MICHAEL HILTNER WINS
THE SIXTH TOUR DU ST-LAURENT

THIS YOUNG AMERICAN CYCLIST,
WINNER OF FOUR STAGES OUT OF TEN,
BRILLIANTLY TAKES THE FINAL VICTORY WITH 4' 04" LEAD.
JEAN NOURRY WINS THE HONORS IN THE LAST STAGE.

Michael Hiltner, a young racer from faraway California
who arrived in the old capital last Monday night an unknown,
to take part in the sixth Tour du St-Laurent,
received upon his second passage through Quebec a triumphal reception
worthy of the great personalities of his nation, thanks to the shining victory
he has just achieved in the biggest bicycle race in North America.

This blond youngster of 18 years,
of sober visage, never ceased to outride all his rivals,
even the other American entries who by and large dominated this race,
such that the first three placings in the general classification
were taken by color-bearers from the USA, in this order:
Hiltner, Tom Montemage of Williamsville, and Bob Best of Fort Sheridan.
Never has a stage race been ridden at such a high average speed
as this recent Tour du St-Laurent that gathered together at the start 66 racers;
and the 39 who completed the long trek of 698.6 miles
could later boast of having participated in one of the most beautiful Tours.
Andre Pelotas, the Hungarian of Quebec, member of the Dunlop team,
finished in fourth place, being the first of the Canadian riders.
He finished in ninth position last year.
By completing the distance of 698.6 miles in 30 hrs. 19 min. 33 sec.,
Michael Hiltner whirlwinded his way through the Tour du St-Laurent
at the average speed of 23.029 mph,
which constitutes a remarkable speed that pulverizes all previous records.

LOGICAL VICTORY
Since Hiltner stirred up talk of himself for the first time at Sherbrooke,
where he won the third stage, many members of the entourage were amazed
at his masterfulness and above all at the rapidity with which he won
within the kingdom of the East Cantons,
which they had immediately established as belonging to the principal favorites.
The unfolding of the following stages and the outcome of the race
did not deny the diminuitive racer of the California team
from multiplying his exploits by winning one after another,
the 5th, 8th, and 9th stages, those at Montreal, Shawinigan, and Quebec,
in order to allow him to wear the famous CHRC yellow jersey.
Notwithstanding this incomparable brilliance by a racer
just beyond adolescence, Hiltner was the victim of a terrible blow,
but though it appeared to be fatal, it was, on the contrary, an interlude
that allowed him to catch his second wind
in order to strike the coup de grace to his most dangerous rivals.

TEMPORARY DISTRESS
The distress, which would be no more than a passing one,
befell Hiltner between Montreal and Joliette, that is,
along the course of the stage where the Tour veteran, Evariste Lavoie,
of the Dunlop Quebec team, surprised everyone
and possibly surprised even himself by dropping the entire peloton,
in the company of Santo Gervasi, to blast toward the finish line
where they arrived with more than fifteen minutes advantage
over the group comprised of the principal leaders
. . . and the yellow jersey, beaten by fatigue,
was the last rider to enter the tobacco capital.
His progress at this point was so slow
that one would actually believe he had sunk to the bottom.
Hiltner seemed lost, profoundly discouraged,
and his sad eyes inspired no great hope.
Expecting his dramatic retirement, we rushed with our other press colleagues
to question him about his collapsing performance,
with the secret hope of scooping a huge headline.
We were shocked to hear Hiltner say
he hadn't even put out an effort that morning,
and that he wasn't at all discouraged, but rather was confident
of reclaiming the yellow jersey
that Ian Mahon had temporarily lifted from his shoulders.
His tardy arrival he attributed to his team's coaches
who neglected to inform him of the advance of the fugitives,
and that due to that oversight, he was never aware of losing so much time.
As is now known, Hiltner counter-attacked in the stage that very afternoon,
triumphing at Shawinigan, and again, easily,
the next morning at Quebec, with sensational brilliance.

HE IS SEEN TO BE THE STRONGEST
As the group of adventurers 41 strong took off from the electricity town
Saturday morning, the final victory of the young American
was far from being a sure thing because his lead was only a matter of minutes.
Also, several of his more tenacious adversaries,
especially those wearing the red-and-yellow Dunlop jersey,
threatened, during this 100-mile stage ending in Quebec,
to launch an attack of such magnitude
as to carry their captain to the head of the general classification.
From the beginning they took off solidly towards Trois-Rivieres,
intent on imposing on the peloton and on the yellow jersey
a high speed so as to leave behind Hiltner who, ready for such tactics,
reacted without hesitation, and in order to better control breakaways,
lead the peloton all the way to Quebec.
Every time one of the "Dunlop" wished to sneak away, as did Rene Grossi,
who attacked with that intent several times,
his teammates would cry out to warn him,
and without hesitation he would grab the wheel of the assailant,
to constrain him in a few seconds to retreat docilely into the shadows.
This scenario reoccurred often, until arriving at the entrance to the old capital,
where the victor of the Tour undertook his turn to break away,
and this time only Angelo Mielle succeeded in following,
but was inevitably beaten at the finish line
situated in front of City Hall where a considerable crowd
greeted the returning heroes of the Tour du St-Laurent, 1959.

JEAN NOURRY WINS THE 10th STAGE
Though we would have loved to see a member of the Dunlop team
win on the Exposition race track,
since they were undeniably those who most animated
this final and most spectacular of the 10 stages,
on numerous occasions the victory snatched from them
during the course of the preceding days where we always saw
one or another of them participate in the winning break,
we must nevertheless admit that this triumph of Jean Nourry,
the youngest rider in the Tour, was greatly deserved.
Already, in the 50-mile criterium at Montreal, he had given his all to win,
but Jean Toulgoat, of the Pierre Synthetique Diana team
turned the tables on him,
taking for himself the honors for which Jean Nourry strove.
Saturday afternoon Nourry switched tactics, waited to the end to attack,
and this time Toulgoat had to be content with second place.

BRAVO TO THE ANONYMOUS
If Michael Hiltner garnered the lion's share of the prizes,
the honors, and the acclaim of the thousands of spectators
witness to the various reversals of the competition,
it would be unjust to not underline the great merits of all the other participants
and of those, above all, who were able to resist fatigue,
discouragement provoked by accidents, bad luck,
and by the temptation to quit
despite their certainty of not being able to win the competition.
We would be tempted to name a few,
but one would need to mention them all to be just;
that's why we invite our readers to read their names
as they appear in the final general classification.
All, from first to last, possibly more so the last ones,
have developed during this competition extraordinary prowess,
and have put to the test their unequalled courage.
We most warmly congratulate them.
Thanks to them the magnificent race organized by Yvon Guillou
has this year had an incomparable success,
permitting the sport of cycling to extend in popularity
to the far corners of the province of Quebec and even beyond her borders.
They were clearly heroes and role models to the thousands of youths
who watched them pedalling with such vigor
during the five-day duration of this competition.
We lack the space today to direct our compliments to the organizers
and officials, but we will do this tomorrow.

10 August 1959
L'Action Catholique, Quebec
Reporter: Jacques Revelin
Translated by Victor Vincente of America

HILTNER, THE GREAT HERO
OF THE TOUR DU ST-LAURENT ‘59

THE YOUNG MICHAEL HILTNER, 18 YEARS OLD,
IS FIRST PLACE IN 30 HRS, 19 MIN, 33 SEC.
--- COURSE OF 698 MILES --- 39 FINISHERS ---
‘EVENING SUN’ TROPHY

The young 18-year-old cyclist Michael Hiltner of Pacific Palisades, California,
won the honors of the 6th annual Tour du St-Laurent Saturday afternoon,
completing the 698.6 miles in the time of 30 hours, 19 minutes, 33 seconds.
According to his own comments, the Californian did not feel too exhausted,
though he emphasized that racing two stages each day
of this five-day classic was very difficult.
Of the ten stages run, Hiltner quite easily won four,
and each time he made use of tactical ruses to play out his calculations
and to effect astonishing sprints toward the victory.

THE ASTONISHING HILTNER
All in all, Hiltner found the course perfect
and reassured the Tour organizer, Yvon Guillou,
that he would participate again next year.
The young American who raced with the colors of Pedale Alpini
wore the Yellow Jersey for the greater part of the Tour,
and as he completed the fortieth lap of the racetrack on the Expo grounds,
during the last stage Saturday afternoon,
he was assured of emerging victor of the Tour,
given that he enjoyed a lead of almost five minutes over his rivals.

10 August 1959
Le Soleil, Quebec
Reporter: Francois Roy
Translated by Victor Vincente of America