The Tour de France on the lands of the Azure Coast is a popular saga filled with cries of joy and tragedies, glorifying those who wrote it with sweat and tears. A unique story featuring great champions, forgotten cyclists, vanished races, and often insane feats…
Julien Camy, a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and photographer, has published a book in collaboration with journalist André Baudin, entitled Côte d’Azur, Terre de cyclisme (Gilletta Editions), to tell how the sport of cycling has been charmed by the Côte d’Azur.
In his book, Julien Camy revisits the strong connections that link our region to the Tour de France and cycling in general. From dizzying roads and deep, dark valleys to the sunny seashore, the landscape of the Côte d’Azur offers an ideal playground for cyclists, from amateurs to the most seasoned.
While cycling in the Azure Coast had only one monarch, René Vietto—the “King René”—an extraordinary prodigy, romantic and baroque hero, the list of those who have also made headlines by writing their names in the pantheon of cycling is vast.
From François Poussel of Nice, who started the first Tour in 1903, to Richard Virenque from Var, including Lucien Aimar, winner of the Grand Boucle in 1966, the list of high-level athletes who began their careers on these radiant roads is long.
Not to forget stars like Jacques Anquetil, Lance Armstrong, or Christopher Froome, who came to the area to maintain their shape in the winter sun.
In this highly documented and beautifully illustrated work, the Riviera is revealed page after page as the ultimate cycling land.
