The Tour de France - A Pictorial Inside View

By Graham Stuart

In 2014 I set out to tell the BACK-STORY of the Tour de France cycling race, in pictures.

My journey started in the Jura Mountains of eastern France bordering Switzerland and Germany, at the beginning of the Mountain Stages, and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris 16 days later.

Having full media accreditation allowed me to go where I wanted to, including the restricted areas, and I shot images to give the viewer a “tour of the Tour” – including how it looks and feels behind the scenes as well as in front of the TV cameras; the Caravan (an enormous traveling float parade), the build-up to the Stages, the Technical Area, the incredible Tour logistics, the Finishes, the Riders, the scenery, the Rest Days, and much more.

While this book was constructed around the 2014 Tour de France, the story is about how all Tours work. To my knowledge this is a story which has not been told until now.

The book has over 270 photographs, with a contextual explanation under each image, and is best viewed on a COLOR device.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Graham Stuart
• Release date: May 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507038550

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 All images and words by Graham Stuart.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher, at the email address below.

Author/Publisher Graham Stuart / Topfoto

Email Address: [e-mail]

Website: www.topfoto.net

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COVER IMAGE:

This image was taken on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, on the Final Day of the 2014 Tour de France. The Peloton of riders is on the right, having just entered that great Boulevard. At the exact moment of entry the Patrouille de France - the precision aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force – did a single smoke fly-past over the crowds and the riders. This shot captures that moment. This is the type of iconic photography you will find in this picture book, with over 270 photographs and contextual explanations.

Contents

Foreword

Joining the Tour

Hospitality

The Build-up to the Start

The Tour Brand

The Caravan

The Technical area

The Call to the Start

The Start

The Mountains

The Finishes

The Jerseys Awarded

Logistics

Rest Days and Sightseeing

The Time Trials

Paris

It Is All Over

APPENDIX 1

About the Author

Author’s Note

Acknowledgements

Foreword

In 2014 I set out to tell the back-story of the Tour de France cycling race (Tour) in pictures. The Tour is one of the 10 biggest sporting events in the world; it ranks up there with the Soccer World Cup and Olympics by TV viewership and dwarfs all of them by live spectator viewership - over 12 million people watched the Tour live in 2013.

My journey started in the Jura Mountains of eastern France bordering Switzerland and Germany, at the beginning of the Mountain Stages, and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris 16 days later.

Having full media accreditation allowed me full access, including into the restricted areas, and I was able to capture a range of images that would otherwise have been impossible.

I set out to give the viewer a tour of the Tour - how it looks and feels behind the scenes as well as in front of the TV cameras; the Caravan (an enormous traveling float-parade which precedes the riders, with the look and feel of a circus), the build-up to the Stages, what the technical area looks like, the incredible logistics of the Tour, the Climbs, Time Trials, Finishes, Riders, scenery, Rest Days, and much more.

While this picture book was constructed around the 2014 Tour de France, the story is about how all Tours work. To my knowledge this is a photo-story which has not been told until now.

Joining the Tour

Since I was joining the Tour on the first mountain stage starting in Gérardmer, I flew into Zurich, just