By Graham Healy
The Four Days of Dunkirk which is taking place at the moment was first organised in 1955, and the field in that inaugural race, which was won by Louis Deprez, wasn’t exactly the strongest
However, the race quickly grew in stature and within a couple of years many of the biggest names in the sport lined up to take part.
The fourth edition of the race in 1958 attracted multiple Tour de France winner Louison Bobet, but the race would be dominated by the Helyett-Hutchinson team of Jacques Anquetil.
The opening stage from Dunkirk to Boulogne and back was won by their sprinter, André Darrigade to take the first leader’s jersey. On the 234-kilometre second stage from Dunkirk to Lens and back, a break went clear after just 18 kilometres, which included Darrigade’s team mate, Shay Elliott.
The riders faced torrential rain that day as the heavens opened. The great photo below from Le Miroir des Sports shows the flooding on the roads that the riders had to face.
The breakaway group worked well together and despite puncturing at one stage, Elliott was able to regain the group. With 40 kilometres still left, Elliott decided to attack alone. He pushed on through the worsening deluge and would hang on for a great victory. However, having missed out on the move the previous day, he was unable to take over the leader’s jersey.
Elliott would take the following day’s stage win also. The riders faced multiple ascents of the Kemmelberg, and because Darrigade was still race leader, Elliott could take it easy in the lead group which he had managed to get across to. He easily won the sprint in Dunkirk to become the new race leader.
However, the final stage was a 77-kilometre individual time-trial and Elliott would lose the lead to his team-mate Jacques Anquetil who won the stage. This meant that the Helyett team had won all four stages in addition to winning the race overall.
