1966, Sport: Paris–Roubaix

On Sunday, 17 April 1966, the 64th edition of the classic Paris–Roubaix race took place. Covering a distance of 262.5 km, the race started in Compiègne and finished in Roubaix. Of the 134 riders who lined up at the start, only 58 managed to reach the finish.

Felice Gimondi

Raymond Poulidor and Rik Van Looy

In bitterly cold and miserable weather, with freezing rain turning the roads into a sea of mud, the race became a gruelling battle of endurance. Despite the overwhelming Belgian presence in the field, which included the likes of Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy, Walter Godefroot, Edward Sels and Willy Planckaert, it was Italy’s Felice Gimondi who stole the show. With 35 kilometres remaining, he launched a decisive attack and broke away from the chasing group of Belgians. Knowing that he would stand little chance against them in a sprint finish, Gimondi pressed on, steadily extending his lead and leaving his Belgian rivals trailing behind.

Felice Gimondi

Rik Van Looy and Eddy Merckx

Complete results:

Pos	Name	Team	Time
01	Gimondi Felice (ITA)	Salvarani	0,29
02	Janssen Jan (NED)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,17
03	De Smet Gustaaf (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	0,17
04	Planckaert Willy (BEL)	Romeo - Smiths	0,17
05	Huysmans Joseph (BEL)	Dr. Mann - Grundig	0,17
06	Altig Rudi (GER)	Molteni	0,17
07	Bocklant Willy (BEL)	Dr. Mann - Grundig	0,17
08	Decabooter Arthur (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	0,17
09	Van Looy Rik (BEL)	Solo - Superia	0,17
10	Karstens Gerben (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	0,17
11	Van De Kerckhove Bernard (BEL)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,17
12	de Roo Jo (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	0,18
13	Durante Adriano (ITA)	Salvarani	0,18
14	De Rosso Guido (ITA)	Molteni	0,18
15	Merckx Eddy (BEL)	Peugeot - BP - Michelin	0,18
16	Grain Michel (FRA)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,18
17	Brands Frans (BEL)	Romeo - Smiths	0,21
18	De Boever Jacques (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	0,21
19	Graczyk Jean (FRA)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,21
20	Godefroot Walter (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	0,21
21	Delberghe Edouard (FRA)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,22
22	Spruyt Joseph (BEL)	Mercier - BP - Hutchinson	0,23
23	Molenaers Yvo (BEL)	Romeo - Smiths	0,26
24	Dancelli Michele (ITA)	Molteni	0,27
25	Desmet II Gilbert (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	0,27
26	Motta Gianni (ITA)	Molteni	0,27
27	Aimar Lucien (FRA)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,3
28	Vandenberghe Georges (BEL)	Romeo - Smiths	0,42
29	Zilverberg Hubertus (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	0,43
30	Post Peter (NED)	Solo - Superia	0,43
31	Foucher Andre (FRA)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,43
32	Van Coningsloo Georges (BEL)	Peugeot - BP - Michelin	0,43
33	Sels Edward (BEL)	Solo - Superia	0,43
34	Annaert Jean-Claude (FRA)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,46
35	Le Greves Alain (FRA)	Kamome - Dilecta	0,46
36	Stevens Julien (BEL)	Solo - Superia	0,46
37	Genet Jean-Pierre (FRA)	Mercier - BP - Hutchinson	0,58
38	Bazire Francis (FRA)	Peugeot - BP - Michelin	0,59
39	Schleck Johny (LUX)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,62
40	Novak Anatole (FRA)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,62
41	Den Hartog Arie (NED)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,62
42	Milliot Roger (FRA)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,62
43	Van der Vleuten Jos (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	0,66
44	Zollinger Rudi (SWI)	Tigra - Meltina	0,66
45	Denson Vincent (GBR)	Ford - Hutchinson	0,67
46	Fantinato Bruno (ITA)	Salvarani	0,67
47	Braspennincx Piet (NED)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,7
48	Geldermans Albert (NED)	Molteni	0,7
49	Baguet Roger (BEL)	Solo - Superia	0,73
50	Altig Willy (GER)	Molteni	0,89
51	Pesenti Vittorio (ITA)	Salvarani	0,91
52	Maliepaard Bas (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	0,91
53	Labrouille Daniel (FRA)	Pelforth - Sauvage - Lejeune	0,91
54	Salmon Daniel (FRA)	Kamome - Dilecta	1,22
55	Timmermans Jos (BEL)	Wiel's - Groene Leeuw	1,22
56	Herger Albert (SWI)	-	1,22
57	Messelis Andre (BEL)	Dr. Mann - Grundig	1,22
58	Nijdam Henk (NED)	Televizier - Batavus	1,22

Raymond Poulidor came in 17th, but was disqualified for an illegal bike change.

Video Clip (French)

Video Clip (French)

1965, News: Inauguration of the Mont Blanc Tunnel

On Friday, 16 July 1965, the Mont Blanc Tunnel was officially inaugurated by French President Charles de Gaulle and Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. 

President Charles de Gaulle and President Giuseppe Saragat
in a Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale during the inauguration

A violent mountain storm sent vengeful bolts of lightning slashing across the slopes of Mont Blanc, while thunderclaps reverberated through the valleys below. The helicopter carrying Charles de Gaulle struggled through the dense fog as it made its way over the mountain pass towards Chamonix, while a persistent drizzle added a chill to the air. Despite the adverse weather conditions, De Gaulle and Saragat ceremoniously cut two symbolic ribbons, officially opening what was then the world's longest road tunnel, stretching 11.611 kilometres beneath Western Europe's highest mountain. The two presidents then climbed into Saragat's Fiat 2300 limousine and drove through the tunnel, travelling from France to the Italian town of Courmayeur. After thousands of years of wishful thinking, eight decades of frustrated planning and six years of relentless toil, one of Europe's greatest natural barriers had finally been conquered.

President Charles de Gaulle and President Giuseppe Saragat during the inauguration

Saragat  and De Gaulle ceremoniously cut two symbolic ribbons

The agreement between France and Italy to construct a tunnel beneath Mont Blanc was signed in 1949. Two operating companies were subsequently established, each responsible for the construction and management of one half of the tunnel: the French company Autoroutes et tunnel du Mont-Blanc (ATMB), founded on 30 April 1958, and its Italian counterpart, Società italiana per azioni per il Traforo del Monte Bianco (SITMB), founded on 1 September 1957.

On 14 August 1962, the French and Italian teams met

Excavation work proceeded simultaneously from both sides of the mountain massif. The Italians were the first to begin work, on 12 January 1959, followed by the French on the first of June the same year. The construction of the tunnel came at a heavy human cost. Twenty-three workers lost their lives during the project: eighteen Italians and five Frenchmen. On 14 August 1962, after years of painstaking excavation, the two teams finally broke through and met deep beneath Mont Blanc, marking the completion of the tunnel's excavation.

The tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965

Owing to numerous technical difficulties and a strike lasting several weeks, the tunnel was opened later than originally planned. Its inauguration had initially been scheduled for early 1964. The tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 July 1965. The two-lane tunnel, equipped with air-conditioning and an ultramodern radar-based traffic control system, shortened the road distance between Paris and Rome by 201 kilometers.

British Pathé News Clip

1964, Fashion: Vogue, Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy Hats (USA, 15 August)

1963, Belgian Comics: Les Avontures de Tintin, Les Bijoux de la Castafiore

In 1963, "Les Bijoux de la Castafiore" was published by Casterman. It was the 21st album in the "Les Aventures de Tintin" series, created in 1929 by Georges Prosper Remi, better known by his pseudonym Hergé. The first story, "Tintin au pays des Soviets", appeared in 1929 in "Le Petit Vingtième", the children's supplement of the Belgian newspaper "Le Vingtième Siècle". The main characters in the series are Tintin, Milou (Bobbie, Snowy), Captain Haddock, Professor Tournesol (Professor Zonnebloem, Professor Calculus) and Dupond et Dupont (Jansen & Janssen, Thomson and Thompson). "Les Bijoux de la Castafiore" was serialised in the children's magazine Tintin from 4 June to 4 September 1962, before being published as an album in 1963.

Dutch Cover

"Les Bijoux de la Castafiore"

• full colour
• publisher: Casterman
• Dutch title: De juwelen van Bianca Castafiore (Casterman, 1963)
• English title: The Castafiore Emerald (Methuen, 1963)
• Other languages: German (Die Juwelen der Sängerin), Spanish (Las joyas de la Castafiore), Portuguese (As joias de Castafiore), Italian (I gioielli della Castafiore), Arabic, Japanese, Icelandic (Vandræði Vailu Veinlólínu), Indonesian (Zamrud Castafiore / Permata Castafiore), Turkish (Kastafiore'nin Mücevherleri), Vietnamese (Viên ngọc bích Castafiore), Greek, Hebrew, Serbo-Croatian and various dialects.
• drawings by Hergé, Bob De Moor, Roger Leloup, Jacques Martin, Joseph Loeckx
• story by Hergé

Tintin and Captain Haddock

Professeur Tournesol

Dupond and Dupont

Captain Haddock and Nestor

The main characters in this album are Captain Haddock, Tintin, Miarka, Nestor, Professeur Tournesol, Irma, Igor Wagner, Bianca Castafiore, Milou, Mateo, Lampion, Dupond and Dupont,

Captain Haddock, Tintin and Miarka

Igor Wagner

Irma, Bianca Castafiore and Captain Haddock

Synopsis
Tintin and Captain Haddock are walking through the countryside around Moulinsart when they come across a group of Tziganes camped in a rubbish dump. They help reunite a lost little girl named Miarka with her family. The Tziganes explain that they are not allowed to camp anywhere else, so Haddock invites them to stay on the grounds of his estate…

Lampion

Mateo

Milou

References

• Reference to Les Brigands by Jacques Offenbach.
• Jean-Loup de la Batellerie and Walter Rizotto are based on Philippe de Baleine and Willy Rizzo, journalists for Paris Match.
• Reference to Christian Dior through the character Tristan Bior.

Reference to Christian Dior

Jean-Loup de la Batellerie and Walter Rizotto are based on
Philippe de Baleine and Willy Rizzo, journalists for Paris Match

Reference to Les Brigands by Jacques Offenbach

Vehicles

• Alfa Romeo Giulietta Berlina (Series 2)
• Citroën Ami 6
• Opel Rekord P2
• unidentified truck probably Brossel
• unidentified van
• Peugeot 404
• Citroën 2CV
• Peugeot 403

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Berlina

Citroën 2CV

Citroën Ami 6 and Opel Rekord P2

Peugeot 403

unidentified truck probably Brossel

unidentified van and Peugeot 404