Background
The writer Max Favalelli said of Marinelli: "He is a pygmy. His body is no thicker than a propelling pencil, his legs no thicker than runner beans. And his head is like a fist." Marinelli as an adult was 1m 62 tall and wore size 38 shoes. He was so thin and sickly-looking as a boy that his mother urged him to play accordion rather than ride a bike. Marinelli nevertheless raced and came to prominence in the Trophées Peugeot. That brought him selection for the 1948 Tour.
He rode the Tour six times between 1948 and 1954 but finished only in 1949 and in 1952, when he came 31st. He became the first rider in the Tour to write a column for L'Équipe, in 1949.
Read more about this topic: Jacques Marinelli
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