经济学人下载:骑自行车的人雷蒙·布里多(4)

The more Tours he lost, the more the crowds liked him and the more he earned. At the height of his celebrity, in the mid-1970s, almost half of respondents to one poll made him their first choice as a dinner guest. In 1974 alone more than 4,000 articles were written about him, besides university theses and sociological studies.
他输的比赛越多，人们就越喜欢他，他就挣得越多。20世纪70年代中期是他最有名的时候，几乎一半参与一项民调的人都选他作为晚餐客人的首选。仅仅在1974年一年，除了大学论文和社会学研究之外，就有超过4000篇关于他的文章。

He lent his name to sports bikes, and given half a chance would stand in supermarkets shouting "Just the right bike for you, sir!" Later, as a national treasure, he had a rose named after him, and appeared along the route of the Tour in yellow outfits and with trinkets in his hands, cheered by all who saw him. This adulation came not simply because he failed, but because of the manner of his failing.
他把自己的名字借给运动自行车，只要有一点机会，他就会站在超市里喊道，“这就是你想要的自行车，先生！” 后来，作为国家宝藏，他的名字被命名成一种玫瑰，他穿着黄色的服装，手里拿着小饰品，出现在巡演路线上，所有看到他的人都欢呼起来。这种崇拜不仅仅是因为他失败了，而且是因为他失败的方式。

He did not get up each morning with the thought of winning. He did not think of winning at all. His manager complained that he was always in a daydream, and it was true. Everything that was happening to him was marvelous enough. His memoir was called "La gloire sans maillot jaune", glory without the jersey, which in the end he didn't need. Eight times he had got within touching distance, and lost them all. But he could still say, as he often did, "Look how close I came!"
他每天不是带着获胜的想法起床的。他就没想过赢这回事儿。他的经理一职抱怨他总是做白日梦，而且这是真的。发生在他身上的事情已经足够神奇了。他的回忆录名为《没有黄色领骑衫的荣耀》，没有这件球衣的荣耀，最后他也不需要了。八次比赛中他都对第一名触手可得，却都没拿到。但是他仍然会说，就像他经常做的那样，“就差一点！”