Mathias Germann (text) and Benjamin Soland (photos)
Its not long ago. More precisely: April 7, 2022. On this day, Louis Pfenninger (77) lies motionless next to his racing bike. For minutes people try to speak to him. But Pfenninger’s eyes are closed and he doesn’t answer. “A vein in my brain was blocked, a stroke. I fell off the bike and was gone. Actually, I was dead,” he says. Pfenninger’s luck: Among the Gümmelers he had just overtaken is a doctor. She immediately suspects what happened and calls the ambulance. “At some point I woke up and saw a bunch of people around me. I wanted to know what had happened, but I mightn’t talk anymore. Everything was gone.”
Today everything is back for the man who won the Tour de Suisse in 1968 and 1972. Except for the accident. “I don’t know anything anymore. Maybe that’s a good thing,” says Pfenninger. He’s limping a bit and his back hurts – a disc damage. “But if it’s bad, I take Voltaren. Then it works. Unfortunately, I still have to be patient before I can get back on my racing bike,” he says with a smile and bites into a piece of soft cheese.
“I pulled out 10,000 francs in cash”
We visit Pfenninger at his home in Denia on the Costa Blanca. He has lived here in a small family house 800 meters from the sea for 20 years. «One day we saw a newspaper advertisement in Switzerland and got on the plane. We didn’t like that house from the newspaper, but we did like another one. The owners, a Dutch couple, doubted whether we really had enough money. So I reached into my shirt pocket, pulled out 10,000 francs in cash, and they were convinced. Since then it has been our little paradise in the warmth.»
With “we” Pfenninger means he and his wife Liliane (78). They have been a couple for 53 years. “I’ve won a few medals and bouquets of flowers in cycling, even a kilo of gold once. But Liliane is my best gift, »he says. They met at a six-day race in Zurich’s Hallenstadion. «I was a waitress at the time, but that day I was traveling privately. I liked Louis, we exchanged phone numbers,” she says. The rest is history.
Shortly therefollowing, Liliane Pfenninger apologizes, she has to feed the cats. ‘We have four. But I have another 15 that keep jumping over the wall. And a seagull that visits us every morning and also wants something to eat,” she says.
“Mister Tour de Suisse” – who remembers that?
The Pfenningers live a simple life in Spain. They hardly use the pool anymore, the brick barbecue hasn’t been heated for years. “Most of my friends have moved away or died,” says Louis. Only rarely do they go to the center of the tourist resort, where 40,000 people live and which grows to 80,000 in the bathing season.
He makes an exception for the Sunday newspaper – he strolls along the beach and in the café there is a “cerveza”, i.e. a small beer. It is striking how much the Zurich cycling legend from Bülach laughs – just like his wife. Are you happy. And the memories of his successes are still fresh at “Pfänni”. In his garage, where his racing bike hangs, he talks regarding his victories (“The Tour de Suisse was more important to me than the Tour de France”), regarding Eddy Merckx (“If he wanted to win, he won too”) and regarding dubious offers (“I have never doped because I might not have lived with the lie”).
In addition to his two Tour de Suisse victories, Pfenninger was twice second (1970 and 1971) and third (1974 and 1975) in the Swiss national tour. A unique record that earned him the nickname “Mister Tour de Suisse”. “Nevertheless, hardly anyone thinks of me anymore,” he says in front of a blooming bougainvillea bush. He’s not disappointed regarding that. “Others were also forgotten,” he says dryly.
“People threw money around”
Pfenninger didn’t get rich as a professional cyclist either. As a book printer, his trained profession, he would have earned 3,000 francs a month as a young adult in 1965 – it was ten times less on a bike, it was only 300 francs. “Doesn’t matter. My dream was to ride a bike.”
As a result, Pfenninger was hardly able to fill his account – despite his success. “Good money only came into the house following I resigned,” he says. As? Thanks to his nightclub in St. Gallen. The strip place’s name: Chinchilla. “People would throw money around when they saw our two girls dancing. First the entrance fee, then the beer and finally the champagne for 300 francs per bottle. The chinchilla growled, all hell broke loose. And when the authorities allowed the dancers to remove their panties as well, there was no stopping them.”
Pfenninger coped well with life as a night owl. “I’m not ashamed, my wife and I worked hard,” he says. But even then there was a low point – the worst possible. «Our son Louis-Patrick died in a motorcycle accident. He was only 17 years old. That was a dark chapter. We still think of him every day, the memories of him keep coming back – fortunately also the beautiful ones,” Liliane Pfenninger looks back. Her husband Louis adds with watery eyes: “It is said that a couple usually separates when they lose a child. Liliane and I also had crises because of this. We wondered what we had done wrong. It took a long time to realize: nothing.”
Daughter Manuela, who adopted Louis Pfenninger when she was two, also gave comfort to the two. “She supports us to this day, in all situations. We are very grateful, »said the former Tour de Suisse hero.
“Pfänni” shares the fever via TV
Pfenninger hardly has any claims to his life anymore, neither do dreams. “Liliane and I just want to live here in Denia for as long as possible and have a good time together.” He doesn’t miss anything from Switzerland. Nearly nothing. “At most cervelats and sausages,” he says, laughing.
The question remains: Will Pfenninger follow the Tour de Suisse? “Sure,” says the former bike stylist. «I receive Swiss television and watch almost every cycle race. I’m happy when the Swiss drive well. My favorite driver is Stefan Küng, but I also enjoy the others. I’ll be there up close – even if it’s a few thousand kilometers away.”
