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.
Mourenx, 15 July 1969
"In the spotlight"
Eddy Merckx's maiden Tour de France was also his first July festival, which he rode with his expected mastery. He claimed his first Yellow Jersey in his hometown of Woluwé-Saint-Pierre (Brussels). Merckx then demonstrated his superiority in the Ballon d'Alsace stage before crushing the competition on the Divonne time trial. He continued his domination on the alpine stage in Digne-les-Bains. It goes without saying that Merckx also won the Revel time trial. His advantage when he attacked the Pyrenees didn't require an imperious initiative. But on the road to Mourenx, when crossing the Col du Tourmalet, the Yellow Jersey broke away from the peloton and escaped alone, with 140 kilometres to go until Mourenx, just for the sheer beauty of it. While the whole world is thinking only of the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission who were preparing to conquer the moon, Antoine Blondin paid tribute to Merckx's coup de force by ranking it among the greatest exploits in the history of the Grande Boucle.
"Right on schedule with his young legend prescribed to him, Eddy Merckx went on his superhuman way, without snarling, grumbling or growling, thanks to the inherent nature of his extraordinary talent. The unanimous and multi-lingual enthusiasm that escorted him began to make sense (we even deciphered exhortations in English on brandished placards). It told us that, at that moment, this champion was no longer particularly Walloon or Flemish, French or Belgian, but that he clearly belonged to the universal heritage of human endeavour. In the same way that the astronauts, who were going to set off for the moon in a few hours' time, were no longer Americans as such, but delegates of humankind as a whole."
Antoine Blondin's column appeared in L'Equipe on 16 July 1969, with Jacques Goddet's famous editorial entitled "Merckxissimo" on the same page.
With a 16-minute lead over Roger Pingeon, Eddy Merckx was under no threat until his triumphant finish five days later at the Cipale velodrome in Paris. His reign began, and Blondin, always inspired, titled his final column "Le Mao Jaune".
