The Tour de France is the largest free sporting event in the world, watched live roadside by millions each year; the race is as much a part of French summer holidays as a picnic in the mountains or a trip to the beach.
So it’s no surprise that many well-known photographers have worked in or around the Tour at some point in their careers. As sports go, cycling provides a photographer’s ideal scenario for reportage, social documentary, or street photography: It happens in real time, and in the public environment. And anywhere the road goes, the peloton follows.
In my 2016 book, Magnum Cycling, I curated historic racing images from incredibly talented photographers. The following photos and captions from that book represent some of the most powerful moments in the iconic race.
Stage 21, Fabio Parra, Lac de Vassivière time trial, by John Vink.
Fabio Parra won the white jersey for best young rider overall at the 1985 Tour de France. He was one of a band of talented Colombian riders who took the Tour by storm in the mid-eighties, and looked more like a seasoned boxer than a young professional cyclist. He won stage 12 of the ’85 race and his compatriot, Luis Herrera, came in second that day, on the way to winning the overall polka dot jersey of the King of the Mountains.
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The Colombians were incredible climbers, and 1985 kicked off a period of big performances in mountain stages. No doubt Nairo Quintana follows in the wake of their exploits. This photograph shows John Vink’s renowned ability to grab a beautiful portrait amongst the chaos of the Tour.
Results board, 1985, by John Vink.
A boy chalks up the time trial results of the racers at the 1985 Tour. The boy and the board are wrapped in a polyethylene sheet to protect the details from the elements. This eerie, dream-like photograph is from stage 8, the Sarrebourg to Strasbourg time trial. Frenchman Bernard Hinault smashed the opposition that day, winning the stage by a massive 2 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of second place rider Stephen Roche of Ireland.
Bernard Hinault relaxes, 1982, by Harry Gruyaert.
The Tour de France is won for Bernard Hinault, and he puts his feet up as the race transfers by train for the final stage of the ’82 Tour into Paris. Every rider from the peloton traveled together on that train. I enjoy the nonchalant, “down time” feel of this photograph. Hinault seems lost in thought, simply staring out the window, watching the French countryside roll past. I also love his socks. They don’t make socks like that anymore, they don’t make riders like Hinault anymore, and they don’t make photographers like Harry Gruyaert anymore, either.
Farmers’ revolt, 1982, by Harry Gruyaert.
Here, the riders are forced to take a break because of protesting farmers. Officials had stopped the race at the start of stage 16 in the French Alps, which finished on Alpe d’Huez. It wasn’t the first time stoppage happened that year: On stage 5, striking factory workers got onto the course and forced the team time trial to be abandoned.
Demonstrations like these were a regular fixture at the Tour in the 1980s; protestors realized that TV stations and newspapers would report on such matters. I really like this scene, the way that the riders are resigned to waiting and resting—a moment’s break from the madness.
Bernard Hinault, 1982, by Harry Gruyaert.
Five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault was a tough racer. What I love about this photograph is that Hinault is the only rider seated. Everyone else at the front is out of the saddle against the gradient, yet Hinault, in the leader’s jersey, sits, staring imperiously at the camera. This picture tells us so much about the rider nicknamed The Badger: He was brutally fearless and unpleasant, especially if you got into a scrap with him. He commanded authority in the Tour de France peloton, so much so that peers called him Le patron—the boss. When he went to the Tour to shoot, photographer Harry Gruyaert knew nothing about cycling, but he managed to capture the feeling of being there. Shots like this one that make you feel like you’re a part of the action are difficult to get, and rare in bike racing.
Arrival of the Tour de France, 1980, by Martine Franck.
Martine took this image on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, from the apartment where she lived with her partner and Magnum founding member Henri Cartier-Bresson. Franck, seeing the Tour coming past, stuck her head out the window and snapped pictures of the final stage in the cityscape. I love the position of the riders; it has that dynamic feel of what it’s like to be racing. With the line of riders strung out and struggling for position, going at full speed, it’s a great sports photograph, and it’s also beautifully composed.
Alpine ascent, 1982, by Harry Gruyaert.
Two Renault team riders, Jean-François Rodriguez (number 9) and Alain Vigneron (number 10), struggle up a mountain at the back of the race. In 1982, most of the Tour de France photographers were taking pictures for newspapers, which at that time meant working in black and white. As a result, there isn’t a lot of color work of the ’82 race. Gruyaert worked with Kodak Kodachrome film, which gives the pictures a vivid and sharply contrasted feel. Those Kodachrome images became a hallmark of his work, and something quite unusual for the period.
