Think about a biking and music pageant. Consider Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Paul Seixas, Jonathan Milan and Jonas Vingegaard and others coming to celebration and race in an occasion organised by DJ David Guetta and this attracts tens of 1000’s of individuals for the weekend? One thing like this occurred earlier than.
KM99 KM69 and the race passes via Chaumeil, inhabitants 164. The Tour de France visited in 1987, and for a stage end, an enormous occasion for such a small place. Solely Chaumeil had appear greater.
For years it hosted the king of post-Tour criteriums: the Bol d’Or des Monédières, “the Golden Bowl of the Monédières”, named the native vary of mountains.
First launched in 1952 it grew into an enormous deal. It was organised by Jean Ségurel, a son of Chaumeil and well-known as an accordion participant, his data offered massive. If this sounds bucolic, it in all probability was. Solely it was raucous too because the occasion would recurrently entice the world’s finest riders and huge crowds.
Chaumeil is a village removed from wherever with few transport hyperlinks, but the Bol d’Or reportedly drew 50,000 spectators for a weekend of sport with a circuit race, a criterium, a derny race and extra, then dancing within the night.
Raymond Poulidor, who might journey to the beginning from his residence, completed fifth right here in 1959 whereas in his final season as an beginner, taking over the professionals and proving he might match them. The race’s begin record over time had all of the giants, from Coppi to Merckx to Hinault and everybody in between. It ran for 50 years however latter editions had fizzled out turning into simply one other post-Tour crit.
In 1985 then mayor of Paris mayor – and future French president – Jacques Chirac and his spouse Bernadette, locals from the area, rode within the lead automobile on the Bol d’Or with Ségurel They questioned if the Tour might go to to point out off the surroundings? Ségurel replied sure, however that it will price cash and required the approval of then organiser Jacques Goddet. It turned out that Mrs Chirac was a childhood pal of Goddet’s spouse and the cash was simply discovered. So the Tour visited two years later.
No exhibition occasion might draw the identical crowds at present however it’s not all entombed previously. The Tour itself brings a festive crowd and a few locations, notably within the mountains, can have booming music, BBQs and a celebration environment, though that is extra natural than organised. The Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix can do that too.
One other perpetuation is thru audio cliché. Maybe it’s the intro to a podcast, the audio for an Instagram reel or the theme tune for a nightly TV highlights present, loads of Tour protection produced exterior of France nonetheless makes use of accordion music, a tribute to Ségurel, Yvette Horner and the previous reasonably than any modern or twenty first century French music . There may very well be slightly little bit of 1950’s Chaumeil in your telephone.
