Hinault stands defiant
Four days before the start of the 1978 Tour de France, Bernard Hinault was in Sarrebourg in eastern France for the French national championships road race. The Breton was in his fourth year as a professional, having signed for Gitane in 1975.
Results had been good for Hinault from the off. He finished second in the GP Antibes and 7th in Paris-Nice within two months of turning pro, and by the time he arrived in Sarrebourg he had won Gent-Wevelgem, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Dauphiné Libéré and GP des Nations (all 1977) along with the
