Daniel Morelon
Encyclopedia
Daniel Morelon (born 24 July 1944 in Bourg-en-Bresse
) is a French
former racing cyclist, eight times world champion and triple Olympic champion and a knight of the Legion d'Honneur
. Morelon was a police officer
before becoming a cycling coach.
He joined the Vélo Club Bressan at 15. He won 11 races in the youth class and came second nine times out of 25 races. He came third in the national youth championship on the road and moved to the track after a training session in Paris.
Morelon was called up to the army in November 1963. He joined the national sports institute, INSEP, and began training at an international level.
Morelon and Trentin were matched for the bronze medal in the Olympic Games
in Tokyo
in 1964. Trentin was unsettled by his disqualification against the Italian, Pettenela, in the semi-final and lost to Morelon after forcing him to a third ride.
The opposition between Trentin and Morelon continued until 1966. Trentin specialised in the kilometre, taking the world championship in 1966. Morelon took the sprint championship. The two then combined to ride the tandem sprint. Trentin said: "I'm the second fastest in the sprint and the fastest in the kilometre. Who's going to beat us on a tandem?
Morelon took the world title the following year, again ahead of Trentin, but despite Trentin's confidence they failed in the tandem final.
The 1968 Olympic Games were at altitude in Mexico
. Trentin, suffering from the height, saw Morelon record the best kilometre time in training. The team manager, Louis Gérardin, nevertheless named Trentin for the event and he won in a world record. Two days later, won the sprint easily against the Italian, Giodano Turrini. Two days later, Trentin and Morelon won the tandem.
Morelon took his third world title in 1969 and a silver on the tandem. He repeated the performance in 1970, but with Gérard Quintyn as tandem partner. Trentin and Morelon teamed up again for the tandem in 1971, and took the bronze. Morelon won his fifth sprint title.
Morelon was favourite at his third Olympic Games. He disposed of the Australian John Nicholson
in two rides, although the second needed a photo-finish. Morelon took further world titles in 1973 and 1975.
At his fourth Olympics, in Montreal
, Morelon faced the unknown Slovak, Anton Tkac
, in the final (Anton Tkac is from Slovakia, part of former Czech and Slovak Federative Republic). He lost the first round after leading but being passed on the line. He won the second and was outridden in the third. The Slovak tried a long sprint, longer than Morelon could believe. "I couldn't believe that he was serious," Morelon said. "I was too far back. I didn't realise what was happening until I was beaten. I told myself there was still a lap and I couldn't believe that it was over." Morelon took the silver, his fifth medal in four Olympics.
Georges Decoeudres, of the Tribune de Lausanne, wrote:
, as well as winning the European sprint championship. He had previously said: "If I turn professional, I would no longer be able to devote myself exclusively to the sprint, because international matches are rare. Well, I want to stay a sprinter." He was given time off by the sports ministry, his employer as national coach, to train. He told journalists: "Look, you mustn't go away and write that Daniel Morelon, the old champion, is going to fall out of the clouds and run off with all the big prizes. But you can say that, provided I can prepare properly, I will play a more than prominent role in the way the races develop."
In 1990, he became head of the training centre at Hyères
, on a new track. A rivalry started between Hyères and the northern training centre in Paris. There, Florian Rousseau
was coached by Gérard Quintyn while Morelon trained Laurent Gané
at Hyères. The result was a golden age of French sprinting, with all the world championships from 1997 to 2001 and the Olympic Games in 2000.
Morelon reached retirement age after the 2005 Olympics in Los Angeles
and both he and Quintyn retired. Italy recruited him but in March 2007 he chose to work with China
. "My job is to look after Guo Shuang
", he said. "The Chinese federation has invested a lot in her." He took Shuang to two silver medals in the sprint and keirin at world championships but without the same success at the Beijing
Olympics.
Rather than move to China, Morelon brought his best riders to train in France. He said it would be his last competition.
Bourg-en-Bresse
Bourg-en-Bresse is a commune in eastern France, capital of the Ain department, and was capital of the former province of Bresse . It is located north-northeast of Lyon.The inhabitants of Bourg-en-Bresse are known as Burgiens.-Geography:...
) is a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
former racing cyclist, eight times world champion and triple Olympic champion and a knight of the Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. Morelon was a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
before becoming a cycling coach.
Cycling career
Morelon came into cycling after going to races with his two brothers. He said:- My father was mad about cycling but he didn't have the chance to race, except a couple of times in secret. It was he who gave the vuris to my elder brothers. At 10, I went to see them racing and I rode 100km on my mother's bike.
He joined the Vélo Club Bressan at 15. He won 11 races in the youth class and came second nine times out of 25 races. He came third in the national youth championship on the road and moved to the track after a training session in Paris.
- I discovered the track by chance, during the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960. I saw Gaiardoni win. I said to myself 'I like that.' My first race on the track was the Rustine kilometre in Paris, in 1962. That was on the Cipale track. I'd never ridden on a track. It was Toto Gérardin who taught me, over a week. I finished second behind Pierre TrentinPierre TrentinPierre Trentin was a French professional racing cyclist and double Olympic champion.Trentin began competing when he was 14. He continued racing when he began training and then established his own business as a leather craftsman and became one of the world's leading cyclists on the track. At 17 he...
I remember that I rode all the sprints out of the saddle in the straight. And I fell off. I'd forgotten that you can't freewheel with a fixed gear. I rode the track again the following year and I was contacted for a tournament between France and Germany... in the team pursuit. That wasn't surprising because I was still considered a roadman at that time.
Morelon was called up to the army in November 1963. He joined the national sports institute, INSEP, and began training at an international level.
- It was in 1964 that I specialised in the sprint. The click was my victory in the Grand Prix of Copenhagen over Patrick SercuPatrick SercuPatrick Sercu is a former Belgian cyclist, best known for his exploits on the tracks.In 1964 aged 19 he competed as the star attraction at the Manchester Wheelers' Club Race Meet at the Fallowfield track in Manchester.He won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.Sercu is the record...
. I'd beaten the world champion; I could beat anybody in the world.
Morelon and Trentin were matched for the bronze medal in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1964. Trentin was unsettled by his disqualification against the Italian, Pettenela, in the semi-final and lost to Morelon after forcing him to a third ride.
The opposition between Trentin and Morelon continued until 1966. Trentin specialised in the kilometre, taking the world championship in 1966. Morelon took the sprint championship. The two then combined to ride the tandem sprint. Trentin said: "I'm the second fastest in the sprint and the fastest in the kilometre. Who's going to beat us on a tandem?
Morelon took the world title the following year, again ahead of Trentin, but despite Trentin's confidence they failed in the tandem final.
The 1968 Olympic Games were at altitude in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Trentin, suffering from the height, saw Morelon record the best kilometre time in training. The team manager, Louis Gérardin, nevertheless named Trentin for the event and he won in a world record. Two days later, won the sprint easily against the Italian, Giodano Turrini. Two days later, Trentin and Morelon won the tandem.
Morelon took his third world title in 1969 and a silver on the tandem. He repeated the performance in 1970, but with Gérard Quintyn as tandem partner. Trentin and Morelon teamed up again for the tandem in 1971, and took the bronze. Morelon won his fifth sprint title.
Morelon was favourite at his third Olympic Games. He disposed of the Australian John Nicholson
John Nicholson (cyclist)
John Nicholson is a cyclist from Australia.He competed for Australia in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the individual sprint event where he finished in second place. He won Gold at the 1970 Commonwealth Games and the 1974 Commonwealth Games also in the sprint...
in two rides, although the second needed a photo-finish. Morelon took further world titles in 1973 and 1975.
At his fourth Olympics, in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Morelon faced the unknown Slovak, Anton Tkac
Anton Tkác
Anton Tkáč is a retired track cyclist from Slovakia, who claimed the gold medal for Czechoslovakia in the Men's 1,000m Sprint at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. He won two world titles in the same event, in 1974 and 1978.-References:...
, in the final (Anton Tkac is from Slovakia, part of former Czech and Slovak Federative Republic). He lost the first round after leading but being passed on the line. He won the second and was outridden in the third. The Slovak tried a long sprint, longer than Morelon could believe. "I couldn't believe that he was serious," Morelon said. "I was too far back. I didn't realise what was happening until I was beaten. I told myself there was still a lap and I couldn't believe that it was over." Morelon took the silver, his fifth medal in four Olympics.
Georges Decoeudres, of the Tribune de Lausanne, wrote:
- In the first round, where he had easily passed Morelon in the last banking, Anton Tkac beat the track record in 10.89 seconds. In the second round, though, he had to submit to a very attentive Morelon. The Czech started the sprint at 200m from the line but the Frenchman matched him and led with a lap to go. Beaten, the Czech surrendered and waited for the third round. It was a passionate affair. Tkac attacked in the penultimate banking. The Frenchman, left at four metres, gave the impression that he could come back - he immediately started chasing - but the Czech kept his lead right up to the line. Morelon was irremediably beaten and sat up before the finish.
Retirement and coaching
Morelon stopped racing in 1977 and succeeded Gérardin as national coach. In 1980, though, he returned as a professional and took the bronze medal in the sprint and silver in the keirinKeirin
is a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....
, as well as winning the European sprint championship. He had previously said: "If I turn professional, I would no longer be able to devote myself exclusively to the sprint, because international matches are rare. Well, I want to stay a sprinter." He was given time off by the sports ministry, his employer as national coach, to train. He told journalists: "Look, you mustn't go away and write that Daniel Morelon, the old champion, is going to fall out of the clouds and run off with all the big prizes. But you can say that, provided I can prepare properly, I will play a more than prominent role in the way the races develop."
In 1990, he became head of the training centre at Hyères
Hyères
Hyères , Provençal Occitan: Ieras in classical norm or Iero in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
, on a new track. A rivalry started between Hyères and the northern training centre in Paris. There, Florian Rousseau
Florian Rousseau
Florian Rousseau is a French former track cyclist who won three gold medals and one silver at the Summer Olympics . He was popular among spectators for the facial expressions he pulled - many of them seeming to make his eyes bulge - to help him concentrate at the start of races...
was coached by Gérard Quintyn while Morelon trained Laurent Gané
Laurent Gané
Laurent Gané is a French professional track cyclist.He was awarded the Vélo d'Or français, which is awarded by a panel of French journalists, in 1999 and 2003.Gané is also the cousin of cyclist Hervé Gané....
at Hyères. The result was a golden age of French sprinting, with all the world championships from 1997 to 2001 and the Olympic Games in 2000.
- The revival started with the arrival of Frédéric MagnéFrédéric MagnéFrédéric Magné is a French former track cyclist. Magné was the world champion in keirin in 1995, 1997 and 2000 and in tandem in 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1994, each time with Fabrice Colas.- Palmarès :19871988198919911992...
, Colas and Denys Lemyre, who had been world sprint champion with the juniors. Setting up two centres of training brought a rivalry. After the fall of the Berlin WallBerlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
Gérard went to Germany to find papers on training. We worked more on muscle-building, made our sessions more methodical, so we had training sessions for speed and others for strength and endurance. But we also worked out our own programme, both Gérard and I adding our personal touches. We also had the luck to fall on an exceptional generation: Magné, Florian RousseauFlorian RousseauFlorian Rousseau is a French former track cyclist who won three gold medals and one silver at the Summer Olympics . He was popular among spectators for the facial expressions he pulled - many of them seeming to make his eyes bulge - to help him concentrate at the start of races...
, Félicia BallangerFélicia BallangerFélicia Ballanger was a French racing cyclist.She won five world championships in the sprint and 500 m time trial. She was also a triple Olympic champion. She is tall and weighs .- Biography :...
Gané. It was a golden generation for French track racing.
Morelon reached retirement age after the 2005 Olympics in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and both he and Quintyn retired. Italy recruited him but in March 2007 he chose to work with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. "My job is to look after Guo Shuang
Guo Shuang
Guo Shuang is a Chinese professional track cyclist. She won two bronze medals at the 2006 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, in Sprint and Keirin, and two silver medals at the 2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, again in Sprint and Keirin.Guo had an eventful semi-final in the sprint at...
", he said. "The Chinese federation has invested a lot in her." He took Shuang to two silver medals in the sprint and keirin at world championships but without the same success at the Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
Olympics.
Rather than move to China, Morelon brought his best riders to train in France. He said it would be his last competition.
Personal awards
- World Champion in 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973 and 1975 in sprint cyclingSprint (cycling)The sprint or match sprint is a track cycling event involving between 2 and 4 riders, though they are usually run as a one-on-one match race between opponents who, unlike in the individual pursuit, start next to each other.- Racing style :...
. - World Champion in 1966 in tandem bicycleTandem bicycleThe tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...
with Pierre TrentinPierre TrentinPierre Trentin was a French professional racing cyclist and double Olympic champion.Trentin began competing when he was 14. He continued racing when he began training and then established his own business as a leather craftsman and became one of the world's leading cyclists on the track. At 17 he...
. - 3 silver medals at the World Championships (1964 in sprint, 1967 in tandem, 1980 in keirinKeirinis a track cycling event in which racing cyclists sprint for victory. Keirin originated in Japan in 1948; the first Olympic competitions in the sport occurred in 2000....
) - 5 bronze medals at the World Championships(1965 (amateur) and 1980 (professional) in sprint, 1969, 1970 and 1971 in tandem)
- Champion of France in sprint: 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 (eleven times running)
- Champion of French champions in 1972 - L'ÉquipeL'ÉquipeL'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
Winner of Grand Prix
- Paris
- London
- Copenhagen
- Aarhus
- Milan
- Los Angeles
- Amsterdam
- Hannover
- Moscow
- Others
- The Six Days of Nouméa, 1977
Awards as trainer
- Trainer to Félicia BallangerFélicia BallangerFélicia Ballanger was a French racing cyclist.She won five world championships in the sprint and 500 m time trial. She was also a triple Olympic champion. She is tall and weighs .- Biography :...
at Olympic Games in sprint, 1996 and 2000 - Trainer to Félicia Ballanger at Olympic Games in 500 m, 2000
- Trainer to Nathalie Even-Lancien at Olympic Games in Points racePoints raceA points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men between 1984–2008 and for women 1996-2008....
, 1996 - 15 World Champion titles
- 7 Silver World Championship medals
- 6 Bronze World Championship medals