Strange things can happen in the world of cycling. How else can you explain the resurrection of someone years presumed dead? José Manual Fuente has been riding on the eternal cycling track since the18th of July 1996, but last Thursday he was seated at a table with his climber colleague Lucien Van Impe, having dinner and reminiscing old tales. “I almost couldn’t believe it. I’m pretty damn sure that the 'dead' Fuente is as alive as he ever was," said the 6 times winner of the mountain jersey about his bizarre meeting.

The Eastern-Flemish town of Erwetegem was very excited Sunday morning. No one less than José Manual Fuente had given his word to vice-race director Lucien Van Impe to give the starting shot for the Omloop van Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. However, the international race for amateurs and espoirs had to start without the greatest Spanish climber of the Seventies attending it. “That’s not very kind of the man who was like a God to me. Fuente was the only one who took the cols on even faster than I did. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told him that there was going to be a journalist that wants to speak to him.”

Last week the Tour winner of 76’ received the strangest phone call ever - if he was interested in meeting  Fuente? And if a table in a restaurant in Geraardsbergen would do as the setting of that meeting? Of course! In utter disbelief Van Impe accepted the invitation. Every cycling book marks the Spanish rider as deceased. He quit cycling in 75’ due to a kidney infection, was given a surrogate kidney in May 96’, and died two months later of a heart attack. That’s also how Van Impe remembers him. Plus of course as two-times winner of the Vuelta, winner of the Tour of Switzerland, runner-up in the 72’ Giro and as the third-placed in the 73’ Tour.

“I wanted to see what a dead man looked like," Lucien laughs away the sleepiness on Sunday morning. “I was thinking about it for hours last night. After a 3-4 hour long conversation the man managed to absolutely convince me of his identity. And don’t think I didn’t test him toroughly enough! I couldn’t detect any incoherences, not even in the most obscure and precise stories. He could remember almost everything we experienced together during races to the smallest detail. You can suspect someone of cramming a rider’s entire career, but not the tiny side stories that didn’t even make one newspaper and that are only known to the riders involved. The man swore to me with his hand on his heart that he wasn’t lying to me.”

The “new” Fuente is a truckdriver, resides in Benidorm and is currently staying in Geraardsbergen on holidays, together with his life companion Laurita, a Belgian woman with Spanish roots. Dolores Matthys, Laurita’s daughter, lets the couple stay over at her house during their vacation.  “No, Mister Fuente would prefer not to talk to journalists at the moment." Dolores’ boyfriend can’t convince “uncle” José Manuel to talk to us either. The neighbours in bar Concordia also know the Spaniard. “He regularly has a drink here”, the barmaid informs us. “One beer. Or a coffee, with or without a bit of liquor. He also suffers from back aches, probably a hernia.”

“Back aches?" says Van Impe, “He was complaining about those Thursday too, and in the phone call I just received from him he told me that it also was the reason why he stayed away from the race in Erwetegem, he stayed in bed because of them. That and because he’s afraid of the press. Afraid that the news that he’s still alive might leak to Spain. In October the nightmare will be over and will I be able to talk freely, were the last things he said to me.” Would Geraardsbergen be haunted?

Eddy Merckx’ reaction:

“Fuente not dead? Fuente in Geraardsbergen? Don’t make me laugh! The Spaniard died in 96’, I even attended his funeral, as did Gimondi. I think Van Impe has been fooled by a fraud. Or a weak-minded person who thinks himself to be interesting this way. I know one thing though: if he knocks on my door tomorrow, I’ll kick him off the sidewalk. I really don’t need to look him in the eyes to see if it’s the real Fuente, because I helped bury that one 7 years ago.”

Source: Gazet Van Antwerpen, www.gva.be; thanks to Jans Janssens for the translation.