Leafing through the entertaining pages of “Blazing Saddles: The Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour de France” one is struck by the tone of the book, released just in time for this year’s Tour. Instead of the usual paeans of praise to the great athletes of cycling history, author Matt Rendell has instead emphasized that the glorious Tour de France, one of the world’s great sporting events, is “[a] fine spectacle of life-threatening exertion, bare-faced cheating, roadside sabotage, ludicrous clothing, extreme intimate discomfort and grown men at the absolute end of their tethers...”
- Reviewed by Leslie Reissner -
“Hell, there are no rules here. We are trying to accomplish something.”
- Thomas Alva Edison
At the pinnacle of the gang of eccentrics who populate this volume must stand the founder of the Tour, Henri Desgrange. Clearly a man who loved to give orders, M. Desgrange had a vision of the Tour as the ultimate test of strength and courage and dogged manliness. He once said that the ideal Tour winner would be the sole survivor. To realize this goal, the early Tours were insanely difficult. With staggering stage lengths over terrible roads and often started in the middle of the night, the Tour de France attracted some Very Tough Competitors, men not mollycoddled by technology. Desgrange objected to freewheels (“Are our races seriously threatened with decadence by the freewheel? Will the Tour de France be undermined by this infernal invention?”) and although eventually relenting on that he did prevent racers from using variable gearing until 1937, some 15 years after cycletourists began happily shifting their way up the mountains to greet their heroes en route.
Desgrange, as the inventor of the first great national tour (and still the greatest) had to find his way as he went. The recent exclusion of Astana, seemingly based on a change-of-rules-on-the-fly, is in the great tradition of the Tour. Desgrange first prevented riders from working together, then he allowed it; he accepted trade teams and then banned them for national, or even regional ones; he used a time-elapsed system for determining the winner; then he had a points system so complex nobody knew where they stood until a day after the stage was over. He was angry the riders hadn’t tried hard enough, so he instituted a Tour that was full of team time trials in 1927, a system that Australian Hubert Opperman called “a crime that should never have been perpetrated on the roads of France.” Desgranges soon gave this idea up, but then reverted to only allowing solo riders rather than teams. For a short time. Then he changed the rules again. And again. But there was method in this madness as the popularity of the Tour went from strength to strength.
Of course, the response of the riders, who were, as noted, Very Tough Men, to all these rules was to cheat. As the author notes: “Frame builders, component manufacturers and the riders themselves have always dreamed of weightlessness, so it’s hardly surprising some of the latter have tended to dispense with the excess baggage of a conscience.” In 1904, there was widespread cheating, the mildest version of which was drafting (against the rules) and the most extreme was getting a lift in a car. Some riders had their supporters dump tacks in the road to slow their competitors. And occasionally it seemed that a bicycle race would break out in the middle of a fistfight between riders and “fans.” Desgrange thought this would be the last Tour de France, but on it went. Later editions featured even better cheating: in 1906, two competitors hopped on a train. Starting in 1910 real mountains were added, although Desgrange’s scouts were somewhat negligent about whether there were actual roads over the so-called passes or not.
The Tour was dominated by Belgians in its early years but there was wide range of colourful characters–Eugène Christophe being the first to wear the Yellow Jersey in 1919. He apparently complained about it as spectators laughed at him for looking like a canary. This is the same legendary Christophe who had to drag his bike off to a blacksmith’s to weld up a new fork not once but twice. The third time he broke a fork, in 1922, he quit on the descent of the Galibier. Interestingly, he was deeply opposed to doping and decades later furiously reproached another old Tour rider who admitted to drinking some champagne before each stage as a cheat.
Other riders were equally as unlucky as Eugène Christophe, although Raymond Poulidor, who never got to wear the Yellow Jersey, must surely be in a class by himself. Reading the book’s accounts of his various misfortunes, you simply have to laugh at time because it seems to so unbelievable. Other events, such as Tom Simpson’s collapse on Mt. Ventoux, bring the dangers of doping front and centre, and Matt Rendell zeroes in on this element of the Tour into the modern era. How about the 1968 race, nicknamed by organizers as “the Tour of Good Health?” It sure didn’t stop doping and Mr. Rendell gleefully catalogues all the chemical disasters. And for more fun, check out his Appendix on statistics, which shows that nobody seems to know the actual distance of each Tour.
The book generally covers two Tours briefly per chapter and is best taken in small doses, like a particularly ripe blue cheese. Much of the information contained in it can, in truth, be found in other histories of the Tour. What sets “Blazing Saddles” apart is its unwillingness to worship at the Tour de France altar and Matt Rendell’s enthusiasm to hold up elements that are ridiculous, unsporting or even unsavoury to the light. As the 95th Tour de France is underway, read this book, enjoy its often hilarious photos (I loved René Pottier’s “milkmaid cap”) and ponder this rich event that mixes so much of the human condition, for better and for worse, into three immortal weeks.
The book: Blazing Saddles: the Cruel and Unusual History of the Tour de France by Matt Rendell, VeloPress 2008, ISBN 978-1-934030-25-7, hardcover, 320 pp., US$24.95.
The reviewer: Leslie Reissner, while riding through France in 1974, consumed a semi-warm bottle of semi-sweet champagne (costing 48¢) by the roadside and has never doped since. When not cycling in search of a really good bakery, he can be found at www.tindonkey.com
Roadside St. 14 When you start each new Giro you understand you’re a year older. You feel a stranger to the village approach and for a moment ... More....
Professional cycling has, over the years, attracted only a few documentary film makers. A few, such as Jorgen Leth’s “A Sunday in Hell,” have even ... More....
I’m just digging out from a few days at the BMC training camp, and while I won’t be reporting on doing Jaeger-bombs and Redbulls with Cadel & George, ... More....
As the final Madison got underway the arena was packed to the rafters, all the talk of Six Days in crisis forgotten for now. The finale was ... More....
Six Day racing comes to Berlin for the 99th time on Thursday, 28th January, 2010 with the great tradition of winter track racing in Germany in a ... More....
American Classic spent the last couple of years reworking their line up and the 420 Aeros are the latest to leave the bench. Take a look at the new ... More....
A couple years in the making, Pez head up to see arguably the top custom builder on the planet. We hit Serotta's NY shop, take a peek at their ... More....
You’ve still got today and all of tomorrow to ‘git ‘er done! Your holiday shopping that is… and armed with the complete set of 4 gift guides ... More....
If the stocking's not full - somebody's not doing their job. Good thing we're here to help with a big ol' bag full of the kind of stuff we'd love to ... More....
Winter riding is almost upon us - except for you lucky Aussies - and that means less riding outdoors. But with an indoor trainer and a Netflix ... More....
Many ergogenic aids, both legal and illegal, have been touted as the magic bullet that will improve cycling performance. What about something that ... More....
Having goals is one of the important first steps in achieving your dreams. They can be small goals or they can be big goals, but without them you’ll ... More....
Is cycling your religion, or at least one of them? If so, you’re not alone. Many people define themselves as “spiritual,” even if they don’t practice ... More....
Post-Giro Roadside: I love Scotland; but there’s no Gazzetta in the morning, most of the coffee tastes like John Wayne brewed it beside the ... More....
Sunday July 20th 1969; that’s 40 years ago now but I remember it clearly as the day that I first became aware of professional bicycle racing – I was ... More....
Roadside Recap: As we make our merry way through the rounds of the PEZ Looks Back, Ed is up for his retrospective on the Tour that was. As the ... More....
Coming on four years ago, Saul Raisin was one of THE big things in US pro cycling. Top 40 in a hard Tour de Suisse and mountain king at the Tour de ... More....
The last time we spoke to Garmin's Steve Cozza was after the 2008 Paris - Tours; where he produced another solid performance from a consistent and ... More....
Just about to start his second season with Cervélo - thanks to strong Classic rides and his first Grand Tour finish, in the Giro - Englishman, Dan ... More....
In October, nine-time Tour de France rider Frankie Andreu announced that he would be Director Sportif of the Ohio-based KENDA Pro Cycling p/b ... More....
With so many (too many?) others looking back to best-of-2009 or decade highlights, why not look ahead? A new decade beckons, after all, so who better ... More....
We first talked with Lostende Bike Tours owner and avid cyclist Allan Reeves about his Pyrenees Cycling Challenge, from the Atlantic to the ... More....
So, riding in Texas is mostly flat, with only tumbleweeds and armadillos to avoid right? Well, not exactly. You see, Austin is situated in what’s ... More....
Roadside St. 14 When you start each new Giro you understand you’re a year older. You feel a stranger to the village approach and for a moment ... More....
Professional cycling has, over the years, attracted only a few documentary film makers. A few, such as Jorgen Leth’s “A Sunday in Hell,” have even ... More....
I’m just digging out from a few days at the BMC training camp, and while I won’t be reporting on doing Jaeger-bombs and Redbulls with Cadel & George, ... More....
Race report: Alejandro Valverde stayed upright to seal his Vuelta victory – the first Grand Tour win of his career. On such a short stage, ... More....
Race Report: Today David Millar won his 5th stage in all his Vuelta’s, he was given one of the swords that Toledo is famous for along with the ... More....
The loss of Franco Ballerini is not one that will be forgotten anytime soon. The sport's best are at a loss and two of the greatest riders of our ... More....
Updated! Hallelujah, they're racing in Qatar, and I just got back from celebrating with every other New Orleanian on Bourbon Street. There's ... More....
It was a dark Sunday morning in Italy when the news services announced that Franco Ballerini, ex-professional, former dual Paris-Roubaix winner and ... More....
The maracas shake, 'Cara mia, mine !' blasts from the PA. Bang! The little cannon fires and the hall fills with smoke. Yes, this is the right place, ... More....
When the K-Mart Classic of West Virginia stormed through the state in the mid-90s, it opened awareness as to just how great the bike riding is in ... More....
After riding the final 17 sectors of Paris-Roubaix yesterday, and typing to you with still swollen, sore, and blistered hands, I understand to my ... More....
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/amclass/amc420alarge.jpg",900,698);)
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/serotta/meilarge.jpg",2000,1244);)
