Roger Rivière (23 February 1936, Saint-Étienne – 1 April 1976, Saint-Galmier) was a French track and road bicycle racer. He raced as a professional from 1957 to 1960.
Rivière, a time trialist, all-around talent on the road, and a three-time world pursuit champion on the track, lost his career to injury. He was considered to have a chance of winning the 1960 Tour de France but crashed on the Col de Perjuret descent of Mont Aigoual in the Massif Central while following leader Gastone Nencini. Rivière hit a guard-block on the edge of the road, falling 20 meters into a ravine. He landed in brush, breaking two vertebrae. The injury permanently disabled Riviére, confining him to a wheelchair and ending his career.
Early career
Rivière started as a track rider, at the old velodrome in St-Étienne. At 19 he beat Jacques Anquetil for the national pursuit championship at the Parc des Princes in Paris. He turned professional in 1957, when he beat Albert Bouvet to win the world pursuit championship at Rocourt, Belgium.
Hour record
On the advice of his team manager, Raphaël Géminiani, and his agent, Daniel Dousset, Rivière attempted Ercole Baldini's hour record on 18 September 1957 at the Vigorelli track in Milan. He was still in national service in the army at Joinville, near Paris, although in a battalion which allowed the country's top athletes to train at public expense. He rode a 7.28m gear and took the record with 46 km 923m.
He won the world pursuit championship again in 1958, at the Parc des Princes, beating Leandro Faggin in the final with 5m 59s, the first time the title had been won in less than six minutes. He said he would attack the hour again, on 23 September. He rode 53×15 (7.48 m), higher than that usually used by sprinters. He punctured but started again and became the first rider to exceed 47 km/h. Pierre Chany wrote:
When the Frenchman arrived at the stadium, on the stroke of 4.30pm, making his way through the Jeeps of the police which gave a real feeling of something special happening, 12,000 people had already taken their place in the stadium. On the track, Renée Vissac was busy beating the women's record. The Stéphanois watched her not without some amusement, exchanged small talk, then went to his cabin, while his entourage measured the strength of the wind: matches blew out and the smoke from cigarettes stretched out horizontally. After a long moment, Rivière reappeared. He was wearing a helmet covered in nylon, varnished shoes and a world champion's jersey made of silk. He rode a few laps of the track behind a scooter and then stopped.
Rivière thought the draught blowing through the stadium too strong and wanted to return to his hotel. At 6pm he agreed with Dousset and his soigneur, Roger Provost, to start the ride.
René de Latour wrote in Sporting Cyclist:
One lap of the Vigorelli track is 397 metres. The bell was to ring every 30.8 seconds. If Rivière was on the [finish] line, it meant that he was riding at Baldini's pace. But right from the first kilometre, Rivière forgot all the warnings. He was going like mad, and the man with the bell whose jobs it was to signal his position each time the bell rang had to run as much as 30 yards a lap.
On finishing, he asked journalists whether he was talking coherently and not still giddy from going round and round the track. His record lasted nine years.
Tour de France crash
Rivière was one of 14 riding for France in 1960. It was his second participation and he had become one of the favourites. But his talent made him careless with training and what he ate. Rivière had a personal war with another French rider, Henry Anglade. Rivière won the opening time trial but Anglade had the yellow jersey of leadership by day six. Rivière took his revenge, even though they were in the same team, by attacking 112 km from the finish at Lorient. He beat Anglade by 14 minutes. Only a German, Hans Junkermann, Jean Adriaenssens of Belgium, and Gastone Nencini of Italy could stay with him. Rivière won the stage and Nencini the overall lead.