I don’t normally use this space to post a link to send you somewhere else but I came across this and it was just too good to not share.
This year the Tour de France celebrated the 100th anniversary of including the beautiful and brutal climb up the Tourmalet into the tour route. Here is a group of photos taken over that 100 year period of riders conquering the mountain. If you can take your time and let them sink in. They are quite special IMO. As you’ll see things used to be even more difficult than they are now. In fact when the Tourmalet was first included in Le Tour the riders protested saying that they would die trying to get over the mountain and that their blood would be on the hands of the Tour organizers. When you see the conditions they rode in and on the machines they used it seems like less of an exaggeration.
http://www.lequipemag.fr/EquipeMag/Reportages/PORTFOLIO_100-ans-de-tourmalet.html#scroll
Enjoy,
Dave
Amazing collection of photos. Thanks for sharing.
Wow. I viewed the pix twice so far and was amazed by not only the riders and bikes but also their apparel, the support vehicles, the spectators and the background scenery. Thanx Dave for sharing that.
Dave I’ll check the photos out later but that bike in the lead looks VERY familiar…
…and the kids today think they have it rough! Interesting to see how things looked when it was men and machines, not money and technology. Dave, if you want to feel like a Caveman, find a picture of a Grand Prix or Indy car from the year you were born.