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For years, I’ve chucked images that strike me in some particular way into a folder on my desktop. Some are ghastly or sad. A bloody Raymond Poulidor wades through a crowd, Tom Simpson lays on the side of Mont Ventoux. Others are gorgeous. A lone Federico Bahamontes, climbing an unnamed mountain in 1959, sharp as a tack and the only rider in shot. Many are silly. All hold in their frames a tone, sense of place and purpose. They set a mood. For a long time, the folder was simply called Photos. More recently, a friend started doing the same and called it his Mood Board. A perfect name I have since stolen.
Around this time of year, I always open up the folder and give it a scroll. We are about to set off on what is unquestionably the most difficult but also most rewarding month in every cycling writer’s year. The Tour de France is here. There are no breaks during the Tour de France, no weekends. No rest days, not for us. You have to enter in the right headspace or you might not make it. A trip through the Mood Board folder is mental preparation for what lies ahead. This is the sport we love and that we want to capture. Embrace everything it has been and will be.
You’ll note that my mood board pulls up short of the digital photography era. I of course have nothing against modern photographers – the incredible work done by Kristof Ramon and the Grubers has defined CyclingTips for a decade. But it is not mood. At least not for me. And this is a mood board. It’s also worth noting that the only photos I can publish on this website are those we have rights to, which generally means they’re part of the Getty Images library. Luckily, Getty is massive and I was able to pull most of the Tour de France photos in my Mood Board folder out of its archive.
Enjoy the mood. Vive le Tour!
1905. René Pottier, a Frenchman who went on to win in 1906 and died in 1907. Victory, tragedy. (Photo by Branger/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1932. Belgian Georges Ronsse during Tour de France. Big mood. (Photo by Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)1950. Ferdi Kübler, winner of the 1950 Tour de France, after his arrival at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. I love the tone in this one. Who is the man on the left? (Photo by Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)1952. Fausto Coppi. (Photo by RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images)1953. Spanish cyclist Jesús Loroño during a mountain stage in the Pyrenees between Pau and Cauterets. The light, my god the light. (Photo by Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)1961. I think it’s the legs that make this one. It’s an odd angle but I like it. From left to right: Carlesi (Italy, 2nd), Jacques Anquetil (1st) and Charly Gaul (Luxembourg, 3rd) (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)1964. Riders grab refreshments mid-stage. If you’ve ever seen the classic short 1962 Vive Le Tour (if not, Google it) you’ll be familiar with this old tradition of the Tour. From left to right: Pierre Everaert, Jean Milesi, Camille Vyncke, Rudi Altig, Guy Epaud, Paul Vermeulen, Willy Monty and Guillaume Van Tongerloo. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1964. Stage between Briancon and Monaco. We have all felt this, right? He is not so far away, but alone. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1965. Fix your own. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)All reporters imagine themselves eternally interviewing Raymond Poulidor. (Photo by Aimé Dartus / INA via Getty Images)1962. Spectating hasn’t changed much. Radios still work far better than phones up there. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)Félix Lévitan, a journalist on the Tour. I think Jonny Long would look great in this hat, personally. (Photo by François LOCHON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)1959. Bahamontes alone. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1967. I love the framing of this shot. (Photo by KEYSTONE-FRANCE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)1963. Bahamontes. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1973. Poulidor had just crashed on the descent off the Portet d’Aspet. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)1977. Juxtaposition. (Photo by jean Pierre Couderc/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1970. Anquetil. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)1970. Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi, all three winners of the Tour de France. Remember what I said about film? (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)The Badger. Not sure which year. Very sure I want someone to aerosol some mist into my face after each stage this summer. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)1987. Stephen Roche in a great deal of difficulty. (Photo by NUTAN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)1987. Colnago. (Photo by NUTAN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)1989. Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. You can feel the speed. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)The skinsuit, the tiny front wheel, the oiled legs, the hair, the camera covered in a trash bag, the two picnickers. (Photo by Rodolphe Rutman\INA via Getty Images)Der Kaiser. Photo: Mike Powell/Allsport1997. Pantani, Virenque, Ullrich. This one’s all about each facial expression. Photo: Allsport UK /AllsportCome hither, Tour de France. (AFP via Getty Images)Read More
