The Tour de France, Updated with a New Preface

A Cultural History

Christopher S. Thompson

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9780520256309
• eBook ISBN: 9780520351134
• Edition: 1
• Subtopic: European History

In this highly original history of the world's most famous bicycle race, Christopher S. Thompson, mining previously neglected sources and writing with infectious enthusiasm for his subject, tells the compelling story of the Tour de France from its creation in 1903 to the present. Weaving the words of racers, politicians, Tour organizers, and a host of other commentators together with a wide-ranging analysis of the culture surrounding the event—including posters, songs, novels, films, and media coverage—Thompson links the history of the Tour to key moments and themes in French history. Examining the enduring popularity of Tour racers, Thompson explores how their public images have changed over the past century. A new preface explores the long-standing problem of doping in light of recent scandals.


In this highly original history of the world's most famous bicycle race, Christopher S. Thompson, mining previously neglected sources and writing with infectious enthusiasm for his subject, tells the compelling story of the Tour de France from its creatio

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• CONTENTS
• PREFACE TO THE 2008 EDITION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Introduction
• ONE La Grande Boucle Cycling, Progress, and Modernity
• TWO Itineraries, Narratives, and Identities
• THREE The Géants de la Route Gender and Heroism
• FOUR L'Auto s Ouvriers de la Pédale Work, Class, and the Tour de France, 1903—1939
• FIVE The Forçats de la Route Exploits, Exploitation, and the Politics of Athletic Excess, 1903-1939
• SIX What Price Heroism? Work, Sport, and Drugs in Postwar France
• Epilogue
• Appendix Racers’ Occupations
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX