Grelin Retires from the 1970 TdF

An excerpt from "La Course en Tete" - sorry for the poor quality, but I filmed it from VHS on my tv.

The rider is René Grelin, the race is stage 19 of the
1970 Tour de France, and he is withdrawing on the Tourmalet climb.

I've always found this footage very painful to watch. Here's a man who, through illness injury or exhaustion, simply cannot continue. In tears, he falls into the arms of his directeur sportif, the great Jean De Gribaldy.
You can understand what Grelin is saying, even without subtitles: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry".

René Grelin, born September 21st 1942 in Gigny-sur-Saône, France, raced professionally from 1969 through 1975. Teams included Tigra, Ovaphil - Bonanza, Fagor - Mercier, Gan, and U.N.C.P.

1970 was probably Grelin's best racing season, with wins at Nice-Seillans and the Tour du Haut-Var.

Aldo Ross