Retro bike: Chris Walker's 1991 Banana-Falcon

Banana-Falcon was a British team that made its presence felt in Europe in the Nineties with an array of hard riders — perhaps none more so than Chris Walker, the tough Yorkshireman who bossed the 1991 Milk Race. Photos by Daniel Gould/Cycling Weekly archive

Chris Walker's Banana Falcon

Chris Walker was a big talent who proved he could cut it at what would be UCI WorldTour racing today, but who chose to spend most of his career racing in the UK. The reasons he did so are too complicated to go into here, but are quite eloquently explained by looking at one of the European races he rode in 1991.

Walker won a record four stages in the Settimana Bergamasca in Italy on this bike. He won the points jersey as well as taking second place overall. The winner was Lance Armstrong.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Chris Sidwells
Freelance Journalist & Author

Chris has written thousands of articles for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world. He’s written 25 books about all aspects of cycling in multiple editions and translations into at least 25

different languages. He’s currently building his own publishing business with Cycling Legends Books, Cycling Legends Events, cyclinglegends.co.uk, and the Cycling Legends Podcast