Tour de France
Thursday 1 July 2021 was one of those days when living on one of the main roads through Amboise has its compensations, especially when the world famous Tour de France passes your front door. The whole street turned out to cheer them on.
The joy of seeing the remaining heroes, survivors of this year’s dramatic Tour was worth its weight in gold. The joy of no masks, the joy of chatting with our mouths instead of our eyes, the joy of perfect weather.
Then there was the awesome Parade. People on the floats laughing as they threw freebies, delighting children of all ages. A good time was had by all. Congratulations to all concerned. They can be proud of all their hard work by making the day so special to so many.
The first Tour de France, in 1903, was an advertising gimmick. Le Vélo, a very successful sports newspaper, was selling 80,000 copies a day. On the other hand, when circulation figures for L'Auto plummeted, management called a crisis meeting asking for ideas.
The last to chip was Géo Lefèvre, the junior. All eyes were on the cycling correspondent. On the spur of the moment, racking his brains, he said what about a six-day race round France? His boss was lukewarm. The accountant was anything but. He opened the safe and said take whatever is needed.
Even more interesting is the story behind the winner of the first Tour de France. Cycling mad Maurice Garin, who ran a bicycle shop, set off to compete in a nearby race. When he arrived he was mortified to be told it was for professionals only.
He waited until the riders left, raced after them, fell off his bike twice but still finished first. The cheering crowd, outraged the organisers refused him the prize money, raised 300 francs so that Garin could go pro.
Shenanigans today pale into insignificance compared to that first Tour. Garin quipped ‘I'll win the Tour de France provided I'm not murdered before we get to Paris’. He wasn’t joking. Riders were poisoned by competitors or rival fans, riders spread tacks on the road to delay rivals with punctures, nine riders were disqualified for being pulled by cars and when one competitor spotted a rival hanging on to a motorcycle, the cheating cyclist pulled out a revolver. Ah. Those were the days.
Post by Pamela, photography by Mark.
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