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Readings
I. Delerm, Philippe. We Could Almost Eat Outside: An Appreciation of Life’s Small Pleasures. New York: Picador, 2001.
Philippe Delerm, best selling author of We could almost eat outside, includes "The Tour de France" in a list of life’s small pleasures, among them "A Newspaper for Breakfast", "Helping Shell Peas", and "A Croissant in the Street."
II. Schifres. Alain. "The Tour de France." The Hexagons : in thirteen lessons on the words, morals, myths, avatars, and metamorphoses of the French of today. (Translation: M. Antle)
In his chapter on the Tour de France, Alain Schifres describes the rivalry between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, two riders who dominated cycling during the 1960’s. Anquetil won the Tour five times, but Poulidor never did; in fact, in his sixteen Tour de Frances, Poulidor never once wore the yellow jersey. Because of this, Poulidor is called “the eternal second”, as he always finished behind Anquetil in the Tour. This rivalry divided France into two camps: those you loved Poulidor, who represented the romantic and rural spirit and the notion of perseverance, and those who preferred Anquetil, who stood for rational urbanity and sheer dominance. Anquetil died in 1987, at the age of 54, but Poulidor may be found every year at the Tour de France.
III. Voet, Willy. Breaking the Chain: Drugs and Cycling: The True Story. (Translated by William Fotheringham) London: Yellow Jersey Press, 2001.
In his biography, Willy Voet describes the drug scandal that rocked the Tour de France in 1998 and forever changed his life.