Jacques Anquetil

Jacques Anquetil was born 8 January 1934 in France and became a road racing cyclist with a gift for the one thing that can't be faked—riding alone against the clock. Time trials made him "Monsieur Chrono," and that discipline carried him to his first Tour de France win in 1957, then four straight from 1961 to 1964. The 1961 victory was the audacious one: he announced beforehand he'd seize the yellow jersey on day one and hold it through all three weeks, with Charly Gaul and Federico Bahamontes both in the race, and he made good. By the time he retired he'd won eight Grand Tours, a record that…