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Graham Meets Frederic Magne

A funny thing happened this year at the Herne Hill Good Friday meeting. Watching in awe as the sprinters worked their magic Graham started telling me about the time he once went for dinner with some of the top sprinters in the World at a restaurant in Beckenham, just down the road from Addiscombe. Now its not that I disbelieve Graham, its just that sometimes its hard to take it all in as some of the stories are so fantastic that you have to ask yourself if they are really true!

Anyway it turns out that one of these riders was multiple world champion Frederic Magne, who was at Herne Hill as a coach for his band of up and coming international aspirants. We managed to catch Frederic at the end of the meeting and Graham said his hellos and yes it did seem that 'Freddy' knew Graham personally. Luckily top photographer Phil O'Connor was on hand to take a picture of this meeting.

Graham, Freddy and Marco

I was intrigued to find out how Frederic could possibly remember Graham from this single meeting and pushed Graham for the details. The bits I could weasle out of him were something like this:
The organiser of the Herne Hill Good Friday meeting took all of the top sprinters out for a meal to celebrate another great promotion. Somehow Graham went along as well. As the other diners in the Beckenham restaurant ate their meals blissfully unaware, the Olympic heroes such as Marty Northstein (or was it Michael Hubner, Graham's a bit vague now after all these years), Frederic Magne and a few others who's names Graham can't remember were being entertained by Graham's (probably wine fueled) great  cycling stories. Not wanting to take over the evening too much Graham decides to say his goodbyes to his new international friends before heading outside to where his bike is locked up for the long ride home. The stars bid him a fond farewell and he trots outside to find his bike locked up where he left it but minus its seat and seatpost. Not wanting to stand up all the way home after making the most of the evenings wine our Graham staggers back inside the restaurant to a roar of laughter from the sprint kings. It dawns on him that either Marty or Freddy have sneaked outside, undone the saddle bolt and chucked the whole lot in in a neighbouring hedge! 

You honestly couldn't make this one up!