Not so much a mystery as a phenomenon

Jacques Anquetil: the Mystery. 2000. Video, 54 minutes. £21.99. From Bromley Video Entertainment, 11 The Terrace, Barnes SW13 0NP. 0208-876-4671

No mystery, really: he was a natural, and he saw no reason why he should live the ascetic life. He'd drink and stay up all night, if he wanted, and still win. Why not? His body seemed able to stand it. And he could play the percentage game. Told that he led the Giro by 17 seconds he said it was 16 more than he needed. Then there was his lifelong fear of death: he did not expect to outlive the father who had died (accidentally) in his fifties.

There's some great footage, all in black and white of course (it's better than colour, I tell you!), not only of Anquetil but of many of his principal rivals: Gaul, Bobet, Nencini, Bahamontes and of course Poulidor. Highlights include the struggle on the Puy de Dome; the grovel up the gravel of the appalling Gavia in the 1960 Giro, Nencini freewheeling while relays of tifosi push him past a labouring Anquetil to the cheers of the Italian commissaires; his first Tour stage win at Rouen; and even a glimpse of his terrifying descent of the Envalira in 1964, rocketing past the team cars in the mist. But who was driving the camera motorbike alongside him?

But more than anything it's the time-trials: Tour stages, Nations, Lugano, and the Baracchi two-up. His 1955 ride with Bobet exemplified two diametrically-opposed approaches to professional bike racing: the Breton, immaculate in his rainbow jersey, workmanlike rather than natural; Anquetil, a thoroughbred to Bobet's hack, contemptuous of preparation. What these pictures show is that Anquetil was simply the best time-triallist who ever lived: nobody was better equipped by nature (his resting heart rate was 33), no-one ever looked better riding a bicycle at speed. He used high gears for his time (he was up to 53 x 13 by 1959) and it's noteworthy that his cadence is almost always below 100 rpm. After all, you only need 92 rpm to do 30 mph on a 53/13.

The best interviews, interspersed throughout the narrative, are with Janine Anquetil and his long-time road buddy and directeur sportif, the inimitable and often intemperate Raphäel Géminiani. They're genuinely informative and interesting, just talking heads, with no intrusive rubberneck asking daft questions.

Phil Liggett provides the English commentary, clear enough, but (as usual) unable to pronounce any French word or name correctly. The translation from the French is adequate but slips occasionally: 'He'd kill the race and staple its emotions'. A misprint for 'stifle'? Most viewers won't notice these things – they'll be too absorbed in the pictures. But the sub-titles are pretty good.

A few errors: he won the 1953 Nations by 7 minutes, not 25. The gentle Envalira is not 1 in 6 – probably 6 percent (i.e. 1 in 17). The commentary claims two hour records, but only one appears in the books: the UCI refused to ratify the second when Anquetil refused a drugs test and Géminiani punched an official.

Great tape, great present.

Ramin Minovi