1974 World Championships in Montreal: exoticism, betrayals and suspicions of under-the-table payments

The 1974 World Championships in Montreal opened up the discovery of a new world for the peloton, combining exoticism, betrayals and suspicions of under-the-table payments.

That year, Montreal had already hosted the World Championships, for the event’s first excursion beyond Europe. The unfamiliar setting was accompanied by an already intense confrontation between Belgians and French riders.

The full substance of the rainbow race lay in that combination of rivalries and suspicions of bribery.