LE TOUR by James Straffon

ÂŠ Rapha Racing Limited 2012 First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Rapha Racing Limited, Imperial Works, Perren Street, London NW5 3ED www.rapha.cc | +44 (0) 20 7485 5000 ISBN: 978-0-9558254-5-3 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means without the written consent of the publisher. Typeset in Adobe Caslon. LE TOUR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from Maillot Jaune to Lanterne Rouge first presented at Snap Galleries, Piccadilly Arcade, London, SW1, July 2012. www.james-straffon.co.uk

An artistic exploration of the Tour de France

by james straffon

f o reword

The chapel of Notre-Dame des Cyclistes sits on the grounds of

and boys who had grown up working in factories, mines and

a former 12th century fortress in southwest France, just beyond

farms learned to suffer for a humble living, training their

the border of Gascony. In 1959 Father Joseph Massie wrote to

minds and hearts towards the simple act of survival. The

Pope John xxiii requesting he designate the chapel an official

opportunity to race a push bike over mountains, have the

I have been lucky to experience days on a bike where

It is difficult to choose which of the two has achieved the

sanctuary for cyclists. From the penny-farthing shaped iron

flash bulbs pop at you as the Newspaper moto whizzes by and

everything has come together. I’ve always called these

greater feat, and often it is the latter who will have provided

gates to the moth-bitten jerseys belonging to Anquetil, Coppi,

people cheer your name was to truly become a living icon. To

my magic days, when function is transcended by form.

the story to which people can relate to because it is through

Bobet and Merckx, this shrine speaks of the religious fervour

have your face and athletic physique featured in the pages of

It’s these days that allow me to glimpse the sublime.

witnessing his suffering and daily battle to survive that we

shown to the world’s grandest stage race, the Tour de France.

Miroir Sprint was something to suffer for beyond reason.

I’m certainly not a pious man, but the closest thing to

by David Mil l a r

“Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.” John Ruskin

If the Maillot Jaune [yellow jersey] is the hero then the Lanterne Rouge is the antihero, they bookend the race, there is a strange sense of one needing the other to exist.

When I chose racing bikes in France over art college in England I never thought that it would open my

are offered something with which we can truly empathise. James Straffon encapsulates all this perfectly when he refers

religion for me is road racing. It’s easy to see evidence of

still appeal to us in the 21st century; we can easily

eyes in the way it did. I imagined I was taking a fork

to the ‘rich tapestry’ that is the Tour and he has indeed ‘picked

pilgrimage, sacrifice, devotion and faith when regarding

relate to the emotions and effort they displayed.

in the road of my life that would send me away from

apart’ the threads in order to understand the life within.

the abstract and remove the opportunity to experience

His imagery is mixed, not only in content but in media,

the images of Fausto Coppi cresting the summit of the

James Straffon’s triptychs and iconography within

Col d’Aubisque, the struggle in the eyes of Tommy

this book speak of a religion, the attempt by simple

and see the world in a certain way. After all, the life

and he has created his own tapestry traversing the rich history

Simpson or the aesthetic perfection of Jacques Anquetil

people to achieve immortality through the act of racing

of an athlete is quite different to that of an artist.

and landscape of the century old race.

on a race bike. And it is no surprise that the hardship,

bikes. The work tells of bravery, performance, honesty,

the suffering and incredible feats of human effort are

treachery, hope, despair, tragedy and many other things.

de France rider. The Tour is not like any other sporting

has been a race for writers, spawning some of the greatest

respected, celebrated and worshipped by so many.

It is life played out through the biggest race in the world.

event, in fact, for many it is barely a sporting event, it is a

sports literature written, yet artists very rarely take up the

Something we can all worship now and forever.

memory of youth, an annual piece of summer nostalgia.

challenge of capturing it. This is not surprising considering

the exploits of what many term the ‘Golden Years’ of road

Each generation has its heroes and villains, whether you

what a chaotically epic spectacle the race can be; it is hard

racing have a particular appeal for me, and anyone who enjoys

follow the Tour closely or not you are aware of who they

to capture what won’t be caught. James has taken up the

Of course, riders today still have to suffer for a living, but

Maybe that is why the heroes from the golden years

pe r fo r m ance art

The thing is I didn’t become an athlete; I became a Tour

This in itself is a rarity. Since its inception Le Tour

the spirit, history and beauty of the Tour de France. Before

Simon Mottram

are or at least that they exist. For three weeks every July

challenge and found a visual vocabulary for the chaos, he has

TV helicopters, Lycra, carbon fibre and heart rate monitors,

Founder and Chief Executive

the Tour de France becomes the birdsong of France.

brought it all together: the Tour de France has become art.

Tour riders seemed more fragile, more like the rest of us. Men

Rapha

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

f o reword

The chapel of Notre-Dame des Cyclistes sits on the grounds of

and boys who had grown up working in factories, mines and

a former 12th century fortress in southwest France, just beyond

farms learned to suffer for a humble living, training their

the border of Gascony. In 1959 Father Joseph Massie wrote to

minds and hearts towards the simple act of survival. The

Pope John xxiii requesting he designate the chapel an official

opportunity to race a push bike over mountains, have the

I have been lucky to experience days on a bike where

It is difficult to choose which of the two has achieved the

sanctuary for cyclists. From the penny-farthing shaped iron

flash bulbs pop at you as the Newspaper moto whizzes by and

everything has come together. I’ve always called these

greater feat, and often it is the latter who will have provided

gates to the moth-bitten jerseys belonging to Anquetil, Coppi,

people cheer your name was to truly become a living icon. To

my magic days, when function is transcended by form.

the story to which people can relate to because it is through

Bobet and Merckx, this shrine speaks of the religious fervour

have your face and athletic physique featured in the pages of

It’s these days that allow me to glimpse the sublime.

witnessing his suffering and daily battle to survive that we

shown to the world’s grandest stage race, the Tour de France.

Miroir Sprint was something to suffer for beyond reason.

I’m certainly not a pious man, but the closest thing to

by David Mil l a r

“Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together.” John Ruskin

If the Maillot Jaune [yellow jersey] is the hero then the Lanterne Rouge is the antihero, they bookend the race, there is a strange sense of one needing the other to exist.

When I chose racing bikes in France over art college in England I never thought that it would open my

are offered something with which we can truly empathise. James Straffon encapsulates all this perfectly when he refers

religion for me is road racing. It’s easy to see evidence of

still appeal to us in the 21st century; we can easily

eyes in the way it did. I imagined I was taking a fork

to the ‘rich tapestry’ that is the Tour and he has indeed ‘picked

pilgrimage, sacrifice, devotion and faith when regarding

relate to the emotions and effort they displayed.

in the road of my life that would send me away from

apart’ the threads in order to understand the life within.

the abstract and remove the opportunity to experience

His imagery is mixed, not only in content but in media,

the images of Fausto Coppi cresting the summit of the

James Straffon’s triptychs and iconography within

Col d’Aubisque, the struggle in the eyes of Tommy

this book speak of a religion, the attempt by simple

and see the world in a certain way. After all, the life

and he has created his own tapestry traversing the rich history

Simpson or the aesthetic perfection of Jacques Anquetil

people to achieve immortality through the act of racing

of an athlete is quite different to that of an artist.

and landscape of the century old race.

on a race bike. And it is no surprise that the hardship,

bikes. The work tells of bravery, performance, honesty,

the suffering and incredible feats of human effort are

treachery, hope, despair, tragedy and many other things.

de France rider. The Tour is not like any other sporting

has been a race for writers, spawning some of the greatest

respected, celebrated and worshipped by so many.

It is life played out through the biggest race in the world.

event, in fact, for many it is barely a sporting event, it is a

sports literature written, yet artists very rarely take up the

Something we can all worship now and forever.

memory of youth, an annual piece of summer nostalgia.

challenge of capturing it. This is not surprising considering

the exploits of what many term the ‘Golden Years’ of road

Each generation has its heroes and villains, whether you

what a chaotically epic spectacle the race can be; it is hard

racing have a particular appeal for me, and anyone who enjoys

follow the Tour closely or not you are aware of who they

to capture what won’t be caught. James has taken up the

Of course, riders today still have to suffer for a living, but

Maybe that is why the heroes from the golden years

pe r fo r m ance art

The thing is I didn’t become an athlete; I became a Tour

This in itself is a rarity. Since its inception Le Tour

the spirit, history and beauty of the Tour de France. Before

Simon Mottram

are or at least that they exist. For three weeks every July

challenge and found a visual vocabulary for the chaos, he has

TV helicopters, Lycra, carbon fibre and heart rate monitors,

Founder and Chief Executive

the Tour de France becomes the birdsong of France.

brought it all together: the Tour de France has become art.

Tour riders seemed more fragile, more like the rest of us. Men

Rapha

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

le to u r

by James Straf f on

the rider on the bicycle somehow placed independently

- the scent of wool, paper, grease, blood, with the variant

of their reason for being, yet still providing context. In

landscapes of France, the raw passion of triumph and the

In his volume of essays entitled Mythologies (1957), French

other words, reworking the myth as an artwork brought

agony of failure. At the same time, it embraces the myth and

philosopher Roland Barthes examines modern cultural

a certain divinity and cultish standing to the subject.

represents the past. Critically, this body of work is defined by

phenomena, and in particular the creation of modern

to make works which were allegorical and that displayed

shone with vulnerability and impermanence. They, much

[the Tour de France as epic] - a provocative analysis of

some sense of adventure or dramatic sub text. My choices

like the cyclist on the Ventoux, may define the truth - that

this seemingly simple sporting event. In it he covers many

were driven by imagery which I felt contained emotional

which is fleeting and gone tomorrow can be beautiful.

aspects of the race - geography, morals, myths, doping, the

resonance. Some came ready formed - the drama of

‘battlefield’, and the players. Of the landscape, Barthes refers

the crash (La Chute!), or the tears of failure (Le Grand

In 1949, American Mythologist Joseph Campbell

to Mont Ventoux (often labelled the Giant of Provence),

Fusil); others told their story through a juxtaposition of

wrote a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

a notorious mountain stage epilogue to any Tour, as “…

tableaux (Papà Fausto), relationships exposed through a

un lieu d’épreuves pour les héros…” [a testing place for the

re-editing of their respective timelines. Consequently, my

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day

heroes], and ‘...un enfer supérieur où le cycliste définira la vérité’

journey (both in terms of research and then making) from

into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces

[...a superior hell where the cyclist will define the truth].

commission to exhibition has been an education in itself.

are there encountered and a decisive victory is won:

Here we get a sense of this annual contest reading like

I picked apart the rich tapestry of the Tour de France,

the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure

a classic novel, or epic poem. An Iliad for modern times.

discovering a multitude of threads. Bizarre and disparate

with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

It even begins, each year, with a prologue. So epic indeed:

contributions came forth - confectionery, chimney sweeps,

each subsequent Tour adding a new chapter or verse to

newspaper moguls, department stores, bike-hook suicides,

This concept seems to neatly abridge the drama of every

this infinite magnum opus. A century-old cycle race as

donkeys called Marcel, betrayal, mineral water, and cycling

Tour de France. One could argue that the thousand faces

scripture, every edition a tale of high drama, human fortitude

for the underground. No other sport or sporting event fuses

are those of the heroes who rode in this great cycle race.

and frailty; cinematic backdrops, passion and romance.

such diversity; ‘La Grande Boucle’ justifying its claim as

These are the values which draw my focus as an

“the most physiologically demanding of athletic events.” And the fabric of my creations - the delicate leaves of

end result a visually-rich vista; captured moments in

vintage magazine and news reporting - was material for the

time; the stories of yesteryear reworked into a modern

masses. My journey reached back through the early years

framework. On that ground, making pictures from the past

of the 20th century, with La Vie au Grand Air (1906); the

allows me to resurrect those heroes from their superior

pre-war eccentricity of VOILA (1934); the allure of Paris

hell, and honour their exploits on the gallery wall.

Match (1939); the hallowed vaults of L’Équipe (1977). In

LE TOUR: from Maillot Jaune to Lanterne Rouge

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

a single word - finite. The materials I formed into tableaux

myths. Among them resides Le Tour de France comme épopée

artist. My muse is the mythology of bicycle culture. The

From the outset I consciously sought tangents, keen

addition, I sourced the offbeat and fantastic - bygone toys

represents the very essence of my work - an apotheosis - a

(Paris 1000, 3DDY), demoded vinyl recordings (Tour de

sporting event and its players, repositioned as an exhibition

France (3.00), auspicious footwear (Dave the Brave and

of devotional imagery. In setting out to create this body of

Modifications). Key to all these items is their ephemeral

work, one which explores the uniqueness of the Tour de

nature, their vulnerability, and a certain nobility through

France, I found the subjects transcended the sport itself;

decay. LE TOUR is an alchemy of elemental materiality

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

le to u r

by James Straf f on

the rider on the bicycle somehow placed independently

- the scent of wool, paper, grease, blood, with the variant

of their reason for being, yet still providing context. In

landscapes of France, the raw passion of triumph and the

In his volume of essays entitled Mythologies (1957), French

other words, reworking the myth as an artwork brought

agony of failure. At the same time, it embraces the myth and

philosopher Roland Barthes examines modern cultural

a certain divinity and cultish standing to the subject.

represents the past. Critically, this body of work is defined by

phenomena, and in particular the creation of modern

to make works which were allegorical and that displayed

shone with vulnerability and impermanence. They, much

[the Tour de France as epic] - a provocative analysis of

some sense of adventure or dramatic sub text. My choices

like the cyclist on the Ventoux, may define the truth - that

this seemingly simple sporting event. In it he covers many

were driven by imagery which I felt contained emotional

which is fleeting and gone tomorrow can be beautiful.

aspects of the race - geography, morals, myths, doping, the

resonance. Some came ready formed - the drama of

‘battlefield’, and the players. Of the landscape, Barthes refers

the crash (La Chute!), or the tears of failure (Le Grand

In 1949, American Mythologist Joseph Campbell

to Mont Ventoux (often labelled the Giant of Provence),

Fusil); others told their story through a juxtaposition of

wrote a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

a notorious mountain stage epilogue to any Tour, as “…

tableaux (Papà Fausto), relationships exposed through a

un lieu d’épreuves pour les héros…” [a testing place for the

re-editing of their respective timelines. Consequently, my

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day

heroes], and ‘...un enfer supérieur où le cycliste définira la vérité’

journey (both in terms of research and then making) from

into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces

[...a superior hell where the cyclist will define the truth].

commission to exhibition has been an education in itself.

are there encountered and a decisive victory is won:

Here we get a sense of this annual contest reading like

I picked apart the rich tapestry of the Tour de France,

the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure

a classic novel, or epic poem. An Iliad for modern times.

discovering a multitude of threads. Bizarre and disparate

with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

It even begins, each year, with a prologue. So epic indeed:

contributions came forth - confectionery, chimney sweeps,

each subsequent Tour adding a new chapter or verse to

newspaper moguls, department stores, bike-hook suicides,

This concept seems to neatly abridge the drama of every

this infinite magnum opus. A century-old cycle race as

donkeys called Marcel, betrayal, mineral water, and cycling

Tour de France. One could argue that the thousand faces

scripture, every edition a tale of high drama, human fortitude

for the underground. No other sport or sporting event fuses

are those of the heroes who rode in this great cycle race.

and frailty; cinematic backdrops, passion and romance.

such diversity; ‘La Grande Boucle’ justifying its claim as

These are the values which draw my focus as an

“the most physiologically demanding of athletic events.” And the fabric of my creations - the delicate leaves of

end result a visually-rich vista; captured moments in

vintage magazine and news reporting - was material for the

time; the stories of yesteryear reworked into a modern

masses. My journey reached back through the early years

framework. On that ground, making pictures from the past

of the 20th century, with La Vie au Grand Air (1906); the

allows me to resurrect those heroes from their superior

pre-war eccentricity of VOILA (1934); the allure of Paris

hell, and honour their exploits on the gallery wall.

Match (1939); the hallowed vaults of L’Équipe (1977). In

LE TOUR: from Maillot Jaune to Lanterne Rouge

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

a single word - finite. The materials I formed into tableaux

myths. Among them resides Le Tour de France comme épopée

artist. My muse is the mythology of bicycle culture. The

From the outset I consciously sought tangents, keen

addition, I sourced the offbeat and fantastic - bygone toys

represents the very essence of my work - an apotheosis - a

(Paris 1000, 3DDY), demoded vinyl recordings (Tour de

sporting event and its players, repositioned as an exhibition

France (3.00), auspicious footwear (Dave the Brave and

of devotional imagery. In setting out to create this body of

Modifications). Key to all these items is their ephemeral

work, one which explores the uniqueness of the Tour de

nature, their vulnerability, and a certain nobility through

France, I found the subjects transcended the sport itself;

decay. LE TOUR is an alchemy of elemental materiality

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

LE TOUR 08

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TOUR [detail] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR 08

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TOUR [detail] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

ACCB-Saint Raphaël-Helyett-Hutchinson 16

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Legnano-Pirelli

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune

Margnat-Paloma LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

ACCB-Saint Raphaël-Helyett-Hutchinson 16

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Legnano-Pirelli

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune

Margnat-Paloma LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Saint Raphaël-Gitane 18

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Bianchi

Bianchi (1962)

BiC LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Saint Raphaël-Gitane 18

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Bianchi

Bianchi (1962)

BiC LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Bianchi [above] Legnano [below] 20

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

G S Faema [above] Switzerland [below]

G S EMI [above] Mercier-BP-Hutchinson [below]

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune [above] Carpano [below]

Peugeot-BP-Michelin [above] Switzerland [below]

Peugeot-BP-Michelin [above] Salvarini [below] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Bianchi [above] Legnano [below] 20

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

G S Faema [above] Switzerland [below]

G S EMI [above] Mercier-BP-Hutchinson [below]

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune [above] Carpano [below]

Peugeot-BP-Michelin [above] Switzerland [below]

Peugeot-BP-Michelin [above] Salvarini [below] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

149 Coureurs et Merckx [above] 22

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Simpsonissimo!

[below]

GINO

[above]

Il de Gele Trui

[below]

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

149 Coureurs et Merckx [above] 22

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Simpsonissimo!

[below]

GINO

[above]

Il de Gele Trui

[below]

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Louison 24

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

La cigarette de la Victoire

[below]

GIMONDI: PHENOMENAL!

[above]

Géminiani pleure son Maillot Jaune

[below]

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Louison 24

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

La cigarette de la Victoire

[below]

GIMONDI: PHENOMENAL!

[above]

Géminiani pleure son Maillot Jaune

[below]

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Papà Fausto 26

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

il Campione

[below] LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Papà Fausto 26

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

il Campione

[below] LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Jacques 28

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

[above]

The Angel of the Mountains

[below]

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Jacques 28

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

[above]

The Angel of the Mountains

[below]

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

La Terrible Chute de Roger Rivière 30

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Il Leone del Mugello

[below] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

La Terrible Chute de Roger Rivière 30

[above]

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Il Leone del Mugello

[below] LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

VOILA 32

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

À La Belle Jardinière LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

VOILA 32

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

À La Belle Jardinière LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

“Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?” 34

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

“Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?” 34

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Cinq minutes de drame 36

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Cinq minutes de drame 36

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

18th July 1949. Fausto Coppi & Gino Bartali. Col d’Izoard. 38

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

18th July 1949. Fausto Coppi & Gino Bartali. Col d’Izoard. 38

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

11th July 1961. Jacques Anquetil. Col de Peyresourde. 40

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

13th July 1967. Tom Simpson. Mont Ventoux.

13th July 2000. Lance Armstrong & Marco Pantani. Mont Ventoux.

19th July 1977. Eddy Merckx. Alpe d’Huez. LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

11th July 1961. Jacques Anquetil. Col de Peyresourde. 40

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

13th July 1967. Tom Simpson. Mont Ventoux.

13th July 2000. Lance Armstrong & Marco Pantani. Mont Ventoux.

19th July 1977. Eddy Merckx. Alpe d’Huez. LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

24 th July 1956. Col de la Croix de Fer. 42

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

13 th July 1958. Charly Gaul. Mont Ventoux.

7 th July 1937. Gino Bartali. Col du Galibier.

18th July 1955. Louison Bobet. Mont Ventoux. LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

24 th July 1956. Col de la Croix de Fer. 42

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

13 th July 1958. Charly Gaul. Mont Ventoux.

7 th July 1937. Gino Bartali. Col du Galibier.

18th July 1955. Louison Bobet. Mont Ventoux. LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Le Petit Ramoneur (the little chimney sweep) 44

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Le Baiser LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Le Petit Ramoneur (the little chimney sweep) 44

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Le Baiser LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Dave the Brave 46

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Modifications LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Dave the Brave 46

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Modifications LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Grand Tour 50

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Grand Tour LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Grand Tour 50

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Grand Tour LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

3DDY 52

LE TOUR - F RO M MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

3DDY

3DDY 52

LE TOUR - F RO M MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

3DDY

Disques 1 54

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Disques 2 LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Disques 1 54

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Disques 2 LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Disques 3 56

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Tour de France (3.00) LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Disques 3 56

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Tour de France (3.00) LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Le meilleur grimpeur 58

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Equipes ‘72

Paris 1000 LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Le meilleur grimpeur 58

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Equipes ‘72

Paris 1000 LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Encore des chutes 60

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

Encore des chutes 60

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO UR - F RO M M AILLO T JAUNE TO LANTERNE RO UG E

La Chute! 62

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

33 LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

La Chute! 62

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

33 LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

a rt & al le g ory LE TOUR

Within each region, specific cols have been commemorated

[page 16]

as numbered (in metres) collars placed along the bike frame:

Pirelli; [page 17] Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune, Margnat-Paloma;

[pages 08-15]

[page 18]

ACCB-Saint Raphaël-Helyett-Hutchinson, LegnanoSaint Raphaël-Gitane, Bianchi; [page 19] Bianchi (1962);

Simpsonissimo! [page 22]

Giorgio Goldenberg, after Bartali and his cousin Armandino

Louison [page 24]

Tom Simpson (30 November 1937–13 July 1967)

Sizzi were found in their apartment one evening, “but one

Louison Bobet (12 March 1925 - 31 March 1983)

paris match. juillet 29 1967.

thing I know for certain is that they saved our lives.”

paris match no.276. 10 au 17 juillet 1954.

acrylic, collage, pen, on board, with bike frame

1. Pyrenees

2. The Alps [page 14]

BiC; [page 20, from top left] Bianchi, G S Faema, G S EMI,

Near the summit of Mont Ventoux, set back from the road,

115 x 130 cm

1709 Col d’Aubisque

1993 Col de la Madeleine

Legnano, Switzerland, Mercier-BP-Hutchinson; [page 20, from

sits a marble slab. The inscription on its surface reads:

2115 Col du Tourmalet

1566 Col du Télégraphe

top left]

LE TOUR is geography and geometry; a fusion of the land-

1489 Col d’Aspin

1860 Alpe d’Huez

Peugeot-BP-Michelin, Carpano, Switzerland, Salvarini.

scape and the bicycle. The base features many of the notable

1569 Col de Peyresourde

2645 Col du Galibier 1912 Mont Ventoux

players in the Tour’s glory years - Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Jacques Anquetil, Henri Desgrange, Louison Bobet, Roger

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune, Peugeot-BP-Michelin,

Portraits

[pages 22-30]

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

Rivière, Gastone Nencini, Hugo Koblet, Tom Simpson, Charly

3. Massif Central

4. Vosges/Jura

Gaul, Eddy Merckx, Federico Bahamontes, Raymond Poulidor.

1465 Puy de Dôme

1505 Col du Grand Colombier

Odile Defraye, winner of the Tour in 1912, is also present.

1589 Pas de Peyrol

1343 Col du Grand Ballon

Paris is the focal point. The contours of France underpin a

Bartali hid the family in his cellar, until Florence was liberated in 1944. This hitherto unknown act was part of a much

“He knows like nobody else how to suffer and his powers of recovery

larger effort, one that the Italian took to his grave. Evidence

are unmatched.” Fausto Coppi

‘A la mémoire de Tom Simpson, Médaille Olympique,

shows Bartali saved the lives of over 800 Jews during World

Champion du monde, Ambassadeur Sportif Britannique

War II. Working for the Italian resistance movement, and

The first rider to win three consecutive Tours (1953-55),

Décédé le 13 Juillet (Tour de France 1967)

DELASEM (Delegazione per l’Assistenza degli Emigranti

Bobet’s courageous solo breakaway on stage 11 of the 1955

Ses amis cyclistes de Grande-Bretagne’

Ebrei), Bartali’s fame would allow him to conduct numerous,

Tour saw him tackle Mont Ventoux alone [page 24], halving an

lengthy (up to 380 km) ‘training runs’ from Florence to Assisi,

11-minute deficit to race-leader Antonin Rolland.

Nicknamed “Major Tom”, in 1962 he became the first Briton to

and Genoa, directly before the soldiers guarding the roads.

In the first of his Tour victories (1953), Bobet would gain the

The Portrait Series places a strong emphasis on the triptych

wear the maillot jaune (Stage 12). Simpson rode the 1965 Tour

Valuable documents, money, and photographs for counterfeit

race leader’s jersey on Stage 18, by taking the Col d’Izoard

as composition; the single entity, as a fusion of three

in the World Road Champion’s jersey.

identity papers were concealed within the frame and saddle of

summit in style - turning a three-minute deficit into an eight-

30 x 80 cm

bike frame, positioned so that key members of its structure

Original hand-notations (anonymous) from a 1970 Paris-

connected elements; folklore into theology; the untouchables;

On 12 July 1967, Peugeot mechanic Harry Hall finished fitting

his bicycle, and delivered to a convent.

minute lead. Close to the summit he would pass spectator

locate above four famed mountain regions of the Tour:

Normandie commemorative poster show the results of

altar paintings, in a world of repurposed devotion.

the gears on Simpson’s bike, writing in his Tour notebook

Bartali is to be posthumously honoured with the title

Fausto Coppi (standing with his mistress Giulia Locatelli).

1. Pyrenees (chain stays), 2. The Alps (down tube), 3. Massif

each stage (1-23). A dominant Merckx would take the GC

‘Ventoux: 14/15/17/19/22/23. Rest OK.’ At 5.40 the following

“Righteous Among the Nations” - given to non-Jews who risked

“Beautiful,” remarked Coppi. A monument to both Louison

Central (seat tube), 4. Vosges/Jura (down/top tube).

(General Classification) by over twelve minutes and also

149 Coureurs et Merckx [page 22]

day, Simpson’s death was announced to the Tour press room by

their lives saving Jews during the Holocaust. From the state of

Bobet and Fausto Coppi lies near the top of the Col d’Izoard.

the King of the Mountains title. Each tyre is formed from a

Eddy Merckx (born 17 June 1945).

race co-organiser, Félix Lévitan.

Israel, Gino Bartali will be awarded a medal; a tree planted in

quote by French philosopher Roland Barthes - [left] “un lieu

Nicknamed ‘The Cannibal’.

GINO [page 23]

d’épreuves pour les héros” [a testing place for the heroes]; [right]

“un enfer supérieur où le cycliste définira la vérité”

Tour de France General Classification five times - 1969-1972,

Gino Bartali (18 July 1914 - 5 May 2000)

[a superior hell where the cyclist will define the truth].

1974; King of the Mountains 1969, 1970; Points Classification

epoca. 17 maggio 1952.

1969, 1971, 1972; Merckx is the only cyclist to have won the

Jerseys

3 2 1

General, Points and Mountains Classification in the same Tour

“Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some

acrylic and collage on canvas

de France (1969); holds the most Tour stage victories of any

medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”

15 x 15 cm

rider (34) and has spent 111 days in the maillot jaune.

[pages 16-21]

His dominance during the early seventies is all the more

La cigarette de la Victoire [page 24]

Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

Gastone Nencini (born 1 March 1930) le miroir des sports. lundi 18 juillet 1960. No.810.

Il de Gele Trui [page 23] Romain Maes (18 August 1913 – 22 February 1983)

Despite a penchant for cigarettes, Gastone Nencini, Il Leone del

le miroir des sports. 9, 20, 27 juillet 1935.

Mugello (The Lion of Mugello), was a powerful all-rounder. He was victorious in the 1960 Tour, during which Roger

In 1944, Belgian Romain Maes opened a bar in Brussels

Rivière would suffer a career-ending fall, following the Italian

Italian Gino Bartali’s Tour de France victories (1938 & 48)

called In de Gele Trui (In The Yellow Jersey). This in

off the Col de Perjuret (14th stage). Nencini gave his winner’s

The cycling jersey has been employed by the Tour since its

remarkable given an undisclosed heart condition. Under today’s

bookended World War II. He would undoubtedly have

celebration of his 1935 Tour de France victory - a Tour he

bouquet to the French team manager, Marcel Bidot, to

origins - as an exhibition of allegiance, a badge of honour, and

health guidelines, Merckx would not be allowed to race. Italian

accrued many more yellow jerseys during that period. Yet, his

would lead from the first stage to the last.

honour Rivière.

a billboard for commerce.

cardiologist Dr. Giancarlo Lavezzaro was asked to examine

nickname of Il Pio (Gino the Pious) best writes his eulogy.

The first Tours were for individuals touriste-routier and

his honour in the Garden of the Righteous at the Yad Vashem

Merckx in 1968 and found that “there are no symptoms, but there

In 1943, German forces took over Bartali’s hometown of

Gimondi: Phenomenal! [page 25]

members of sponsored teams; National teams first appeared in

was a risk of sudden death. Eddy Merckx rode his entire career

Florence. At that time, Fiesole, located on a hill overlooking

Felice Gimondi (born 29 September 1942)

1930 and continued until 1962, when Trade teams took over.

with the sword of Damocles over his head” [‘Eddy Merckx: the

Florence, was the temporary home of the Goldenberg family.

le miroir de sports. no.1129. jeudi 28 avril 1966.

Excluding 1967-68, that has been the case until the present day.

Cannibal’ by Daniel Friebe, 2012].

“I don’t remember how he and my parents met,” recounted

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

a rt & al le g ory LE TOUR

Within each region, specific cols have been commemorated

[page 16]

as numbered (in metres) collars placed along the bike frame:

Pirelli; [page 17] Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune, Margnat-Paloma;

[pages 08-15]

[page 18]

ACCB-Saint Raphaël-Helyett-Hutchinson, LegnanoSaint Raphaël-Gitane, Bianchi; [page 19] Bianchi (1962);

Simpsonissimo! [page 22]

Giorgio Goldenberg, after Bartali and his cousin Armandino

Louison [page 24]

Tom Simpson (30 November 1937–13 July 1967)

Sizzi were found in their apartment one evening, “but one

Louison Bobet (12 March 1925 - 31 March 1983)

paris match. juillet 29 1967.

thing I know for certain is that they saved our lives.”

paris match no.276. 10 au 17 juillet 1954.

acrylic, collage, pen, on board, with bike frame

1. Pyrenees

2. The Alps [page 14]

BiC; [page 20, from top left] Bianchi, G S Faema, G S EMI,

Near the summit of Mont Ventoux, set back from the road,

115 x 130 cm

1709 Col d’Aubisque

1993 Col de la Madeleine

Legnano, Switzerland, Mercier-BP-Hutchinson; [page 20, from

sits a marble slab. The inscription on its surface reads:

2115 Col du Tourmalet

1566 Col du Télégraphe

top left]

LE TOUR is geography and geometry; a fusion of the land-

1489 Col d’Aspin

1860 Alpe d’Huez

Peugeot-BP-Michelin, Carpano, Switzerland, Salvarini.

scape and the bicycle. The base features many of the notable

1569 Col de Peyresourde

2645 Col du Galibier 1912 Mont Ventoux

players in the Tour’s glory years - Fausto Coppi, Gino Bartali, Jacques Anquetil, Henri Desgrange, Louison Bobet, Roger

Pelforth-Sauvage-Le Jeune, Peugeot-BP-Michelin,

Portraits

[pages 22-30]

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

Rivière, Gastone Nencini, Hugo Koblet, Tom Simpson, Charly

3. Massif Central

4. Vosges/Jura

Gaul, Eddy Merckx, Federico Bahamontes, Raymond Poulidor.

1465 Puy de Dôme

1505 Col du Grand Colombier

Odile Defraye, winner of the Tour in 1912, is also present.

1589 Pas de Peyrol

1343 Col du Grand Ballon

Paris is the focal point. The contours of France underpin a

Bartali hid the family in his cellar, until Florence was liberated in 1944. This hitherto unknown act was part of a much

“He knows like nobody else how to suffer and his powers of recovery

larger effort, one that the Italian took to his grave. Evidence

are unmatched.” Fausto Coppi

‘A la mémoire de Tom Simpson, Médaille Olympique,

shows Bartali saved the lives of over 800 Jews during World

Champion du monde, Ambassadeur Sportif Britannique

War II. Working for the Italian resistance movement, and

The first rider to win three consecutive Tours (1953-55),

Décédé le 13 Juillet (Tour de France 1967)

DELASEM (Delegazione per l’Assistenza degli Emigranti

Bobet’s courageous solo breakaway on stage 11 of the 1955

Ses amis cyclistes de Grande-Bretagne’

Ebrei), Bartali’s fame would allow him to conduct numerous,

Tour saw him tackle Mont Ventoux alone [page 24], halving an

lengthy (up to 380 km) ‘training runs’ from Florence to Assisi,

11-minute deficit to race-leader Antonin Rolland.

Nicknamed “Major Tom”, in 1962 he became the first Briton to

and Genoa, directly before the soldiers guarding the roads.

In the first of his Tour victories (1953), Bobet would gain the

The Portrait Series places a strong emphasis on the triptych

wear the maillot jaune (Stage 12). Simpson rode the 1965 Tour

Valuable documents, money, and photographs for counterfeit

race leader’s jersey on Stage 18, by taking the Col d’Izoard

as composition; the single entity, as a fusion of three

in the World Road Champion’s jersey.

identity papers were concealed within the frame and saddle of

summit in style - turning a three-minute deficit into an eight-

30 x 80 cm

bike frame, positioned so that key members of its structure

Original hand-notations (anonymous) from a 1970 Paris-

connected elements; folklore into theology; the untouchables;

On 12 July 1967, Peugeot mechanic Harry Hall finished fitting

his bicycle, and delivered to a convent.

minute lead. Close to the summit he would pass spectator

locate above four famed mountain regions of the Tour:

Normandie commemorative poster show the results of

altar paintings, in a world of repurposed devotion.

the gears on Simpson’s bike, writing in his Tour notebook

Bartali is to be posthumously honoured with the title

Fausto Coppi (standing with his mistress Giulia Locatelli).

1. Pyrenees (chain stays), 2. The Alps (down tube), 3. Massif

each stage (1-23). A dominant Merckx would take the GC

‘Ventoux: 14/15/17/19/22/23. Rest OK.’ At 5.40 the following

“Righteous Among the Nations” - given to non-Jews who risked

“Beautiful,” remarked Coppi. A monument to both Louison

Central (seat tube), 4. Vosges/Jura (down/top tube).

(General Classification) by over twelve minutes and also

149 Coureurs et Merckx [page 22]

day, Simpson’s death was announced to the Tour press room by

their lives saving Jews during the Holocaust. From the state of

Bobet and Fausto Coppi lies near the top of the Col d’Izoard.

the King of the Mountains title. Each tyre is formed from a

Eddy Merckx (born 17 June 1945).

race co-organiser, Félix Lévitan.

Israel, Gino Bartali will be awarded a medal; a tree planted in

quote by French philosopher Roland Barthes - [left] “un lieu

Nicknamed ‘The Cannibal’.

GINO [page 23]

d’épreuves pour les héros” [a testing place for the heroes]; [right]

“un enfer supérieur où le cycliste définira la vérité”

Tour de France General Classification five times - 1969-1972,

Gino Bartali (18 July 1914 - 5 May 2000)

[a superior hell where the cyclist will define the truth].

1974; King of the Mountains 1969, 1970; Points Classification

epoca. 17 maggio 1952.

1969, 1971, 1972; Merckx is the only cyclist to have won the

Jerseys

3 2 1

General, Points and Mountains Classification in the same Tour

“Good is something you do, not something you talk about. Some

acrylic and collage on canvas

de France (1969); holds the most Tour stage victories of any

medals are pinned to your soul, not to your jacket.”

15 x 15 cm

rider (34) and has spent 111 days in the maillot jaune.

[pages 16-21]

His dominance during the early seventies is all the more

La cigarette de la Victoire [page 24]

Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.

Gastone Nencini (born 1 March 1930) le miroir des sports. lundi 18 juillet 1960. No.810.

Il de Gele Trui [page 23] Romain Maes (18 August 1913 – 22 February 1983)

Despite a penchant for cigarettes, Gastone Nencini, Il Leone del

le miroir des sports. 9, 20, 27 juillet 1935.

Mugello (The Lion of Mugello), was a powerful all-rounder. He was victorious in the 1960 Tour, during which Roger

In 1944, Belgian Romain Maes opened a bar in Brussels

Rivière would suffer a career-ending fall, following the Italian

Italian Gino Bartali’s Tour de France victories (1938 & 48)

called In de Gele Trui (In The Yellow Jersey). This in

off the Col de Perjuret (14th stage). Nencini gave his winner’s

The cycling jersey has been employed by the Tour since its

remarkable given an undisclosed heart condition. Under today’s

bookended World War II. He would undoubtedly have

celebration of his 1935 Tour de France victory - a Tour he

bouquet to the French team manager, Marcel Bidot, to

origins - as an exhibition of allegiance, a badge of honour, and

health guidelines, Merckx would not be allowed to race. Italian

accrued many more yellow jerseys during that period. Yet, his

would lead from the first stage to the last.

honour Rivière.

a billboard for commerce.

cardiologist Dr. Giancarlo Lavezzaro was asked to examine

nickname of Il Pio (Gino the Pious) best writes his eulogy.

The first Tours were for individuals touriste-routier and

his honour in the Garden of the Righteous at the Yad Vashem

Merckx in 1968 and found that “there are no symptoms, but there

In 1943, German forces took over Bartali’s hometown of

Gimondi: Phenomenal! [page 25]

members of sponsored teams; National teams first appeared in

was a risk of sudden death. Eddy Merckx rode his entire career

Florence. At that time, Fiesole, located on a hill overlooking

Felice Gimondi (born 29 September 1942)

1930 and continued until 1962, when Trade teams took over.

with the sword of Damocles over his head” [‘Eddy Merckx: the

Florence, was the temporary home of the Goldenberg family.

le miroir de sports. no.1129. jeudi 28 avril 1966.

Excluding 1967-68, that has been the case until the present day.

Cannibal’ by Daniel Friebe, 2012].

“I don’t remember how he and my parents met,” recounted

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Felice Gimondi turned professional in 1965. That summer

adrift, consigned the distraught Géminiani to an eventual

Everybody wanted something from him, to greet him, to touch

Gazzetta dello Sport, 2nd January 1960. Its words, written

as a negative. Others gloried in Anquetil’s ‘smooth power’,

epithet as the “The eternal second”, and coin (Le Figaro) the

he was drafted in as an eleventh-hour replacement within the

third place. On completion of the 219 km multi-col stage 21

him, even to have a nod of acknowledgment. I was not so bad

by photographer and journalist Orio Vergani, also appear

‘serenity’, and ‘style’ - the very epitome of an aesthete. Raphaël

term ‘Poulidor Complex’ - as the acceptance of status within

Salvarani Tour de France team.

an arcadian lifestyle of humble, rural hardship.

[Lautaret (2058m); Luitel (1262m); Porte (1326m); Cucheron

in all that chaos, often finding it amusing, though sometimes I

etched on a mausoleum tombstone, located in Coppi’s

Géminiani, who would manage Anquetil within the St-

Despite the expectation that Gimondi would ride as a

(1139m); Granier (1134m)], a fully-discharged Grand Fusil

would have wanted my papà all for me. ...”

hometown of Castellania:

Raphaël and Ford-France teams, suggested “His courage defied

domestique for Salvarani team-leader Vittorio Adorni (the

launched a bitter tirade at the lack of support from his fellow

winner of the 1965 Giro d’Italia), the 22-year-old displayed

countrymen - “They’re Judases. All of them... Judases!”.

The Angel of the Mountains [page 29]

imagination, but nobody noticed because his style was so perfect”. Marina Coppi lost her father in 1960. She was twelve. Her

“The great heron has folded his wings. How many times

It is said Anquetil never crossed the top of a mountain

Charly Gaul (8 December 1932 - 6 December 2005)

the cunning of a seasoned pro. Before the start of Stage 3

The central panel of this piece shows Géminiani in tears,

childhood had been eclipsed by Fausto’s relationship with

Fausto Coppi evoked in us the image of a great heron in flight,

in the lead and that he heavily relied on his time trialling

(Roubaix – Rouen), and unfamiliar with the riders around

following his loss of the maillot jaune. The closing line of the

Giulia Occhini (the ‘Woman in White’). Today, Vigne Marina

launched with the beat of the long wings to graze the valleys

expertise to secure victories. Such sentiment highlighted

him, he wrote some of their race numbers on the back of his

caption reads “What is more affecting than these tears, oh how

Coppi produce ‘Fausto’ Timorasso. A reconciliation between

and mountains, beaches and snowfields? Very strong and fragile

a race-public’s gauche preference for open emotion, and

Tour winner in 1958, King of the Mountains in 1955/56,

doeskin gloves. One glove held the sprinter’s numbers. The

human, from a renowned hard athlete of steel.”

daughter and father. In vino veritas.

at the same time, when fatigue and misfortune felled him and

wearing your heart on your team jersey sleeve. This ability

Charly Gaul’s climbing acumen earned him the nickname

other General Classification contenders. The system worked

The following year, Raphaël Géminiani was among a handful

made him fall to the ground by the side of a road or on the

to internalise pain distanced Anquetil from the hearts of his

‘The Angel of the Mountains’. He was the first to introduce

- Gimondi, part of a breakaway group, recognised the number

of specially selected pro-riders invited by Burkina Faso

il Campione [page 26]

grass of a velodrome: his figure seemed to break into a strange

compatriots, as exemplified in the 1964 Tour, and an epic duel

high-cadence pedalling for climbing. Frenchman Raphaël

of respected sprinter André Darrigade, so attacked with 1 km

president Maurice Yaméogo to a criterium. ‘Gem’ roomed with

il campione. anno iii. n.41. 14 ottobre 1957.

geometry, like a pantograph, and once more aroused the image

on Stage 20.

Géminiani said Gaul was “a little machine with a lower gear

to go. He won. Felice Gimondi’s first pro-race win would earn

Fausto Coppi. Both contracted malaria. On return, both would

oggi. anno xvi. n.2. 14 gennaio 1960.

of a wounded heron .... Fausto forever winning, never smiling,

him the maillot jaune; later the overall 1965 GC. Gimondi is

be the victim of misdiagnosis - Géminiani, in his own words,

one of only five riders to win all three Grand Tours.

was “saved in extremes,” Coppi did not survive.

Géminiani pleure son Maillot Jaune [page 25]

Papà Fausto [page 26]

extricating itself from the grips of Fascism, Coppi would come

Raphaël Géminiani (born 12 June 1925)

Angelo Fausto Coppi (15 September 1919 - 2 January 1960).

to represent this reconstruction. As an ambassador for Italy,

miroir sprint. No.632. 17 juillet 1958.

epoca. 1 gennaio 1961. oggi (today) no.3 1960.

he rode himself into the realms of fantasy. Despite poor health

Le Grand Fusil (Big Gun) stood on the Tour de France

On the slopes of Castellania, located in the south-east of Italy’s

messianic blind soigneur - Biagio Cavanna - a man oft referred

“A hero is above all a man with superior powers to the rest of us

podium six times. His best position was second in 1951.

Piedmont region, lies a vineyard called Vigne Marina Coppi.

to as the Mago di Novi (Wizard of Novi [Ligure]). Using his

mortals but who is nevertheless a man.” Pierre Chany

It was established in 2003, by Marina Coppi. On the same

hands to ‘read’ a rider’s form, Cavanna could visualise their

slopes, her father Fausto would learn how to ride a bicycle.

strength, ability, approach to training (if they returned from

Marina did not speak about her father’s legendary cycling

political in-fighting. A member of the national French team

than the rest, turning his legs at a speed that would break your

hardly ever totally believing in himself. Always seemed lost in

(1465m) - an extinct volcano that averages 9% for around 14

thought: curiously and intently listening to some inner voice,

km; one section rising to 13%. Race leader Anquetil began

de France twice - 1949 & 1952. With his homeland

whispering, and forming an incomprehensible word…”

the climb alongside a fellow Frenchman - second-placed

La Terrible Chute de Roger Rivière [page 30]

Raymond Poulidor - with a 56-second advantage. Poulidor

Roger Rivière (23 February 1936 – 1 April 1976)

Jacques [page 29]

was the superior grimpeur [climber] and favourite of the

sport & vie. juillet 1960. le miroir des sports juillet 1960.

Jacques Anquetil (8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987)

domestic audience. The duo rode in stark contrast - that of ride style, physique and social background.

heart, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.”

“I pulled them on but they didn’t work.”

On the first Tour broadcast live on French television Anquetil rode directly alongside Poulidor for the entire climb. This in

Stage 14 (10 July 1960) of the 47th Tour de France - Millau to

itself was extraordinary, and unorthodox. Common practice

Avignon - included the Col de Perjuret. Roger Rivière came

Sports journalist Pierre Chany covered the Tour de France for

shows a rider climbing tight to a rival’s back wheel - therein

over the top alongside Gastone Nencini, of whom Raphaël

training with a dry jersey, he would send them back out to

fifty years. He was the main cycling corespondant for L’Équipe

tracking their moves, masking any discomfort, maintaining

Géminiani said “the only reason to follow Nencini downhill is

the option of surprise when launching an attack.

if you’ve got a death wish”. Rivière tried to match Nencini’s

since 1949, Géminiani was exiled to the regional Centre-Midi

exploits until fifty years after his death. In a book entitled Coppi

generate some sweat). Coppi would be the first professional

and understood the enigma that is Jacques Anquetil better than

team. Before the race, Géminiani named a donkey given

segreto (Secret Coppi - written by Tuttosport journalist Paolo

cyclist to employ the services of a soigneur.

most. Anquetil would often cite Chany’s L’Équipe race reports

to him by a fan ‘Marcel’, after Team manager Marcel Bidot.

Viberti), she recounts her relationship with Papà Fausto:

Ostracised by his fellow countrymen (for not helping contain

This crucial stage concluded at the top of the Puy de Dôme

‘Il Campionissimo’ (champion of champions) won the Tour

as a child, the young Faustino would catch the attentions of a

The 1958 ‘Judas’ Tour had no rest days and was subject to much

sport & vie. no.14. Juillet 1957

The Coppi myth includes an intense rivalry with Gino Bartali; being a prisoner of war; and a tempestuous affair

With four Tour victories to his name, Anquetil wanted to

downhill prowess, and failed. Overshooting a bend, he tumbled

as gospel; vaingloriously suggesting he himself had to wait to

emphasise that he was ‘Le Maître’ and that Poulidor, like the

twenty metres down a ravine, breaking his spine in two places.

discover the truth of “what I did, why and how I did it.”

Puy de Dôme, lacked the fire in his heart. It worked and an

Later, Rivière would first blame his mechanic, but eventually

the efforts of Italian Nencini), Géminiani would find the 1958

“When I was very small I did not realize who my father

with Giulia Occhini - La Dama Bianca (Woman in White).

exhausted Anquetil hung on until the summit where he was

rescind to mounting evidence, and confess to a lengthy history

Tour an isolated battle of wills. He harnessed his reputation for

was, for me it was simply a joy to be next to him. I realised

This particular episode caused such a stir in Italy, even Pope

Chrono’, was the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five

dropped, crucially by only 42 seconds. Heading into the two

of drug abuse. In descending the Col de Perjuret, he had been

aggressive behaviour, and fought his way into the yellow jersey.

that for him the bicycle was an important object, like a

Pius XII urged Coppi to return to his wife. In cycling terms,

times (1957–61 & 1964). Yet he suffered in the popularity

remaining stages, one of which was a time trial, Monsieur

too narcose to access his brake levers. Paralysed from the neck

This he held, from stage 18 to stage 20. Close to victory, a Her-

musical instrument for an artist. Papà was always around so

Coppi won it all, before his tragic death from malaria on 2

stakes, mainly due to a perceived ‘economy of effort’ in his

Chrono would clock a record fifth Tour title.

down, Rivière spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

culean effort by Charly Gaul, starting the 21st stage 16 minutes

many people screaming and urging him on... Coppi! Coppi!

January, 1960, aged 40. Coppi’s obituary was printed in La

riding style. Some saw this calculated, purely-tactical approach

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Jacques Anquetil, nicknamed ‘Maître Jacques’ and ‘Monsieur

This historic race would endorse Raymond Poulidor’s

Page 62 of Sport & Vie, August 1960, features a touching,

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Felice Gimondi turned professional in 1965. That summer

adrift, consigned the distraught Géminiani to an eventual

Everybody wanted something from him, to greet him, to touch

Gazzetta dello Sport, 2nd January 1960. Its words, written

as a negative. Others gloried in Anquetil’s ‘smooth power’,

epithet as the “The eternal second”, and coin (Le Figaro) the

he was drafted in as an eleventh-hour replacement within the

third place. On completion of the 219 km multi-col stage 21

him, even to have a nod of acknowledgment. I was not so bad

by photographer and journalist Orio Vergani, also appear

‘serenity’, and ‘style’ - the very epitome of an aesthete. Raphaël

term ‘Poulidor Complex’ - as the acceptance of status within

Salvarani Tour de France team.

an arcadian lifestyle of humble, rural hardship.

[Lautaret (2058m); Luitel (1262m); Porte (1326m); Cucheron

in all that chaos, often finding it amusing, though sometimes I

etched on a mausoleum tombstone, located in Coppi’s

Géminiani, who would manage Anquetil within the St-

Despite the expectation that Gimondi would ride as a

(1139m); Granier (1134m)], a fully-discharged Grand Fusil

would have wanted my papà all for me. ...”

hometown of Castellania:

Raphaël and Ford-France teams, suggested “His courage defied

domestique for Salvarani team-leader Vittorio Adorni (the

launched a bitter tirade at the lack of support from his fellow

winner of the 1965 Giro d’Italia), the 22-year-old displayed

countrymen - “They’re Judases. All of them... Judases!”.

The Angel of the Mountains [page 29]

imagination, but nobody noticed because his style was so perfect”. Marina Coppi lost her father in 1960. She was twelve. Her

“The great heron has folded his wings. How many times

It is said Anquetil never crossed the top of a mountain

Charly Gaul (8 December 1932 - 6 December 2005)

the cunning of a seasoned pro. Before the start of Stage 3

The central panel of this piece shows Géminiani in tears,

childhood had been eclipsed by Fausto’s relationship with

Fausto Coppi evoked in us the image of a great heron in flight,

in the lead and that he heavily relied on his time trialling

(Roubaix – Rouen), and unfamiliar with the riders around

following his loss of the maillot jaune. The closing line of the

Giulia Occhini (the ‘Woman in White’). Today, Vigne Marina

launched with the beat of the long wings to graze the valleys

expertise to secure victories. Such sentiment highlighted

him, he wrote some of their race numbers on the back of his

caption reads “What is more affecting than these tears, oh how

Coppi produce ‘Fausto’ Timorasso. A reconciliation between

and mountains, beaches and snowfields? Very strong and fragile

a race-public’s gauche preference for open emotion, and

Tour winner in 1958, King of the Mountains in 1955/56,

doeskin gloves. One glove held the sprinter’s numbers. The

human, from a renowned hard athlete of steel.”

daughter and father. In vino veritas.

at the same time, when fatigue and misfortune felled him and

wearing your heart on your team jersey sleeve. This ability

Charly Gaul’s climbing acumen earned him the nickname

other General Classification contenders. The system worked

The following year, Raphaël Géminiani was among a handful

made him fall to the ground by the side of a road or on the

to internalise pain distanced Anquetil from the hearts of his

‘The Angel of the Mountains’. He was the first to introduce

- Gimondi, part of a breakaway group, recognised the number

of specially selected pro-riders invited by Burkina Faso

il Campione [page 26]

grass of a velodrome: his figure seemed to break into a strange

compatriots, as exemplified in the 1964 Tour, and an epic duel

high-cadence pedalling for climbing. Frenchman Raphaël

of respected sprinter André Darrigade, so attacked with 1 km

president Maurice Yaméogo to a criterium. ‘Gem’ roomed with

il campione. anno iii. n.41. 14 ottobre 1957.

geometry, like a pantograph, and once more aroused the image

on Stage 20.

Géminiani said Gaul was “a little machine with a lower gear

to go. He won. Felice Gimondi’s first pro-race win would earn

Fausto Coppi. Both contracted malaria. On return, both would

oggi. anno xvi. n.2. 14 gennaio 1960.

of a wounded heron .... Fausto forever winning, never smiling,

him the maillot jaune; later the overall 1965 GC. Gimondi is

be the victim of misdiagnosis - Géminiani, in his own words,

one of only five riders to win all three Grand Tours.

was “saved in extremes,” Coppi did not survive.

Géminiani pleure son Maillot Jaune [page 25]

Papà Fausto [page 26]

extricating itself from the grips of Fascism, Coppi would come

Raphaël Géminiani (born 12 June 1925)

Angelo Fausto Coppi (15 September 1919 - 2 January 1960).

to represent this reconstruction. As an ambassador for Italy,

miroir sprint. No.632. 17 juillet 1958.

epoca. 1 gennaio 1961. oggi (today) no.3 1960.

he rode himself into the realms of fantasy. Despite poor health

Le Grand Fusil (Big Gun) stood on the Tour de France

On the slopes of Castellania, located in the south-east of Italy’s

messianic blind soigneur - Biagio Cavanna - a man oft referred

“A hero is above all a man with superior powers to the rest of us

podium six times. His best position was second in 1951.

Piedmont region, lies a vineyard called Vigne Marina Coppi.

to as the Mago di Novi (Wizard of Novi [Ligure]). Using his

mortals but who is nevertheless a man.” Pierre Chany

It was established in 2003, by Marina Coppi. On the same

hands to ‘read’ a rider’s form, Cavanna could visualise their

slopes, her father Fausto would learn how to ride a bicycle.

strength, ability, approach to training (if they returned from

Marina did not speak about her father’s legendary cycling

political in-fighting. A member of the national French team

than the rest, turning his legs at a speed that would break your

hardly ever totally believing in himself. Always seemed lost in

(1465m) - an extinct volcano that averages 9% for around 14

thought: curiously and intently listening to some inner voice,

km; one section rising to 13%. Race leader Anquetil began

de France twice - 1949 & 1952. With his homeland

whispering, and forming an incomprehensible word…”

the climb alongside a fellow Frenchman - second-placed

La Terrible Chute de Roger Rivière [page 30]

Raymond Poulidor - with a 56-second advantage. Poulidor

Roger Rivière (23 February 1936 – 1 April 1976)

Jacques [page 29]

was the superior grimpeur [climber] and favourite of the

sport & vie. juillet 1960. le miroir des sports juillet 1960.

Jacques Anquetil (8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987)

domestic audience. The duo rode in stark contrast - that of ride style, physique and social background.

heart, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.”

“I pulled them on but they didn’t work.”

On the first Tour broadcast live on French television Anquetil rode directly alongside Poulidor for the entire climb. This in

Stage 14 (10 July 1960) of the 47th Tour de France - Millau to

itself was extraordinary, and unorthodox. Common practice

Avignon - included the Col de Perjuret. Roger Rivière came

Sports journalist Pierre Chany covered the Tour de France for

shows a rider climbing tight to a rival’s back wheel - therein

over the top alongside Gastone Nencini, of whom Raphaël

training with a dry jersey, he would send them back out to

fifty years. He was the main cycling corespondant for L’Équipe

tracking their moves, masking any discomfort, maintaining

Géminiani said “the only reason to follow Nencini downhill is

the option of surprise when launching an attack.

if you’ve got a death wish”. Rivière tried to match Nencini’s

since 1949, Géminiani was exiled to the regional Centre-Midi

exploits until fifty years after his death. In a book entitled Coppi

generate some sweat). Coppi would be the first professional

and understood the enigma that is Jacques Anquetil better than

team. Before the race, Géminiani named a donkey given

segreto (Secret Coppi - written by Tuttosport journalist Paolo

cyclist to employ the services of a soigneur.

most. Anquetil would often cite Chany’s L’Équipe race reports

to him by a fan ‘Marcel’, after Team manager Marcel Bidot.

Viberti), she recounts her relationship with Papà Fausto:

Ostracised by his fellow countrymen (for not helping contain

This crucial stage concluded at the top of the Puy de Dôme

‘Il Campionissimo’ (champion of champions) won the Tour

as a child, the young Faustino would catch the attentions of a

The 1958 ‘Judas’ Tour had no rest days and was subject to much

sport & vie. no.14. Juillet 1957

The Coppi myth includes an intense rivalry with Gino Bartali; being a prisoner of war; and a tempestuous affair

With four Tour victories to his name, Anquetil wanted to

downhill prowess, and failed. Overshooting a bend, he tumbled

as gospel; vaingloriously suggesting he himself had to wait to

emphasise that he was ‘Le Maître’ and that Poulidor, like the

twenty metres down a ravine, breaking his spine in two places.

discover the truth of “what I did, why and how I did it.”

Puy de Dôme, lacked the fire in his heart. It worked and an

Later, Rivière would first blame his mechanic, but eventually

the efforts of Italian Nencini), Géminiani would find the 1958

“When I was very small I did not realize who my father

with Giulia Occhini - La Dama Bianca (Woman in White).

exhausted Anquetil hung on until the summit where he was

rescind to mounting evidence, and confess to a lengthy history

Tour an isolated battle of wills. He harnessed his reputation for

was, for me it was simply a joy to be next to him. I realised

This particular episode caused such a stir in Italy, even Pope

Chrono’, was the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five

dropped, crucially by only 42 seconds. Heading into the two

of drug abuse. In descending the Col de Perjuret, he had been

aggressive behaviour, and fought his way into the yellow jersey.

that for him the bicycle was an important object, like a

Pius XII urged Coppi to return to his wife. In cycling terms,

times (1957–61 & 1964). Yet he suffered in the popularity

remaining stages, one of which was a time trial, Monsieur

too narcose to access his brake levers. Paralysed from the neck

This he held, from stage 18 to stage 20. Close to victory, a Her-

musical instrument for an artist. Papà was always around so

Coppi won it all, before his tragic death from malaria on 2

stakes, mainly due to a perceived ‘economy of effort’ in his

Chrono would clock a record fifth Tour title.

down, Rivière spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

culean effort by Charly Gaul, starting the 21st stage 16 minutes

many people screaming and urging him on... Coppi! Coppi!

January, 1960, aged 40. Coppi’s obituary was printed in La

riding style. Some saw this calculated, purely-tactical approach

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

Jacques Anquetil, nicknamed ‘Maître Jacques’ and ‘Monsieur

This historic race would endorse Raymond Poulidor’s

Page 62 of Sport & Vie, August 1960, features a touching,

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

and poignant photograph. The accompanying caption reads:

to Bordeaux to Nantes to Paris.” The Tour de France was born. At 3 pm, on July 1st 1903, around sixty cyclists form the first

“Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?”

Hungarian Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; [page 35]

7th July 1937. [page 43]

October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a photojournalist,

which Desgrange wrote “Oh Col Bayard, Oh Tourmalet… beside

Tour de France. Stage 7 - Aix-les-Bains to Grenoble.

noted for his iconic 1936 photograph ‘Falling Soldier’.

the Galibier you are nothing…”

Gino Bartali on the Col du Galibier.

a photo essay published by Match magazine, July 27th 1939 -

18th July 1949. [page 39]

18th July 1955. [page 43]

‘Cette photo de gauche est la dernière d’un Roger Rivière

Grand Départ, outside the Café au Réveil Matin, Montgeron,

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, bottle caps on canvas

souriant, qui touche tendrement au passage la main de sa

chasing a 3,000 Franc first prize. ‘le tour de france – le

40 x 80 cm

jeune épouse, tendue vers lui. C’était un geste plein d’amour et

depart’ proclaimed L’Auto’s front page. Entrepreneur and

d’espoir partagé en l’avenir. C’était un beau dimanche aussi,

self-publicist, Henri Desgrange would stay out of the limelight

During the Tour’s early years the stages were particularly long.

a suite of six key moments following the sad demise of

Tour De France. Stage 16 - Cannes to Briançon.

Tour de France. Stage 11 - Marseille to Avignon.

plein de promesses, sous un gai soleil.’

until the race concluded. Later, with circulation increasing

Barrels of water were often left at the finish line to replenish

Romain Maes after a crash on the 8th Stage.

Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali on the Col de l’Izoard.

Louison Bobet on Mont Ventoux with Peugeot Directeur

dramatically, and L’Auto positioned as France’s dominant sports

fluids. In time, this practice provided a unique sponsor oppor-

Captions include:

Coppi gave Bartali the stage to honour his 35th birthday.

Sportif Marcel Bidot.

newspaper, he became Le Père du Tour de France.

tunity, realised in 1923 with Perrier advertising ‘La compagne

‘Dans le peloton compact, un accrochage. Vingt coureurs sur terre.

favorite des champions de la route pendant le Tour de France’.

Romain Maes est K.O.’ [In a compact peloton, a clash. Twenty

11th July 1961. [page 40]

Le Petit Ramoneur

riders on the ground. Romain Maes is knocked out]

Tour de France. Stage 17 - Luchon to Pau.

acrylic, collage on canvas

Jacques Anquetil leads the field up the Col de Peyresourde.

20 x 80 cm

13th July 1967. [page 40]

Maurice-Francois Garin, nicknamed ‘Le Petit Ramoneur’ (the

Tour de France. Stage 13 - Marseillle to Carpentras.

little chimney sweep), holds the ignominious title of being

Tom Simpson begins his fateful ascent of Mont Ventoux.

both the first cyclist to win the Tour de France (1903) and the

[This photo on the left is the last of a smiling Roger Rivière, who in passing fondly touches the hand of his young wife,

Henri Desgrange died on August 16th, 1940. A monument

as she leans towards him. It was a gesture of love and shared

in his honour lies on the Col du Galibier; the Prix Henri-

hope for the future. It was a beautiful Sunday too, full of

Desgrange awarded each year to the first rider over the top.

promise, under a cheerful sun.]

Il Leone del Mugello (The Lion of Mugello) [page 30] Gastone Nencini. sport & vie. no.51. aout 1960.

VOILA

[page 32]

carved wooden frame, acrylic and pen on board, cigar

L’Auto ceased publication on 17th August 1944. A week later

voila - no.172. 4 juillet 1934. 60 x 77 x 7 cm

In the summer of 1939 he followed the Tour de France, with

Stage winners found themselves coerced into a marketing pitch - the Perrier team ensuring their distinctive ‘teardrop’

‘Et plus loin, épuisé, le vainqueur d’un auto Tour de France

quart bottle [apparently inspired by gymnasts’s bats, to suggest

s’abat à nouveau. Il abandonne.’ [Later, exhausted, the winner

Paris is liberated by allied forces. In 1946, L’Auto’s spiritual

a sporting image] was captured on-camera, raised to the

of another Tour de France falls again. He abandons.]

successor is launched - L’Équipe.

winner’s lips; ideally label to the front.

A variety of citations suggest the Tour leader’s yellow jersey

This marketing right went unchanged from 1923 to 1984;

King of the Mountains

[pages 39-43]

(maillot jaune, introduced in 1919), references the distinctive

Perrier ousted in 1985 by Coca-Cola. Laurent Fignon was

archival pigment print on hahnemühle photo rag 308gsm

yellow newsprint on which L’Auto was published; Eugène

the last winner to be photographed supping the champagne des

22 x 25 cm

Christophe being the first to wear it. [VOILA includes the

eaux de table.

first to be stripped of the title (1904). 13th July 2000. [page 41]

Many years later, Maurice Vernaldé, an inhabitant of Garin’s

Tour de France. Stage 12 - Carpentras to Mont Ventoux

home town of Lens, confirmed the rumours that Garin had

Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani battle to the summit

taken a train in the 1904 Tour. “He was amused by it. Not

(following Tom Simpson’s death the year before), Vittel had

crowned the meilleur grimpeur [best climber]. This continued

finish line on Mont Ventoux.

embarrassed, not after all those years, and he used to laugh and say

been appropriated as a symbolic starting town, in what was

until 1933, with the first recipient of the Grand Prix de la

acrylic, collage, pen on canvas

dubbed the Tour de la Santé [Tour of the Health]. Yet the asso-

Montagne being Spaniard Vicente Trueba - a touriste-routier

19 July 1977. [page 41]

24 x 30 cm

ciation remains tenuous, particularly with five-time Tour winner

[independent rider without a professional contract].

Tour de France. Stage 17 - Chamonix to Alpe d’Huez.

became the last, with road blocks, armed muggings, nails

Eddy Merckx is helped away at the finish, after struggling on

strewn across the roadway; regional partisanship the root

the climb up Alpe D’Huez.

cause. The Union Vélocipédique Française (UVF) eventually

À La Belle Jardinière

[page 33]

For the 1968 Tour, in an effort to improve the Tour’s image

Jacques Anquetil’s unambiguous remark on doping some years

The story of the Tour begins in 1900 with Henri Desgrange,

before: “Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?”.

The highly recognisable maillot à pois rouges [polka dot jersey] first appeared in 1975 - its design courtesy of long-term Tour

the first man to set the hour record in a velodrome, appointed

The Points Classification was created in 1953, alongside

director of sports newspaper - L’Auto-Vélo. In November of

celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the Tour’s launch.

1902, desperate to gain ground on rival publication Le Vélo,

Then called the Grand Prix Cinquentennaire, this coveted

PERRIER… il va vider la Source” dit un spectateur “Qu’on m’en

The first official mountain stage appeared in 1910, with

an idea is proposed by Auto-Vélo’s cycling editor Géo Lefèvre.

classification would ultimately become the ‘best sprinter’

donne quand même un quatrième” demande Bauvin, vainqueur de

Desgrange concludes a crisis meeting at Zimmer Brasserie,

accolade of modern times.

l’étape Roubaix-Charleroi.

Paris, by asking Lefèvre “If I understand you, petit Géo, you’re

[page 44]

The first ‘King of the Mountains’ was René Pottier (1905); then

names of every Tour de France winner, since its start in 1903.]

bands, collage, resin, bicycle chain.

Captions include “Un PERRIER, deux PERRIER, trois

La Belle Jardinière (a growing clothing store franchise,

proposing a Tour of France?”. Two months later, on January 19th,

founded in 1920) sponsored the Tour in 1953, as well as

Cinq Minutes de Drame

1903, following a lawsuit issued by Le Velo, the newly-renamed

founding the new maillot vert [green jersey].

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

L’Auto announces “the greatest cycling trial in the entire world. A race more than a month long: Paris to Lyon to Marseille to Toulouse

The Alps arrived in 1911, with the Col du Galibier, about

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

30 x 120 cm

[page 36-37]

‘Well, I was young…” The second running of the Tour de France (1904) almost

sponsor Chocolat Poulain and Tour organiser Félix Lévitan.

disqualified the first four finishers, plus all the stage winners 24th July 1956. [page 42]

(6). Garin was banned for two years. Two were banned for life.

the introduction of the Pyrenees, and Le Col du Tourmalet.

Tour de France. Stage 18 - Turin to Grenoble.

“The Tour de France has just finished and its second edition

Having conducted a recce for the proposed climb, Alphonse

The peloton strung out as it winds its way up the Col de la

will, I fear, be the last. It will have died of its own success, of the

Steines, sports journalist and assistant to Tour organiser

Croix de Fer.

blind passions which have been unleashed, of the abuse and of

Henri Desgrange, cabled back “Tourmalet crossed. Stop. Very good road. Stop. Perfectly acceptable. Stop. Steinès.” The first rider over the summit was Octave Lapize, who famously cried at the race organisers “Vous êtes des assassins!”

the suspicions that have come from ignorant and ill-intentioned 13th July 1958. [page 42]

people.” wrote Tour organiser Henri Desgrange in L’Auto,

Tour de France 1958. Stage 18 - Mont Ventoux time trial.

below a headline which simply read THE END.

Charly Gaul begins his ascent of Mont Ventoux.

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

and poignant photograph. The accompanying caption reads:

to Bordeaux to Nantes to Paris.” The Tour de France was born. At 3 pm, on July 1st 1903, around sixty cyclists form the first

“Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?”

Hungarian Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; [page 35]

7th July 1937. [page 43]

October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a photojournalist,

which Desgrange wrote “Oh Col Bayard, Oh Tourmalet… beside

Tour de France. Stage 7 - Aix-les-Bains to Grenoble.

noted for his iconic 1936 photograph ‘Falling Soldier’.

the Galibier you are nothing…”

Gino Bartali on the Col du Galibier.

a photo essay published by Match magazine, July 27th 1939 -

18th July 1949. [page 39]

18th July 1955. [page 43]

‘Cette photo de gauche est la dernière d’un Roger Rivière

Grand Départ, outside the Café au Réveil Matin, Montgeron,

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, bottle caps on canvas

souriant, qui touche tendrement au passage la main de sa

chasing a 3,000 Franc first prize. ‘le tour de france – le

40 x 80 cm

jeune épouse, tendue vers lui. C’était un geste plein d’amour et

depart’ proclaimed L’Auto’s front page. Entrepreneur and

d’espoir partagé en l’avenir. C’était un beau dimanche aussi,

self-publicist, Henri Desgrange would stay out of the limelight

During the Tour’s early years the stages were particularly long.

a suite of six key moments following the sad demise of

Tour De France. Stage 16 - Cannes to Briançon.

Tour de France. Stage 11 - Marseille to Avignon.

plein de promesses, sous un gai soleil.’

until the race concluded. Later, with circulation increasing

Barrels of water were often left at the finish line to replenish

Romain Maes after a crash on the 8th Stage.

Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali on the Col de l’Izoard.

Louison Bobet on Mont Ventoux with Peugeot Directeur

dramatically, and L’Auto positioned as France’s dominant sports

fluids. In time, this practice provided a unique sponsor oppor-

Captions include:

Coppi gave Bartali the stage to honour his 35th birthday.

Sportif Marcel Bidot.

newspaper, he became Le Père du Tour de France.

tunity, realised in 1923 with Perrier advertising ‘La compagne

‘Dans le peloton compact, un accrochage. Vingt coureurs sur terre.

favorite des champions de la route pendant le Tour de France’.

Romain Maes est K.O.’ [In a compact peloton, a clash. Twenty

11th July 1961. [page 40]

Le Petit Ramoneur

riders on the ground. Romain Maes is knocked out]

Tour de France. Stage 17 - Luchon to Pau.

acrylic, collage on canvas

Jacques Anquetil leads the field up the Col de Peyresourde.

20 x 80 cm

13th July 1967. [page 40]

Maurice-Francois Garin, nicknamed ‘Le Petit Ramoneur’ (the

Tour de France. Stage 13 - Marseillle to Carpentras.

little chimney sweep), holds the ignominious title of being

Tom Simpson begins his fateful ascent of Mont Ventoux.

both the first cyclist to win the Tour de France (1903) and the

[This photo on the left is the last of a smiling Roger Rivière, who in passing fondly touches the hand of his young wife,

Henri Desgrange died on August 16th, 1940. A monument

as she leans towards him. It was a gesture of love and shared

in his honour lies on the Col du Galibier; the Prix Henri-

hope for the future. It was a beautiful Sunday too, full of

Desgrange awarded each year to the first rider over the top.

promise, under a cheerful sun.]

Il Leone del Mugello (The Lion of Mugello) [page 30] Gastone Nencini. sport & vie. no.51. aout 1960.

VOILA

[page 32]

carved wooden frame, acrylic and pen on board, cigar

L’Auto ceased publication on 17th August 1944. A week later

voila - no.172. 4 juillet 1934. 60 x 77 x 7 cm

In the summer of 1939 he followed the Tour de France, with

Stage winners found themselves coerced into a marketing pitch - the Perrier team ensuring their distinctive ‘teardrop’

‘Et plus loin, épuisé, le vainqueur d’un auto Tour de France

quart bottle [apparently inspired by gymnasts’s bats, to suggest

s’abat à nouveau. Il abandonne.’ [Later, exhausted, the winner

Paris is liberated by allied forces. In 1946, L’Auto’s spiritual

a sporting image] was captured on-camera, raised to the

of another Tour de France falls again. He abandons.]

successor is launched - L’Équipe.

winner’s lips; ideally label to the front.

A variety of citations suggest the Tour leader’s yellow jersey

This marketing right went unchanged from 1923 to 1984;

King of the Mountains

[pages 39-43]

(maillot jaune, introduced in 1919), references the distinctive

Perrier ousted in 1985 by Coca-Cola. Laurent Fignon was

archival pigment print on hahnemühle photo rag 308gsm

yellow newsprint on which L’Auto was published; Eugène

the last winner to be photographed supping the champagne des

22 x 25 cm

Christophe being the first to wear it. [VOILA includes the

eaux de table.

first to be stripped of the title (1904). 13th July 2000. [page 41]

Many years later, Maurice Vernaldé, an inhabitant of Garin’s

Tour de France. Stage 12 - Carpentras to Mont Ventoux

home town of Lens, confirmed the rumours that Garin had

Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani battle to the summit

taken a train in the 1904 Tour. “He was amused by it. Not

(following Tom Simpson’s death the year before), Vittel had

crowned the meilleur grimpeur [best climber]. This continued

finish line on Mont Ventoux.

embarrassed, not after all those years, and he used to laugh and say

been appropriated as a symbolic starting town, in what was

until 1933, with the first recipient of the Grand Prix de la

acrylic, collage, pen on canvas

dubbed the Tour de la Santé [Tour of the Health]. Yet the asso-

Montagne being Spaniard Vicente Trueba - a touriste-routier

19 July 1977. [page 41]

24 x 30 cm

ciation remains tenuous, particularly with five-time Tour winner

[independent rider without a professional contract].

Tour de France. Stage 17 - Chamonix to Alpe d’Huez.

became the last, with road blocks, armed muggings, nails

Eddy Merckx is helped away at the finish, after struggling on

strewn across the roadway; regional partisanship the root

the climb up Alpe D’Huez.

cause. The Union Vélocipédique Française (UVF) eventually

À La Belle Jardinière

[page 33]

For the 1968 Tour, in an effort to improve the Tour’s image

Jacques Anquetil’s unambiguous remark on doping some years

The story of the Tour begins in 1900 with Henri Desgrange,

before: “Do they expect us to ride the Tour on Perrier water?”.

The highly recognisable maillot à pois rouges [polka dot jersey] first appeared in 1975 - its design courtesy of long-term Tour

the first man to set the hour record in a velodrome, appointed

The Points Classification was created in 1953, alongside

director of sports newspaper - L’Auto-Vélo. In November of

celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the Tour’s launch.

1902, desperate to gain ground on rival publication Le Vélo,

Then called the Grand Prix Cinquentennaire, this coveted

PERRIER… il va vider la Source” dit un spectateur “Qu’on m’en

The first official mountain stage appeared in 1910, with

an idea is proposed by Auto-Vélo’s cycling editor Géo Lefèvre.

classification would ultimately become the ‘best sprinter’

donne quand même un quatrième” demande Bauvin, vainqueur de

Desgrange concludes a crisis meeting at Zimmer Brasserie,

accolade of modern times.

l’étape Roubaix-Charleroi.

Paris, by asking Lefèvre “If I understand you, petit Géo, you’re

[page 44]

The first ‘King of the Mountains’ was René Pottier (1905); then

names of every Tour de France winner, since its start in 1903.]

bands, collage, resin, bicycle chain.

Captions include “Un PERRIER, deux PERRIER, trois

La Belle Jardinière (a growing clothing store franchise,

proposing a Tour of France?”. Two months later, on January 19th,

founded in 1920) sponsored the Tour in 1953, as well as

Cinq Minutes de Drame

1903, following a lawsuit issued by Le Velo, the newly-renamed

founding the new maillot vert [green jersey].

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

L’Auto announces “the greatest cycling trial in the entire world. A race more than a month long: Paris to Lyon to Marseille to Toulouse

The Alps arrived in 1911, with the Col du Galibier, about

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

30 x 120 cm

[page 36-37]

‘Well, I was young…” The second running of the Tour de France (1904) almost

sponsor Chocolat Poulain and Tour organiser Félix Lévitan.

disqualified the first four finishers, plus all the stage winners 24th July 1956. [page 42]

(6). Garin was banned for two years. Two were banned for life.

the introduction of the Pyrenees, and Le Col du Tourmalet.

Tour de France. Stage 18 - Turin to Grenoble.

“The Tour de France has just finished and its second edition

Having conducted a recce for the proposed climb, Alphonse

The peloton strung out as it winds its way up the Col de la

will, I fear, be the last. It will have died of its own success, of the

Steines, sports journalist and assistant to Tour organiser

Croix de Fer.

blind passions which have been unleashed, of the abuse and of

the suspicions that have come from ignorant and ill-intentioned 13th July 1958. [page 42]

people.” wrote Tour organiser Henri Desgrange in L’Auto,

Tour de France 1958. Stage 18 - Mont Ventoux time trial.

below a headline which simply read THE END.

Charly Gaul begins his ascent of Mont Ventoux.

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Le Baiser

[After the effort the reward lies in these kisses. A few iron wires

Modifications

ville, longs collants noirs, sacoches de guidon : le départ d’un des

the opening the Népstadion (People’s Stadium) in Budapest]

Équipes ‘72

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

divide the road from their families. A fragile barrier to those

bontrager cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

premiers Tours fait sourire les coureurs actuels.’ [Strange machines,

- used as inspiration for the record’s sleeve design.

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

30 x 60 cm

who have triumphed over so many pitfalls beneath their wheels

chainset on board. shoe donated by bradley wiggins.

jerseys or full jackets, city caps, long black tights, handlebar

during the long ride leading to this pink cement track where -

40 x 40 cm

satchels: smiling riders start one of the first Tours.]

[page 45]

The post-race embrace. The show of support for the

[page 47 & 49]

[page 58]

30 x 60 cm

Music: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos;

often from far away - their families came to greet them.

Lyrics: Ralf Hütter and Maxime Schmitt.

This work features four teams from the 1972 Tour - Molteni,

tormented soul. The emotional release, following weeks of

Scarcely has the last lap been completed, the last effort in

Born in Ghent, Belgium, Wiggins became a professional road

3DDY

intense racing. A simple kiss has stood as symbolic closure

a desperate sprint, the great reward of the applauding public

cyclist in 2001. In the 2006 Tour de France, he finished 124th.

Archival pigment print. Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm.

L’enfer du Nord Paris-Roubaix

podium places at its conclusion - Eddy Merckx (Molteni) 1st;

since the Tour began. Courtesy of wives, lovers, teammates -

welcoming the men with multi-coloured bouquets, they come,

Three years later, in 2009, he was fourth. In 2012, Wiggins won

15 x 40 x 6 cm

La Côte d’Azur et Saint Tropez

Felice Gimondi (Salvarini) 2nd; Raymond Poulidor (Gan) 3rd.

its message one of admiration, worship, and tradition.

one after the other, receiving a reward more intimate and

the Paris-Nice, ‘the Race to the Sun’, matching the success of

warm: the kiss offered them by the old mother, the smiling

Tom Simpson some 45 years earlier.

Included: Louison Bobet & Annie Cordy - Miroir Sprint, 1957; Fausto Coppi & Line Renaud - Nord France, 1952;

toddler, the woman moved. Faces of runners after the battle. Some laughing, others

Salvarini, Goudsmit and Gan-Mercier. Three of them provide

[page 52-53]

Les Alpes et les Pyrénées In faux-3D, the triumphant exploits of Belgian Eddy Merckx

Dernière étape Champs-Élysées

Paris 1000

[page 59]

re-experienced via three commemorative disques, created in

Galibier et Tourmalet

acrylic, collage, pen, vintage tabletop bagatelle

“To follow in Tom Simpson’s footsteps and become the second

1969. Its perpetual motion reads like a film, yet passes time in

En danseuse jusqu’au sommet

gameles billards “damato”. modèle ‘tour de france’.

British rider to win Paris-Nice is something special.”

freeze frame; punctuated with the Merckx maxim “ride lots.”

Pédaler en grand braquet

24 x 44 9 cm

Jacques & Janine Anquetil - Le Miroir des Sports/Miroir

serious. Some affect the nonchalance of people used to these

Sprint, 1961; Hugo Koblet and Christian Raymond -

ceremonies. They hide their sensitivity from others, a mask

Miroir Sprint, 1955.

before the crowd of men watching their reactions, who have

Created in 2012, this artwork commemorates the fifty-year

Disque I [page 54] • Disque II [page 55] • Disque III

Crevaison sur les Pavés

Chute (crash)

shown their heroism throughout 5,000 km of glory.]

anniversary of Tom Simpson becoming the first Briton to

archival pigment print. Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm.

Le vélo vite réparé

The chute is an integral feature of the Tour. The cause and

wear the maillot jaune (5th July, 1962).

60 x 60 cm

Le peloton est regroupé

effect of such moments can destroy ambition, as well as

Camarades et amitié

promote dreams. At such times, the gods command the road;

From an article in Miroir Sprint, 1955:

Sprint final à L’arrivée [page 56]

‘Après l’effort la recompense tient dans ces baisers. Quelques fils de

Dave the Brave

fer séparent encore les routiers de leurs familles. Fragile obstacle pour

fi’zi:k cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

Grand Tour

ceux qui ont triomphé de tant d’embûches tendues sous leurs roues

chainset on board. Shoe donated by David Millar -

rapha cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

Cathedral, Paris, and the rose window of Cathédrale Notre-

Le meilleur grimpeur

pendant la longue randonnée qui aboutit à cette piste de ciment rose

worn during the 2011 Tour de France.

chainset on board.

Dame de Strasbourg, frames from Merckx View-Master reels

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, bicycle chain on canvas

Encore des chutes

où - de très loin souvent - leur famille est venue les accueillir.

40 x 40 cm

present modern-day icons.

la vie au grand air - 4 août 1906

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas

30 x 40 cm

50 x 70 cm

un sprint désespéré, la grande récompense du public reçue dans les

“Having lost it all, I understand how fortunate I am.”

Rapha is an emporium of products, photography, stories

Tour de France (3.00)

applaudissements qui saluent les hommes fleuris de bouquets multi-

David Millar

and films celebrating the glory, suffering and beauty of road

wooden box, 7” vinyl record, bicycle crank & pedal,

René Pottier (5 June 1879 - 25 January 1907), won the

La Chute!

racing. The first Rapha collection was launched in July 2004

collage, audio speakers, mp3 player.

1906 Tour - a 13-stage race, which he led from Stage 2 to

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas 24 x 30 cm

[page 46 & 48] [page 50-51]

Symbolising the northern rose window of Notre Dame

À peine le dernier tour accompli, le dernier effort fourni dans

colores, ils viennent, les uns après les autres, recevoir une récompense

the wheels of fortune often left spinning in a grass verge. [page 58]

[page 57]

plus intime et plus chaude encore: le baiser que leur offre la vieille

Millar is the only British rider to have worn the leader’s jer-

alongside a month-long exhibition of cycling memorabilia

uk 7” vinyl, 1983. catalog number: emi 5413

its conclusion, with two timed laps of the Parc des Princes

maman, le bambin souriant, la femme émue.

sey in all three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d’Italia,

and events called ‘Kings of Pain’. The Grand Tour shoe was

a side - “tour de france” – 3:00

velodrome in Paris.

Visages de coureurs après la bataille. Les uns rient, les autres sont

Vuelta a España), and the only British rider to have worn all

launched in March 2012.

b side - “tour de france (instrumental)” – 2:40

graves. Certains affectent la désinvolture de gens depuis longtemps

four Tour de France jerseys.

30 x 30 x 14 cm

He was dubbed the meilleur grimpeur of the Tour. Only six clubhouse of his Peugeot team. He had sunk into depression,

24 x 30 cm

This artwork features the first ever Grand Départ lineup (1903). The accompanying photo caption was written by Élie

Kraftwerk, an electronic music band from Düsseldorf,

after learning that his wife had engaged in an affair while he

de pudeur devant la foule qui guette leurs réactions d’hommes,

Wermelinger, in accompaniment to an article ‘La naissance du

Germany, composed Tour de France as homage to the sport of

was away riding the Tour.

après avoir acclamé leur valeur d’athlètes tout au long de 5,000

Tour de France’ [Miroir des Sports]:

road racing. This work includes an original 1953 Hungarian

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

[page 63]

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas

autres qu’un moyen de masquer leur sensibilité, qu’un frêle rempart

‘Machines bizarres, maillots ou complets vestons, casquettes de

[page 62]

months later, Pottier hanged himself on his bike hook in the

blasés sur ces cérémonies. Ce n’est pour ceux-là comme pour les

kilomètres de gloire.’

[page 60-61]

postage stamp [part of a sport-themed set commemorating

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

Le Baiser

[After the effort the reward lies in these kisses. A few iron wires

Modifications

ville, longs collants noirs, sacoches de guidon : le départ d’un des

the opening the Népstadion (People’s Stadium) in Budapest]

Équipes ‘72

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

divide the road from their families. A fragile barrier to those

bontrager cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

premiers Tours fait sourire les coureurs actuels.’ [Strange machines,

- used as inspiration for the record’s sleeve design.

acrylic, collage, pen, resin on canvas

30 x 60 cm

who have triumphed over so many pitfalls beneath their wheels

chainset on board. shoe donated by bradley wiggins.

jerseys or full jackets, city caps, long black tights, handlebar

during the long ride leading to this pink cement track where -

40 x 40 cm

satchels: smiling riders start one of the first Tours.]

[page 45]

The post-race embrace. The show of support for the

[page 47 & 49]

[page 58]

30 x 60 cm

Music: Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos;

often from far away - their families came to greet them.

Lyrics: Ralf Hütter and Maxime Schmitt.

This work features four teams from the 1972 Tour - Molteni,

tormented soul. The emotional release, following weeks of

Scarcely has the last lap been completed, the last effort in

Born in Ghent, Belgium, Wiggins became a professional road

3DDY

intense racing. A simple kiss has stood as symbolic closure

a desperate sprint, the great reward of the applauding public

cyclist in 2001. In the 2006 Tour de France, he finished 124th.

Archival pigment print. Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm.

L’enfer du Nord Paris-Roubaix

podium places at its conclusion - Eddy Merckx (Molteni) 1st;

since the Tour began. Courtesy of wives, lovers, teammates -

welcoming the men with multi-coloured bouquets, they come,

Three years later, in 2009, he was fourth. In 2012, Wiggins won

15 x 40 x 6 cm

La Côte d’Azur et Saint Tropez

Felice Gimondi (Salvarini) 2nd; Raymond Poulidor (Gan) 3rd.

its message one of admiration, worship, and tradition.

one after the other, receiving a reward more intimate and

the Paris-Nice, ‘the Race to the Sun’, matching the success of

warm: the kiss offered them by the old mother, the smiling

Tom Simpson some 45 years earlier.

Included: Louison Bobet & Annie Cordy - Miroir Sprint, 1957; Fausto Coppi & Line Renaud - Nord France, 1952;

toddler, the woman moved. Faces of runners after the battle. Some laughing, others

Salvarini, Goudsmit and Gan-Mercier. Three of them provide

[page 52-53]

Les Alpes et les Pyrénées In faux-3D, the triumphant exploits of Belgian Eddy Merckx

Dernière étape Champs-Élysées

Paris 1000

[page 59]

re-experienced via three commemorative disques, created in

Galibier et Tourmalet

acrylic, collage, pen, vintage tabletop bagatelle

“To follow in Tom Simpson’s footsteps and become the second

1969. Its perpetual motion reads like a film, yet passes time in

En danseuse jusqu’au sommet

gameles billards “damato”. modèle ‘tour de france’.

British rider to win Paris-Nice is something special.”

freeze frame; punctuated with the Merckx maxim “ride lots.”

Pédaler en grand braquet

24 x 44 9 cm

Jacques & Janine Anquetil - Le Miroir des Sports/Miroir

serious. Some affect the nonchalance of people used to these

Sprint, 1961; Hugo Koblet and Christian Raymond -

ceremonies. They hide their sensitivity from others, a mask

Miroir Sprint, 1955.

before the crowd of men watching their reactions, who have

Created in 2012, this artwork commemorates the fifty-year

Disque I [page 54] • Disque II [page 55] • Disque III

Crevaison sur les Pavés

Chute (crash)

shown their heroism throughout 5,000 km of glory.]

anniversary of Tom Simpson becoming the first Briton to

archival pigment print. Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm.

Le vélo vite réparé

The chute is an integral feature of the Tour. The cause and

wear the maillot jaune (5th July, 1962).

60 x 60 cm

Le peloton est regroupé

effect of such moments can destroy ambition, as well as

Camarades et amitié

promote dreams. At such times, the gods command the road;

From an article in Miroir Sprint, 1955:

Sprint final à L’arrivée [page 56]

‘Après l’effort la recompense tient dans ces baisers. Quelques fils de

Dave the Brave

fer séparent encore les routiers de leurs familles. Fragile obstacle pour

fi’zi:k cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

Grand Tour

ceux qui ont triomphé de tant d’embûches tendues sous leurs roues

chainset on board. Shoe donated by David Millar -

rapha cycling shoe, collage, acrylic, pen, aluminium

Cathedral, Paris, and the rose window of Cathédrale Notre-

Le meilleur grimpeur

pendant la longue randonnée qui aboutit à cette piste de ciment rose

worn during the 2011 Tour de France.

chainset on board.

Dame de Strasbourg, frames from Merckx View-Master reels

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, bicycle chain on canvas

Encore des chutes

où - de très loin souvent - leur famille est venue les accueillir.

40 x 40 cm

present modern-day icons.

la vie au grand air - 4 août 1906

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas

30 x 40 cm

50 x 70 cm

un sprint désespéré, la grande récompense du public reçue dans les

“Having lost it all, I understand how fortunate I am.”

Rapha is an emporium of products, photography, stories

Tour de France (3.00)

applaudissements qui saluent les hommes fleuris de bouquets multi-

David Millar

and films celebrating the glory, suffering and beauty of road

wooden box, 7” vinyl record, bicycle crank & pedal,

René Pottier (5 June 1879 - 25 January 1907), won the

La Chute!

racing. The first Rapha collection was launched in July 2004

collage, audio speakers, mp3 player.

1906 Tour - a 13-stage race, which he led from Stage 2 to

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas 24 x 30 cm

[page 46 & 48] [page 50-51]

Symbolising the northern rose window of Notre Dame

À peine le dernier tour accompli, le dernier effort fourni dans

colores, ils viennent, les uns après les autres, recevoir une récompense

the wheels of fortune often left spinning in a grass verge. [page 58]

[page 57]

plus intime et plus chaude encore: le baiser que leur offre la vieille

Millar is the only British rider to have worn the leader’s jer-

alongside a month-long exhibition of cycling memorabilia

uk 7” vinyl, 1983. catalog number: emi 5413

its conclusion, with two timed laps of the Parc des Princes

maman, le bambin souriant, la femme émue.

sey in all three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro d’Italia,

and events called ‘Kings of Pain’. The Grand Tour shoe was

a side - “tour de france” – 3:00

velodrome in Paris.

Visages de coureurs après la bataille. Les uns rient, les autres sont

Vuelta a España), and the only British rider to have worn all

launched in March 2012.

b side - “tour de france (instrumental)” – 2:40

graves. Certains affectent la désinvolture de gens depuis longtemps

four Tour de France jerseys.

30 x 30 x 14 cm

He was dubbed the meilleur grimpeur of the Tour. Only six clubhouse of his Peugeot team. He had sunk into depression,

24 x 30 cm

This artwork features the first ever Grand Départ lineup (1903). The accompanying photo caption was written by Élie

Kraftwerk, an electronic music band from Düsseldorf,

after learning that his wife had engaged in an affair while he

de pudeur devant la foule qui guette leurs réactions d’hommes,

Wermelinger, in accompaniment to an article ‘La naissance du

Germany, composed Tour de France as homage to the sport of

was away riding the Tour.

après avoir acclamé leur valeur d’athlètes tout au long de 5,000

Tour de France’ [Miroir des Sports]:

road racing. This work includes an original 1953 Hungarian

LE TOUR - F ROM MAILLO T JAUNE TO LANT ER NE RO U GE

[page 63]

acrylic, collage, pen, resin, on canvas

autres qu’un moyen de masquer leur sensibilité, qu’un frêle rempart

‘Machines bizarres, maillots ou complets vestons, casquettes de

[page 62]

months later, Pottier hanged himself on his bike hook in the

blasés sur ces cérémonies. Ce n’est pour ceux-là comme pour les

kilomètres de gloire.’

[page 60-61]

postage stamp [part of a sport-themed set commemorating

LE TO U R - F RO M M AILLO T JAU NE TO LANTERNE RO U G E

An artistic exploration of the Tour de France

by james straffon