THE SAGAN OF THE 50S
When the 2020 Tour came to Lyon, race historians noted that the visit, a rare one these days, was a nod to the Tour’s first edition. The inaugural stage of the inaugural Tour ended in the city, and Søren Kragh Andersen’s 15-second margin of victory in the 2020 iteration wasn’t too different from Maurice Garin’s 55-second gap ahead of Émile Pagie 117 years before. (With only one other rider within an hour of Garin, however, things were a little more spread out in 1903.)
The Tour wears its history self-consciously. Every edition is presented as a new chapter in the race’s story, but at the same time the organisers are aware of the historical resonance of its people and its places. Until his death last year, 1960s Tour star Raymond Poulidor was a visible presence on the race, and when the Tour visits any region, its local riders of yesteryear are often presented to the crowds, new stars rubbing shoulders with their forebears.
Lyon has kept the Tour at arm’s length
