Nice. It was written....
Just like his win in 1931, the weather turned bad immediately after the stage départ. But this time Vietto did not wait in the pack. On the Braus he attacked and established a gap.
He rode solo until Guiseppe Martano, who was second in the general classification, surprised yellow jersey holder Antonin Magne and managed to bridge the gap across to Vietto. But René had arrived on the coast to go tête-à-tête before. He kept his head to take the sprint and an extremely emotional third stage victory in his hometown.
We can only guess that was his most valued victory, together with the first on his palmares on the same course. The Braus was part of him and René asked for his ashes to be scattered on its slopes when he died.
And what of the amateurs? There are many names of which will only be known to their descendants and locals. But one stands out.
Prince Igor Troubetzkoy was a french born Russian aristocrat. And a sports fanatic. He was a skier but showed more potential on the bike. And off it he became the fourth husband of socialite and heiress, Barbara Hutton, which gained him fame.
But sport was his passion and he swooped to victory in the 1933 Boucle, before he eventually settled on his real love, car racing. He won the Targa Florio and then drove the first Ferrari to be entered into a Grand Prix - none other than the Monaco GP in 1948.
It is noteable that the race continued to be held for the majority of the duration of the war. But then it disappeared in 1948. One final edition was held in 1983, and was won by Pascal Simon who then went on to take the Yellow Jersey on stage 10 of the Tour that year, only to break his shoulder blade the following day. He managed, incredibly, to hold the jersey for six days. Proof, if needed, that the Lost Races of the Côte d’Azur provide tough riders.
RIDERS' NOTES
Boucle de Sospel Full Route
Read more about the races that gone but not forgotten in our Courses Disparues series.
