Forked Tongues
The story goes that Yacks broke his forks on the descent of the Tourmalet and then made his way downhill to a blacksmith in the village of St Marie de Campan where he repaired the forks. Riders had no mechanical support and the rules stipulated they could not receive outside assistance. Only in the forge the blacksmith’s boy was operating the bellows and a zealous official penalized Yacks and he lost the race.

The old blacksmiths, look closely for the plaque on the wall

However, the reality is different. Yacks was docked three minutes for this extra help, a blink of an eyelid in the days when the margin of victory in the Tour was huge; he lost the Tour for other reasons. Instead Yacks was sponsored by a bike manufacturer and having broken his forks, tried to find a small path to descend the Tourmalet where he could hide the mechanical failure from the press pack, in case news of his unreliable bike leaked out. This sneaky detour, to protect a commercial interest, cost him far more than the three minute penalty.