Eddy Merckx, Saronni and de Vlaeminck, 3 of the outstanding heroes of the era whom Colnago choose to lionise with custom production bikes as a tribute.
Who is Roger de Vlaeminck?
Roger de Vlaeminck competed as a professional cyclist from 1969 to 1984. Overall he recorded 525 victories throughout his career including one stage of the Tour de France, 22 stages of the Giro d’Italia (including winning the points jersey 3 times) as well as a stage win in the Vuelta a España. He is one of only three riders to have won all five ‘Monuments of Cycling’ (i.e., Milan–San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and the Giro di Lombardia).
Features of a Colnago Roger de Vlaeminck.
This bike in the following images appears to be an original even though the decals do not match those shown in the brochure. Essentially this model would have shared all the features of an early 1980’s Colnago Super.
As for the components included with this bike, I would presume they were top of the range Campagnolo Super Record & Nuovo Record. As you can see in the catalogue, the chain rings were pantographed with Roger’s full name and initials. Based on the brochure it looks like this bike was released to celebrate one of his four Paris-Roubaix victories (1972, 1974, 1975, 1977).