Oh Jaja, why so French? photo: Eric Houdas
Like the Spinaci bars, the headband was cool, effective and disappeared quickly. While the Spinaci was outlawed by the UCI for being too radical, the headband couldn’t co-exist* with the newly arriving hard-shell helmet and it said arrivederci, I’ve heard something about this ‘step aerobics’, I’ll go there.
Headband crossed national boundaries: Jean-François Bernard, Roberto Visentini, Dag Otto Lauritzen and Davis Phinney all engaged them with aplomb. It was form and function. Who doesn’t want to keep the eyes clear of sweat and who doesn’t want to look more awesome? Who, damn it?
This was more than a sweatband, for sponsors it was a chance to increase the billboard surface area. For certain riders it was also fashion statement, like extra wide bell bottoms were a fashion statement. Pulling off the headband required having good hair or at least high hair. One would think Super Mario should have killed one (hair and Italian) but no, headband would interfere with his succession of perms and hair gels festivals. Even Mario realized he could have too much going on up there. On the other end of the spectrum, Sean Kelly would never have worn one, (god, please don’t let someone here find a photo of this). In the middle of the 1980’s spectrum, experimentation was rampant, they were rocked by Hinault and Fignon. It was a crazy world back then.
*Gert-Jan Theunisse somehow made it co-exist, as only he could (see below).
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I for one and glad that era is in the past.
You just wanted to work in an entire piece that ended with Eros, didn't you, Gianni? I'm onto you and your infatuation for that tall dude.
Good lord, Dag had some nice hair. Damn.
Well, well before I became a Follower I saw a Salsa Cycles headband and had to have it. I didn't ride much at all, but thought it was awesome. The elastic has long since snapped on it, but I still have it in my cycling drawer.
@Gianni
No, surely looking awesome and keeping the eyes clear of sweat are the raisons d'être of the cycling cap. Headbands were abominations of a similar order of wrongness as today's podium caps.
I am firmly in the camp of, "Headbands are not awesome now, nor were they ever"
Andrea Tafi wore a cap modified to serve as a headband /visor combo as well.
http://www.dailypeloton.com/article_images/szurly/rideroub/Tafi%20trains.JPG
No one rocked a headband better than Bjorn Borg.
Sorry that peak/headband was best left o the golf course.
I maintain that Davis Phinney is one of the coolest cats to ever swing a leg over the top tube.
@Matt
And a genuinely nice guy too. Post-race party in DC after 1992 Tour DuPont.
@chris
I'm not authorized to give our plus one badges, but I'll just concur 100% with you. Headbands have no place outside of aerobics classes or Olivia Newton John videos.