1973 Motobecane / Gemini ----------------- (Luis Ocana Tour de France replica)

Rather than riding a “standard” Motobecane as had been prepared for him in previous seasons, Luis Ocaña enlisted the services of Henri Depierre to build a series of custom frames specifically for him to use throughout the 1973 season, albeit all of which were decaled as Motobecanes consistent with the rest of the Bic team. Henri Depierre was the founder, owner and sole frame builder of the famous Gemini brand of racing frame in Paris, and he was already well established as a trusted builder to some of the best contemporary French riders. Indeed, 1973 proved to be a glorious year for Luis Ocaña what with him placing first in the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour of the Basque Country, second in the Vuelta a España, and then punctuating his performance by prevailing in the Tour de France. Despite the absence of Eddy Merckx, who did not ride the Tour that year due to contractual issues and other pressures, Ocaña still managed to put on a devastating display of pure cycling prowess during the 1973 Tour de France, winning by an astonishing margin of fifteen minutes and fifty-one seconds.

This truly unique replica is to the best of my knowledge the only accurate existent example depicting a Luis Ocaña bike as used to win the 1973 Tour de France. Unlike those replica Eddy Merckx bikes which similarly date from the 1970’s, this specimen ought rightly be considered a true rarity because neither Motobecane nor Gemini ever produced, nor were either of those entities in a singular position to produce, a similar tribute to the accomplishments of the late Luis Ocaña.