1922 was an exceptional year for sports literature. Antoine Blondin, born in Paris a few months before Pierre Chany in Langeac, first cultivated the differences before delighting the readers of L'Equipe. The Auvergne native got his start in the communist press, covering his first editions of the Tour de France for Ce Soir, while the Parisian was still filling the pages of the monarchist weekly Ici France. The talented journalists were brought together in the 101 car, which followed the Tour peloton so that the L'Equipe reporters could cover the race as closely as possible to the champions. Pierre Chany from 1953 to 1987, joined by Antoine Blondin between 1954 and 1982, were road brothers in conveying the challenges and drama of the Tour. To celebrate the 100th anniversaries of their birth, the letour.fr website offers a few samples taken from their immense archives. These are a selection of articles written about places that will be visited by the 2022 Tour de France.
Alpe d’Huez, 21 July 1986
« Le serviteur de grande maison »
Whether you take his word for it or not, Bernard Hinault had given notice. After his fifth victory in 1985, the Badger had committed himself to work for Greg LeMond in the 1986 edition. If he didn't seem to be willing to play the role of a teammate when he took the Yellow Jersey at the end of the stage between Bayonne and Pau. Hinault was visibly reminded of this at the finish of the Col du Granon where his teammate had stronger legs and took the lead of the race. The next day, the situation became evident within the La Vie Claire team: the LeMond-Hinault duo broke away at the head of the race as soon as they climbed the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, then finished the stage hand in hand on the Alpe d'Huez finish line relegating Urs Zimmermann, third in the general classification, to nearly eight minutes. A photo for the history books and the article of Pierre Chany, which looks back at one of the most memorable races in Tour de France history.
"Let's start with a silly question: what if the Tour de France wasn't three weeks long but spread over six months, which endurance monster would emerge as the winner? The answer is obvious: the best, for sure, would be Bernard Hinault! With his Herculean strength, his heart of a wild boar, his immense savoir-faire and his pride, which would deserve to be Andalusian, the Breton rider improves when others deteriorate, worn out like old carpets and gnawed from the inside, like trees devoured by termites. A champion of this type in a team is already fifty per cent of the success guaranteed. Greg Lemond will undoubtedly be pleased to confirm this and Urs Zimmermann too, but for an entirely different reason! [...] Those who witnessed this calculated attack, which saw the Breton and the American holding hands more than five minutes ahead of the Swiss rider at Alpe d'Huez, will tell you that it was a masterpiece. It was no longer a question of internal rivalries, of a cold war between two teammates or of the dollars distributed for who knows what to who knows whom, but only of a collective endeavour carried out by two crack riders who had acquired reason and guided by mutual trust. The nonsense shifted to seriousness; the sporting gesture reduced the gossip to what it is, an aberration of spirit."
Read the article by Pierre Chany published in L'Equipe on 22 July 1986, with Jacques Goddet's editorial and Jean Amadou's column on the same page.
Five stages remained until the Champs-Elysées. Bernard Hinault won his last Tour de France stage, the time trial in Saint-Etienne, without questioning his loyalty to LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France, with a 3:10s margin of victory.
