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the daily telegraph book of the tour de france - editied by martin smith. 259pp hardback.
every country has its variety of newspapers, some are populist, some middlebrow and the remainder oft-times considered elitist. in the uk, the latter category is covered by the times, the guardian, possibly at one time, the independent, and the daily telegraph. sports coverage in the first two categories seems limited to football (soccer), football and perhaps football. move up to the serious press, at one time known as the broadsheets, when they were all a size that made them very hard to read on the train or the bus, and the football is augmented with a variety of others, likely to include golf, certainly cricket, and if we're really lucky, some cycling. actually that's being slightly unfair, because the former broadsheets are likely the only newspapers (in the uk at least) that stretch as far as publishng the results of several of the spring classics, and undoubtedly the three major tours.
however, bearing all this in mind, it was still somewhat of a surprise to discover that the rather conservative daily telegraph should release a book of the tour de france. at the risk of repeating the sentiment expressed in my earlier review of the lance armstrong book, the question does have to be asked do we really need another book about the tour de france? of course, this is me back to judging a book by its cover, because it turns out that this substantial volume is a compendium of reports from the tour de france, published in the daily telegraph since 1903. different, and entirely welcome.
the earliest of thes reports dates from the tour's earliest years - in fact since the very first version, july 2nd 1903:
"sixty cyclists left villeneuve saint georges, a southern suburb, this afternoon, under a scorching sun, for a tremendous race called the tour of france. the total course mapped out is 1,506 miles long"
this was posted by special wire from our own correspondent; the second article was posted the following day under the heading cycling and motoring. the early stuff is fascinating, not only for its historical significance, but for the incredible formality of the reporting, something that has all but gone the way of the dodo over the last century. it's an interesting thought that in this modern age, if i wrote thewashingmachinepost in such a manner, you'd likely all shift your allegiance elsewhere.
it's also a lovely sort of book to have at your side during david harmon's commentary on the current tour: when those terrible adverts interrupt the live action on eurosport, you can reach over for your copy and swiftly despatch a chapter before the action resumes. it's that type of book, and all the better for it. by 1964, the articles had started to identify their writers, perhaps the most famous of past years, being the almost mythical j.b.wadley, who dispensed with some of the formality of the early years but still displaying a sight more than is often the case today. other correspondents include phil ligget, chris boardman, david millar, jacques goddet, graeme fife anad james cracknell.
but as is the way with thewashingmachinepost, i shall leave you with a quote from scotland's own king of the mountains winner in 1984:
"when i see the big guys having trouble with all the questions and all the supporters, i know i'm not prepared for life at that level. but if i have to, i will cope. let's face it, i'm being paid to do something that i would do for nothing. i know what it's like to work in a factory, so i can put up with not being just another rider."
the daily telegraph book of the tour de france is published by aurum press at a cost of £16.99.
posted on sunday 19 july 2009
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