Mapping the Tour by Ellis Bacon
+ Givewaway competition to win a copy of the book
The idea is simple, recount each year’s Tour de France along with a collection of statistics such as the distance, number of starters and finishers, the winner and more and then add the map of the race to accompany the words. But the ability to see how the route changes is special, making this more than a list of winners and stories from times past but an aerial view on how the the race as evolved.
As well as the review, there’s also a chance to win a copy of the book if you can guess the weight of Tour de France podium lion.
There can’t be many other sports where the map matters so much. Each October the route of the Tour de France is announced in front of a packed auditorium and even streamed around the world on the internet. The map matters as it gives clues to the kind of race we can expect but when the presentation happens as the leaves are falling and it’s also a way to project yourself into the summer, to imagine being on the roads of France.
Given this it’s almost a surprise there aren’t any books on the cartography of the Tour de France, listing the race routes stage by stage in a list or table but on a map. So here comes Mapping the Tour.
You can go through the book page by page but skipping through works too. Flip fast to see how the route changes. First a loop around France but over time the route zigzags, riding into central France and ignoring other regions of France. The stage distance shortens, what was once an epic ride became a hyphen between two willing municipal bidders.
The background to the maps change, for example the central Marche region has long since vanished but it’s helpful to see the route of the race plotted on a map from the period, reflecting how things were then. France itself has changed, fundamentally so with border changes after end of war in 1918 when the Alsace-Lorraine area was regained from Germany. The Tour had some defiant moments climbing the Ballon d’Alsace to challenge the border of Imperial Germany or even borrowing some roads into German terrain, a first foreign visit. Or see the 1919 route with its visit to Strasbourg, a city reclaimed by the Treaty of Versailles. It’s with this that you can see the Tour as more than a race and it’s not condemned to the past, see how the Tour visited West Berlin for a prologue alongside the infamous wall in 1987 or how today’s grand départs follow the money instead of politics.
There are a few mistakes in the book. This blog enjoys the luxury of alert reader and a handy edit button but print is different. You can live with spelling mistakes – Aix les Baines – and the Col des Echarmeaux probably wasn’t the first col of the Tour, instead it was the Col de Pin Bouchain. But the story of Eugène Christophe stands out. In 1913 he was descending the Tourmalet when his forks broke. He had to make it down the climb on foot to repair them in a forge in St. Marie de Campan where he did the work but a boy operated the bellows. The rules said no outside help was allowed. It’s here versions differ with Ellis Bacon writing “the Frenchman was disqualified, and Belgian rider Philippe Thys went on to win the race.”
Thys won the race but Christophe was not disqualified. Instead he got a time penalty. Some say this time penalty cost him the race but that’s wrong too. He was docked three minutes, a near-meaningless loss given he’d been leading the race by 18 minutes. Instead it was the accident itself that cost Christophe. Forced to walk down, he lost around two hours. Worse, he was sponsored by Peugeot and worried the fork failure would reflect badly on his sponsor so he cut through woodland to avoid being spotted, costing even more time.
Each Tour gets two pages, one page with a summary of the race with anecdotes if they matter flanked with stats on the year’s event, like who won, the distance, the highest col, the number of finishers and so on, plus some photos. It’s a handy reference, if you want to check what happened in 1934 or 1986 then just open the page.
In addition the 2013 Tour gets analysed in full, handy if you buy the book quickly. This is followed by a collection of other notable places of the Tour which include the classics like Mont Ventoux and the Tourmalet but extras like the Lac de Vassivière or the Puy-de-Dôme, both in central France and you learn of their importance to the race.
Conclusion
A page on each race and the accompanying map make it sound simple but the combination works well. It’s the ability to see how route changes with time as it reflects the sport as well as politics and other factors. This makes it an accessible book for those dipping into the history of the book but reference material for those wanting detail for example the index lists every start and finish town ever.
What’s better is observing how the race route changes over time, you can see how the race changes almost like a flipbook cartoon. Yes there’s the Christophe mistake but I cited the reality because I find the myths of the Tour fascinating. Don’t worry, the two pages on 1913 have valuable information.
If you like your cartography, France or the Tour’s history this is a great account of the races. Yes Christophe wasn’t disqualified but myth is part of the race.
A list of other book reviews is available here.
Giveaway Competition
The publishers sent two copies for review so I’ve got one in perfect condition to give away. To win just guess the weight of the lion given to the Tour de France yellow jersey. The golden toy has been one of cycling’s ultimate prizes, awarded to the yellow jersey holder in the Tour… but also a few other races sponsored by LCL, today’s name for the French bank.
Like all animals, weight can vary but one male has been weighed and this is the reference for the competition.
The Rules
- Please give your guess by comment only so I don’t have to collate emails and tweets
- Post under any pseudonym you like, I will only need the name and address should you win
- If there’s a tie then it’ll be random selection
- The winning pick will be made on Friday at midday
- It’ll be posted to anywhere in the world
![](https://inrng.com/medias/img/creditlyonnaislion.jpg)
Looks like a great book. I say 1156g for the lion.
1,o20 g.
Keep up the excellent job!
600g
Love maps, love cycling, love The Tour – 767g for the Lion
495g
842g
995g
1000 g
Love maps! 395 grams
1400 grams
756kg
849g?
I meant 750g!
907 g
787 grams
626 g
653g 🙂
1,220g
790g
471 g
666g
640 g
1200g
723g
400g
587g
1413 grams
1 lbs 3oz.
America!
I’ll say 348g for the lion.
815 grammes
265g
226 grams, please.
thanks for the give-a-way!
1450 g
340g
325g
826 g
497g
712g
580g
422g
400g i gues 🙂
1100 grams
845 g. Same as a front R-Sys with a tire.
423 grams
Come guys, it’s made of carbon, so I’ll say 501 grammes.
689g!
1399gr
I always enjoy reading your website inrng. Thanks for the effort.
670 gram
447g
956g
1500g
369.. the goose drank wine
683 grams
877 grams
801 grammes.
482g
1520 g
908 g
913g
888
900grams
812 gm
978 grams
430g
460g
380 g
421grams
593 grams
610g
425g
795 grams
390g
999
946 grams
375g
552g
757g
225g
Limb. Going out on one.
1863 grams. The year Crédit Lyonnais was founded.
557 g
695g.
1037 g
786g
840g
714 grams
7g
373g
1300g
777g
343 grams! I love maps, great idea for a book 🙂
412g
865g
892
356g
675g
484g
I’ll go for 558g.
I say 2013g.
Is that a new lion or one that’s been slobbered over by Cadel’s dog? 522g
721 grams
I think the lion is 878g
Thank you.
put me in for 310g
actually revise that, 599g
338 gr
1500 grams
583g
680g
321 gr.
279 grams.
Interesting book, although the TdF courses are basically well documented on the web. I would like to see the same book on the Giro and the Vuelta. There are old stages where I don’t know where the race went through.
643g
845g.
I must try and get to the podium ceremony, to see if they throw a lion to the crowd. Hands off! It’s mine!
567g for the lovely lion
729g, looks like a fascinating book.
let’s say 849 g
387g?
769g
416g
688g
853g
433g
I’ll go 712 g for the Lion
547g
329g
The Lion must be 780 grams.
444g
821g
665g
I’ll go for 410g. Looks like a cool book. You can’t have too may maps, there’s just something mesmerising about them…!
327 grammes
525g I think.
I don’t envy you trying to work out who is the closest if you have hundreds of guesses!
453g
As a confirmed cartophile I have to have a stab at this. Sadly my knowledge of stuffed toy animals is somewhat out of date… Still, I’ll say:
462 grams
412 grams
a nice and fluffy 1000 g even…
1025g
843g
853g
my guess: 1591 gram a bit much, but it’s a big book
730g
358g
502g
514g for me.
1122g
902 gram
342g
363 grams
1081g
575g
285 g
For me it’s 420 g
701g
900g fingers crossed!
The weight of the lion is: 1361 gr.
1590g
Whoops, that was the book weight. Lion weight guess: 175g
I’m going for 806g, it just feels right
Great to see such interest and we’ll see if the wisdom of crowds theory applies.
But no views on the book, the maps, French history and more? Would be good to hear from others who have read the book too.
322g
850 grams
684g
1510 gram. Original TdF book!
541g
Inrng, do you have one of these lions in your possession?
550g. I was also amused to see in the wiggo doc last year (itv?) that he had 20 or 30 lions in his house – I never thought that they were allowed to keep them, and that they got one for each day in yellow! LA should be made to give all of his back (presuming they were around back then?)
Looks like a great coffee table book, to dip in and out of as opposed to read at once.
http://www.veloveritas.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/18/le-tour-de-france-stage-14-revel-ax3-domaines-poker-face/tdf10st14ed-043.jpg
1.5 tons
900 grams
453G
725.748 grams!
thanks inrng.
Oh. I mean 851 grams.
461g for the Lion.
I’d love to comment on the book but first I have to win/read it! 😉
752g
746g
437g
714g
493.2g
666g
816 g
414g for the lion
728g
734 grams
2.2 lbs or 998g
544 grams
5th paragraph, last sentence–change to became sted because: “The stage distance shortens, what was once an epic ride because a hyphen between two willing municipal bidders.”
Thanks, fixed it.
Worth a guess – can’t really afford the book!
563 grammes
750g!
442 grams
595 g for a male lion (397-ish for a lioness)
Another concise review of a book that I would enjoy having on the shelf, one way or another. And thanks for keeping quiet about the forward by Cav. Curious to read his thoughts about the ever-changing map of the Tour.
1,110g
702 grams
297g
666gr
756 g
832 g
478 g
440 grams.
736g cheers!
707 g
600g – Thanks!
824g
500g
351.534 grams
434 g?
Nice blog by the way!
841g
942g
813g
812g
1037g
Cheers
I’m going with 836grams.
I’ve just spent too much time working out how many genuine ‘le lion en peluches’ have been handed out since Crédit Lyonnais started sponsoring the maillot jaune in 1987 – coincidentally the year I first remember watching. Besides learning, or re-learning, some fascinating details of how the tour’s stage composition has changed even since then, my dodgy arithmetic gives 572 stages including prologues ttt’s and that preface, so 1g per potential rider given a lion, forces me to guess 740 grams.
I really need to get out more..
Love the blog
Will but the book if I don’t win one
568g
Merci
“buy” the book, even
1,001 grams
692
588g
997 g
498g
821g
1001.001g
411g
444 grams
937
718g
998g
After weighing several of my daughter’s stuffed animals:
890g.
435g
685g, although that may be a typing error for the actual figure 😉
405g
Sound stuffed animal-mathematics, combined with a purely random guess, decree that the weight will be 634 grams.
410g
Plenty of good guesses, I’d love to know what the average is.
The lion has been weighed and the answer will be online tomorrow. Nobody has the precise guess so far but it’s close.
Average guess is 700.57 g (if outliers of 1.5 tones and 7g are removed, 6796.5 g if included!)
I’ll add a guess at 618.5g (new average is 700.2g).
Looks like a good read, I’d vaguely started thinking about attempting a slower bike tour based on the 1913 route, but aside from the arrival and departure towns, I didn’t have much to work from. It would be interesting to see how much those old routes are still intact or ride-able.
damn, too slow!
The competition is over. The actual weight is 803g. Well done to Oliver with the closest guess of 801g.
Drop me an email and I’ll post the book to you.
890gg