A Chester-born cycling legend has made an emotional return to the city.
Vincent ‘Vin’ Denson rode in the Tour de France six times during a superb professional professional career in the 1960s.
The 81-year-old recently visited Chester Road Club where his love affair with the sport began when he was a teenager.
One of the finest British road cyclists of his generation, he was the first Briton to win a stage of the illustrious Giro d’Italia.
Vin still remains passionate about the sport despite hanging up his bike a few years ago.
He said: “I simply love coming back to Chester and meeting fellow cyclists from Chester Road Club which is where it all began for me.
“I love everything about cycling and especially talking to people who love cycling as much as I do.”
Born in Handbridge, Vin joined Chester Road Club at the tender age of 17 using a bike borrowed from his brother.
At the pinnacle of his career. Vin was ‘super domestique’ on the same team as some of the cycling greats, including Jacques Anquetil, the first man to win the Tour de France five times, and secured his historic Giro stage win in 1966.
His 1965 Tour of Luxembourg victory made him the first British winner of a professional European stage race.
He was also team-mate and close friend of British cycling legend Tom Simpson, who passed away during the 1967 Tour de France.
Vin wrote about how severely this affected him in his autobiography titled The Full Cycle, which was published in 2008.
The former Chester Road Club member returned recently as guest of honour at club’s annual awards dinner.
He was able to meet some of the Saturday club run riders for a coffee and to reminisce about life as a professional cyclist.
Chester Road Club’s Dave Pamphilon said: “We were extremely proud to welcome Vin as our guest of honour.
“He’s someone who has ridden with the best riders in world but also has a long history with our club.
“He’s also a real character and his stories of his life as a pro cyclist were very inspiring.
“Vin presented our club riders with a variety of awards and he was very impressed with the fantastic achievements of our members throughout the year.”
