{"id":199071,"date":"2025-07-09T07:51:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T07:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=199071"},"modified":"2025-07-09T07:51:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T07:51:25","slug":"through-the-eyes-of-a-reporter-matt-stephens-on-the-fans-of-the-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/07\/09\/through-the-eyes-of-a-reporter-matt-stephens-on-the-fans-of-the-tour-de-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Through the Eyes of a Reporter: Matt Stephens on the Fans of the Tour de France"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve had the privilege of witnessing ten editions of the Tour de France up close and personal. Sometimes I\u2019m commentating, sometimes I\u2019m behind the scenes, sometimes interviewing riders, and last year for the first time I was clinging to the back of a motorbike with nothing but a microphone, a radio earpiece, and mild terror between me and the tarmac.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But one constant remains, year after year, from Normandy to Nice, Alpe d\u2019Huez to the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es: the fans. The glorious, often slightly mad, beautiful fans, of which I was one back in 1986 as a young 16-year-old. It was being a fan first that started my journey into cycling.<\/p>\n

Little did 16-year-old me know that 30-odd years later I\u2019d be bringing other fans the images, sounds, textures, and emotion of the Grand Boucle myself.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get one thing straight: there is no sporting crowd quite like Tour de France fans. They\u2019re not ticket holders. They don\u2019t file into a stadium. They take over entire mountains, villages, and towns. They wake up at 3 a.m. to stake a roadside spot, having travelled there days in advance. They boil coffee on camping stoves, eat bread and cheese, and sip local wine and wear costumes to boggle the mind. They have rider fan clubs, create homemade flags, posters, and friezes that help make the race come alive.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen a man in a banana suit sprint next to a breakaway on the Col du Tourmalet, yelling in what I hope was encouragement. I\u2019ve seen an 85-year-old woman in the Pyrenees slap her saucepan like a war drum as the peloton snaked by. I\u2019ve seen fans suspended on bicycles from a crane, dangling them directly over the passing peloton, and I\u2019ve seen a dozen men dressed as babies running alongside Mark Cavendish<\/a> as he fought to finish inside the time limit in the Alpes. Just bonkers!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been offered more sausages, beers, and unsolicited back rubs than I care to count. On Alpe d\u2019Huez I had to close the car window as fans tried to climb in and join me. Honestly… It\u2019s clear that there\u2019s no such thing as a \u201ctypical\u201d fan at the Tour, and that\u2019s the magic of it. They come from every walk of life\u2014French grannies waving tricolores, Dutch caravans decked out like rave buses with techno music blaring out, Danish fans dressed as Vikings, in fact I\u2019m sure I spotted a Viking longboat tandem a few years back! The fans are never calm. And why would they be? For many, seeing the Tour is a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage. It\u2019s sporting theatre, high drama, and a touch of lunacy all rolled into one sweaty, lycra-wrapped spectacle. Their passion and joy are palpable and often so overwhelming it has reduced me to near tears.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
Zobrazit p\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek na Instagramu<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

P\u0159\u00edsp\u011bvek sd\u00edlen\u00fd \u0160koda We Love Cycling (@wlcmagazine)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n