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The spirit of Cinco de Mayo – when (a cyclist from) Mexico beat (all the cyclists of) France
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Photo courtesy: Jack Claassen
Quick Quiz. The holiday known as Cinco de Mayo celebrates: a) Mexican independence; b) the invention of Mayonnaise; c) the routing of the French army in 1862; or d) the invention of the Margarita. Tequila fans will probably pick d, but true history buffs know that Cinco de Mayo celebrates a huge Mexican victory over Napolean III’s troops in a battle outside Mexico City on May 5, 1862. Nap III thought that conquering Mexico would be a cool addition to his palmares, but he had even bigger goals in mind. He figured he could take over Mexico, support the Confederacy in the American Civil War and then, when the Rebels won the conflict, he figured to take over much of the American southwest in the bargain.
Americans owe an obvious debt of gratitude to the valiant Mexican troops – not only did their defeat of the French invaders help seal the Union’s victory in the Civil War, but, let’s face it, without Tequila, life itself would not be possible for most of us.
Since that fateful day in 1862, it’s hard to find too many other successes that Mexico can claim over France. In the late 1980s, however, a Mexican cyclist named Raul Alcala had considerable success in the Tour de France, quite often at the expense of the many French riders who live for the Grande Boucle.
Alcala started his French-beating in 1987 when, riding for the American 7-11 cycling team, he won the Mayo Blanc – the white jersey – given to the best young rider in the Tour. In 1989, still with 7-11, Alcala won stage 3 of the Tour, charging away from a small break to take the third stage from Luxembourg to Francorchamps in fine style.
The Mexican rider changed to team PDM for 1990 but his Tour success continued. He had his greatest triumph by winning the stage 7 time trial, beating some pretty fair TT riders like Miguel Indurain and Greg LeMond. Despite finishing second in the last TT of that year’s Tour, his falters on Alpe d’Huez and Luz Ardiden relegated him to a still credible 8th overall. In 1990, 8th was better than any French rider could muster, giving Alcala yet one more victory over the French.
Since Alcala’s time, Mexican success at the Tour has been nonexistent. Miguel Arroyo rode three Tours in the 1990s without any notable results.
Raul Alcala made news again last year when he announced a return to cycling at the age of 44, 14 years after his retirement. He lined up for the Vuelta a Chihuahua last October. After finishing with the group in a mostly flat first stage, he crashed out of the next stage, ending his Vuelta, and, hopefully, his misguided attempt to resurrect his professional career.
When you raise your first Margarita on Tuesday, commemorate all the things that make Cinco de Mayo so much fun to celebrate, but don’t forget to toast Raul Alcala, the Mexican cyclist who was good enough to beat the French at their own game.
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