John
Kennedy - Helping Simpson in Le Tour
Monday 22nd January, 2007
by Ed Hood
July 1960, the GB Tour de France team hotel somewhere
in France. Britain's white hope for Tour de France glory, the late,
great Tom Simpson is discussing the events of the day with team mate,
Brian Robinson.
Simpson had punctured during the stage and one of his GB team domestiques
had brought him back up to the bunch; "I'll tell you what, Brian
- that Kennedy is strong, he was riding like ten men today when we
were coming back from that puncture."
The 1960 season was Scotsman, John Kennedy's fourth
as a professional on the continent. He turned pro in 1957, after several
successful seasons as an amateur in Belgium. It was just as hard to
sign a pro contract then as it is now; there were hundreds of young
Belgians keen to stave-off the inevitability of the coal mines or
steel works as long as they could. Kennedy rode as a professional
for six seasons; with Bertin-d'Alessandro, Bertin-Milremo, Flandria-Wiels,
Wiels-Flandria and Bertin-Porter 39.
He didn't finish the 1960 Tour, abandoning on stage
12. Perhaps if he had been less selfless in his efforts for Robinson
and Simpson then he might have made it all the way to Paris. Kennedy
had been pre-selected to ride the "Grand Boucle" that year
but a bad saddle sore had caused him to withdraw before the final
team line-up was decided.
However, the selectors were struggling to fill
the eight places assigned to them by the Tour organisation and Kennedy
received a telegram at his Belgian home, offering him his place in
the world's biggest bike race, just three days before the start. Kennedy
told 'Sporting Cyclist' journalist, Russell Galbraith, just before
the Lille start; "It's a do-or-die attempt, but I am feeling
well and have been racing regularly in Belgium."
In the magazine's next edition, the 'Tour Special',
Kennedy gets few mentions. Editor, J.B. Wadley saves most of his copy
for Simpson, Robinson and Vic Sutton. It is true that the Glaswegian
made few headlines in his one and only Tour and didn't talk much about
the race subsequently; but he did feel that he had been worked hard
by Robinson and Simpson for little recognition.
The John Kennedy story is one of "little recognition"
and isn't easy to piece together. Unlike Robinson and Simpson there
are no grand palmares to use as navigational aids when charting his
career - just six seasons in that toughest of arenas - the Belgian
kermesses and semi-classics. Results like tenth in the 1961 Brussels-Charleroi-Brussels
don't make the French results "bibles" like 'Velo Plus'
but - if you know Belgian bike racing - point to a very solid rider.
Kennedy was born in Glasgow 23 May 1931 and died 13 July 1989 aged
58.
When you speak to those who knew him there are
common threads running through their memories. A good-looking man,
aware and proud of his dark, Mediterranean features; married to a
Belgian beauty. Equipment-conscious, only the best components of the
day graced his bike and he possessed the skills to hand-build a frame
fom scratch. A helpful man, always ready to give advice to fellow-Scots
trying their luck against those hard Belgians they had read about
in the magazines.
Dedicated in his training and completely at home
in Belgium; even owning a business there. On one of the hard-core
Belgian cycling web sites it says; "Kennedy fell in love with
Kortrijk". He was a "Euro-guy" before the phrase was
even invented.
 |
| John, one of the original "Euro-guys" |
Jimmy Rae from Crieff, still organising League
International races some 53 years after he won the West of Scotland
junior road race championship in 1953 - the same year as Kennedy won
the senior title - seemed like a good man to talk to about this unheralded
pioneer.
Rae opened by explaining the background to the
era; 'Ian Steele had won the Peace Race in 1952 and in the 1953 the
Scottish Cyclists Union was formed, this brought to an end the struggles
between rival cycling bodies and a new generation of riders came into
being. We threw-away our fixed cogs and saddle bags, it was variable
gears and Oppy caps for us; we wanted to be like the continental roadmen
of the day - there were no "drum-ups" on our training runs.'
He continued; 'After we won those championships
we got to know each other and trained together regularly. I think
John rode the Circuit of Britain in '54 and '55 before he went to
Belgium. He raced there for a couple of years as an amateur then turned
pro. The teams he rode for were properly-structured professional squads,
Briek Schotte was the manager at Wiels-Flandria; I guested for them
in the Tour of Luxemburg one year. I always felt though that John
would have been better going to Italy; he was a climber most of all
and I think the racing there would have suited him better. He could
be a difficult man but was a very dedicated pro, and a great climber.
He married a Belgian girl and bought a cafe out there, his in-laws
ran it for him.
His Belgian wife was a local beauty, the story
goes that she used to sit in the cafe and attract the punters in just
to look at her. I think if he rode now he would be Pro Tour material
but like I said, Belgium was difficult for him. When he rode that
Tour he did well in the early stages because he knew how to ride in
the big bunches. He rode the kermesses every second day but he maybe
wasn't as motivated that year as he had been. His performances weren't
that well recognised back in Scotland, it was still very much time
trial biased back then.
He was a competent welder, he made the Milano frames
for John Robertson of Govan for a while. He was what you would call
"image conscious", I remember him saying to me once; "the
only thing that's worse than feeling bad on a bike, is looking bad
on a bike!"I think he settled somewhere near Portsmouth after
he retired as a rider. If I had to sum him up as a rider ? Dedicated!"
 |
| John definitely didn't "look bad on a
bike" |
Edinburgh architect, Dave Meek is another man
with vivid memories of Kennedy; 'I spent a year in Courtrai (or Kortrijk
in Flemish) with a couple of friends when I was 19 or 20. Our digs were
right across the square from Kennedy's cafe and we were over there most
days. He had finished racing by then but he used to sit and talk to
us and try and give us a bit of guidance. We would buy a paper and look
at what races were on then decide where we would ride that day. He would
say to us things like; "have you thought about how far away that
is?" or maybe tell us about the course. He would also sell us some
of his old kit, tubs and shorts for example, at knock-down prices.
"He didn't say much about the Tour or classics
but he rode against the best riders of that generation in the kermesses,
he would say; "I was on Van Steenbergen's wheel this time and
. ." He was suited to that type of racing - stocky and strong.
"He struck me as being Belgian, his French
was fluent. He was a nice guy and helped us as much as he could. Back
in those days there was just no help available at all. He was one
of a breed of very tough men who went out there with absolutely no
one to ask for guidance. When I think about it, he must have been
one of the very first. In Scotland he received pretty-much zero recognition
but he was a good rider, a hardy guy.'
Robert Millar, Billy Bilsland - respect ! But let's
not forget John Kennedy and we'll leave the last word to Tony Hewson,
from his wonderful book, 'In Pursuit of Stardom.' "Above all,
'chapeau' to the Scot, John Kennedy, who trained day in and day out
on the pave with former world champion, Brik Schotte. John married
a Belgian girl and became resident in Kortrij. Only love could have
prompted him to abandon the lovely lochs and heathery hills of his
native Scotland for that industrialised Hell of the North."
