BRITAIN’S FIRST ROUBAIX FINISHER
They can’t have known exactly what they were letting themselves in for in 1896. As 51 riders set off from Paris at 5.30am in search of the 1,000 Franc first prize, among them was two young Brits.
Arthur Linton, paced by his younger brother Tom, who trained on the hills around Aberaman, Wales, was the first to show aggression that day. It seems odd to say now but this race wasn’t the big goal for his 24th year on this planet, that was Bordeaux-Paris a few weeks later.
By the time he reached Amiens he’d teamed up with German Josef Fischer, but not long after, disaster struck. A dog ran into the road and promptly under Linton’s wheels and he
