10 great films about cycling

From Bicycle Thieves to Breaking Away...

26 June 2013

By  Harry Bunnell

tour de france 1972 film

Each year the stars of professional cycling battle it out for the ultimate prize on two wheels, the Maillot Jaune of the Tour de France . Like the film director who conducts his or her actors in a grand cinematic orchestra, the cycling directeur sportif nurtures their crop of riders, seeking to get the best out of them as they ride at the limit of human endeavour.

Over the years many illustrious filmmakers have explored the world of cycling, with excellent documentary films about the Tour from Claude Lelouch (Pour un Maillot Jaune, 1965), Louis Malle and Jørgen Leth (see below). The sport has also provided inspiration for a number of Hollywood fiction films, notably Peter Yates’s Breaking Away in 1979, for which writer Steve Tesich won an Academy Award for best original screenplay. Tesich went on to write American Flyers (1985), which featured a moustachioed, pre-stardom Kevin Costner. It didn’t replicate the success of Breaking Away, but still has a place in the history of cycling films – though sadly it’s not available on DVD in the UK . The following year saw an American invasion of the Tour de France, with the arrival of the first US cycling team, 7-Eleven, plus the first American tour winner, Greg LeMond, riding for La Vie Claire.

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Like a modern pro-team, our list of cycling films features a good mix of nationalities, with representation from Britain, France, USA , Belgium, Italy and Denmark – as well as a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. Not all the films included feature professional riders, as we’ve gone wider to include great films with bicycles as a key plot device. Modern British offerings are few and far between, but perhaps the recent success of Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish will inspire a new raft of Brit flicks on the subject. For now, adjust your saddle, pump up your tyres and take a tour of 10 great cycling films.

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Director: Vittorio De Sica

tour de france 1972 film

No list of bicycle-centric films would be complete without mention of Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece of Italian neorealism. Set in post-war Rome, it follows the misfortunes of down-on-his-luck Antonio (played by Lamberto Maggiorani) and his young son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). Over the course of the day they embark on a fruitless hunt for the father’s stolen bike, which he desperately needs to work and support the family.

In 1952 Bicycle Thieves topped Sight & Sound’s inaugural greatest films poll and remains a favourite among both critics and audiences today.

Jour de fête (1949)

Director: Jacques Tati

tour de france 1972 film

Jacques Tati’s feature debut follows the mishaps of a French rural postman, François, played by Tati himself. Under the influence of too much wine and after viewing a film about the modern methods of the US postal service at the village fair, he goes to extreme measures to speed up his own postal delivery. Slapstick hilarity ensues, with one scene featuring François struggling to ride his bike while inebriated and another where he inadvertently joins a bike race against amateur racers, eventually ending up in a river.

Shot in a pioneering colour process called Thomsoncolor, but released only in black and white, Jour de fête was recently restored. A sparkling comedy and satire about our dependence on technology, something which became a dominant theme in later Tati films such as Mon oncle (1958) and Playtime (1967).

Cyclists Special (1955)

tour de france 1972 film

A novel film about how British Railways can cater for audax or touring cyclists , which can be found on the second of the BFI ’s DVD compilations of British Transport Films. Probably one of the first films to make reference to the cycling ‘bonk’, when a rider doesn’t take on enough food, this short colour film provides a comprehensive guide to bicycle touring around Britain.

In the words of H.H. England, editor of Cycling magazine, “a cycling tour without a map is like new potatoes without the smell of mint”. Although a map in the jersey pocket is on the decline with the advent of GPS , this wonderful short film still feels relevant today, especially for anyone who’s experienced the freedom of hopping on a train with their bike to discover the great British countryside.

Vive le Tour (1962)

Director: Louis Malle

tour de france 1972 film

After co-directing the 1956 undersea documentary Le Monde du silence with Jacques Cousteau (which won them both the Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival), French director Louis Malle further made his name with classic fiction films such as Lift to the Scaffold (1958) and Zazie dans le métro (1960).

In 1962, he returned to the ‘real world’ (and a favourite pastime of Malle’s) for this short, 18-minute document of the Tour de France, the most watched sporting event in France. This quick-cutting documentary is an intimate portrait of the sport and the rigours of the Tour, seen through the eyes of the everyday man. It also serves to highlight the difference in attitudes to sport nutrition between the 60s and today, with the support riders or ‘water carriers’ stopping at bars to gather red wine, champagne and beer for the rest of the team. Malle’s film is a short but important piece of cycling documentary history.

Boy and Bicycle (1965)

Director: Ridley Scott

tour de france 1972 film

Ridley Scott’s first film – featuring his younger brother, the late Tony Scott, as a schoolboy playing truant for the day to meander around Hartlepool on his bicycle – is a far cry from his recent sci-fi juggernaut Prometheus (2012). Taking inspiration from James Joyce’s Ulysses, Scott employs a stream of consciousness that reveals the everyday thoughts and frustrations of the teenage schoolboy.

Scott shot in black and white on a Bolex 16mm cine-camera while studying photography at the Royal College of Art in London in 1962. In post-production, Scott was able to secure a score from John Barry, with the composer recording an original piece after being impressed with the young filmmaker’s work.

A Sunday in Hell (1976)

Director: Jørgen Leth

tour de france 1972 film

Featuring a superb opening sequence of a mechanic cleaning his bike, this Danish documentary is directed by Jørgen Leth (mentor to Lars von Trier), who commentates on the Tour de France each year for Danish television.

Covering the 1976 Paris-Roubaix race, which runs along the legendary pavé cobblestones of northern France, nicknamed ‘the hell of the North’, it features the stars of the day: Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser and Roger De Vlaeminck.

Just one of several sports films that feature among Leth’s work, A Sunday in Hell wonderfully captures the poetry of cycling, documenting the array of star personalities, the emotion and excitement of the fans, the noncompliance of the protesters (who stop the race) and the contrast between the glory of victory and the suffering that comes with defeat.

Breaking Away (1979)

Director: Peter Yates

tour de france 1972 film

As cycling grew ever more popular in the US , it was only a matter of time before Hollywood made a major picture on the sport. Enter Breaking Away, Bullitt (1968) director Peter Yates’s coming-of-age tale about a group of friends in Bloomington, Indiana.

Among their ranks is promising amateur cyclist and Italophile Dave Stoller (Dennis Christopher), who worships Italian cycling and renames the family dog Fellini (much to his father’s annoyance). Disparagingly referred to as ‘cutters’ by the lndiana University students, because of Bloomington’s stonecutting history, the friends have several hostile encounters with the snobbish students, culminating in a cycle showdown at the university’s Little 500 race – a real event that takes place on campus each year.

Comparing favourably with The Last Picture Show (1971) as a representation of small-town America, the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $20 million in North America.

Belleville Rendez-vous (2003)

Director: Sylvain Chomet

tour de france 1972 film

A deliriously demented vintage cabaret show by the triplets of Belleville sets the tone for this French animated picture (known as The Triplets of Belleville in some countries) by Sylvain Chomet. It’s the story of a young boy called Champion who lives a lonely life with his grandmother Madame Souza and only begins to realise his potential when he receives the gift of a bicycle. Several years later, Champion has developed into a handy bike racer, with his grandmother acting as a trainer, applying unconventional leg massages with egg whisks. On Champion’s maiden tour he’s kidnapped by French gangsters and Madame Souza and pet dog Bruno embark on an adventure to Belleville to rescue him.

Chomet creates a fantasy world with a unique style of animation that pays homage to the anime films of Studio Ghibli. There’s also a playful cycle-cap tip to Jacques Tati (who Chomet later brought to life in The Illusionist, 2010) with a scene of the triplets watching Jour de fête in bed.

The Flying Scotsman (2006)

Director: Douglas Mackinnon

tour de france 1972 film

In this 2006 British biopic, Jonny Lee Miller plays the Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, who twice held the World Hour Record and was World Champion in the 4000m pursuit in 1993 and 1995. The film depicts Obree’s battle with the establishment – represented here by the fictional cycling body the World Cycling Federation ( WCF ) – to be able to use his innovative bike ‘Old Faithful’, made from washing machine parts.

Like many great athletes, Obree also faces his own inner demons in the form of mental illness and depression, although this element is a little side-stepped in the film. Steven Berkoff is on hand in a comically over-the-top sinister turn as WCF chief Ernst Hagemann, and there’s memorable supporting work from Billy Boyd and Brian Cox.

The Kid with a Bike (2011)

Director: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

tour de france 1972 film

From the masters of stripped-back storytelling, t his 2011 drama by the Dardenne brothers features a tearaway 11-year-old boy, Cyril (Thomas Doret), who’s been abandoned by his father (Jérémie Renier). Cyril escapes school to search for his bike, a symbol of his lost relationship with his father. A local hairdresser (Cécile de France) takes him in, but his destructive behaviour threatens to destroy this new stability. Co-winner (with Once upon a Time in Anatolia) of the Grand Prix at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, this poignant drama revolves on themes of love, family and belonging, with echoes of Italian neorealist films and an obvious nod to Bicycle Thieves.

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Tour de france 1972.

2012 Directed by Gérard Courant

1300 meters from the arrival of the 13th stage Carpentras-Orcières Merlette (192 kms), then, in the Col de Sauze, the 14th stage Orcières-Merlette-Briançon (201 kms) of the Tour de France 1972. Filmmaker Gérard Courant photographed Eddy Merckx (yellow jersey), Cyrille Guimard (green jersey), Luis Ocana (white box combination), Lucien Aimar, Lucien Van Impe, Joachim Agostinho (Portugal champion), Felice Gimondi (Italian champion), Raymond Poulidor, Karl-Heinz Kunde, Leif Mortensen, Bernard Thévenet. The stage of Orcières-Merlette was won by Van Impe ahead of Agostinho and Merckx and that of Briançon by Merckx in front of Gimondi and Guimard. This clip is an excerpt from the first episode of Gérard Courant's "Carnets filmés" entitled "Aurore collective".

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Cinematography cinematography, releases by date, 20 jul 2012, releases by country.

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"The Last Rider” movie review: a timeless tale of perseverance, love and America's true Tour de France hero

Now showing in theaters nationwide, the new Greg LeMond feature film is so much more than another Tour de France documentary

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Greg leMond in the 1989 Tour de France

If the Netflix series "Unchained" doesn't rapt American audiences, perhaps the new Greg LeMond feature film will connect them to cycling in a new way. 

Premiering today in theaters across the country, " The Last Rider " is a feature-length documentary that chronicles Greg LeMond's rock bottom year and his legendary comeback at the nail-biting 1989 Tour de France .

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Alex Holmes, the race almost serves as a backdrop. Instead, viewers are offered an intimate portrait of one of America's greatest athletes of all time as he maneuvres betrayal, childhood sexual abuse, getting shot, and coming back from the brink of death to face his rivals and win the Tour de France by just eight seconds — the closest winning margin in the race's history till this day.

The film features never-before-seen footage from the 1989 race as well exclusive interviews with LeMond himself, his former coach Cyrille Guimard and his wife Kathy, whom LeMond credits for his success.

The film has been a long time in the making. Holmes first met LeMond when making his 2014 film, Stop at Nothing, about the now-disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong . That film was "a very dark story about a man who set out to destroy anyone who questioned his reputation," Holmes said, and upon finishing that project, he felt inclined to make a film that shines a more positive light on the sport.  

"Good stories; they're timeless in a way," LeMond told  Cycling Weekly , "And it's funny; it's only years later that people can appreciate something. Had I had a Netflix [show] to help others understand what was happening at that time, that would have been…well, I'd love to have had a little more forgiveness at the time and understanding what I went through."

Intrigued? See a list of theaters currently showing the film here.  

L'Americain

It's been more than 40 years since LeMond burst onto the international cycling scene, so you'd be forgiven if you're not too familiar with LeMond's story. Allow me to give you the Cliffs Notes on America's greatest cyclist .

Born in California in 1961, LeMond started cycling in his early teens and proved to be a natural. He reportedly won the first 11 races he entered, and that success followed him on the world's stage as he earned several junior national and world titles.

He was scouted by famed team director Cyrille Guimard in 1980, and LeMond made his professional debut with the Renault team in 1981 alongside cycling great Bernard Hinault . LeMond would become the first American to infiltrate the Euro-centric cycling world, and his nickname became, simply, "L'Americain" — the American. 

When he won the UCI Road World Championship in 1983, he was the first American male cyclist to do so. Similarly, with his first Tour de France victory in 1986, he became the first non-European professional cyclist to win the men's Tour.

"When I started cycling, Americans could never compete against the Europeans," LeMond says in the film. "For me, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, that was my dream. Being the first American ever to put on the yellow jersey...That was the most magical thing I've ever experienced."

LeMond would go on to win the Tour de France two more times and earn a second world title as well. With his successes, LeMond played a key role in popularizing cycling in the United States —even appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated!— and inspired an entire generation of American cyclists to start pedaling.

Off the bike, LeMond is known for surviving a near-fatal hunting accident in which he got shot with a pellet gun and nearly lost his career. A champion of equipment innovation,  LeMond championed several technological advancements in pro cycling, including the introduction of aerobars and carbon fiber frames — which he later produced under the eponymous bike brand .

Hitting rock bottom and cycling back out

Greg LeMond on his way to an 8-second victory margin in the 1989 Tour de France

The film does a good job introducing LeMond to the viewers, starting with his entry into the sport and leading up to the year that changed everything. 

It was 1986, and LeMond had done it. He stood on the Champs Elysees podium wearing the iconic Tour de France yellow jersey, a lifelong dream fulfilled, yet the first-ever American victor was far from happy. The win had been a bitter one. Betrayed by his friend and mentor, Bernard Hinault, he'd had to fight tooth and nail for every single second. The peloton had turned against him, the outsider, and he'd had to go it alone. 

The betrayal triggered a deep-seated trauma for LeMond: that of childhood sexual abuse and one that he'd been suppressing, perhaps outrunning, by cycling. His moment of victory spiraled into a depression.

"Nobody had any clue what I was going through physically and psychologically," LeMond says. "Trauma changes a person."

And things were about to get even worse. 

Just months after his historic Tour win, LeMond was accidentally shot by his brother-in-law in a hunting accident; dozens of lead pellets burying deep into LeMond's every major organ. He came within 20 minutes of bleeding to death but survived, yet the recovery years would be his toughest battle yet. 

And this is what the heart of "The Last Rider" is about: the journey of persistence, of hope and overcoming, of reclaiming a lifelong dream, and of one of the greatest comeback stories in sports. 

While this comeback happens at one of the most nail-biting editions of the Tour de France's 109-year history —and the film does do an excellent job building the tension— "The Last Rider" is much more than a documentary of that legendary race. 

"The Last Rider" is a showcasing of one man's personal journey with his mental and physical health, a true love story between him and his childhood sweetheart turned wife Kathy, and our beloved sport at its absolute best.

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Cycling Weekly 's North American Editor, Anne-Marije Rook is old school. She holds a degree in journalism and started out as a newspaper reporter — in print! She can even be seen bringing a pen and notepad to the press conference.

Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up a bike commuter and didn't find bike racing until her early twenties when living in Seattle, Washington. Strengthened by the many miles spent darting around Seattle's hilly streets on a steel single speed, Rook's progression in the sport was a quick one. As she competed at the elite level, her journalism career followed, and soon she became a full-time cycling journalist. She's now been a cycling journalist for 11 years. 

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The tour de France scales mont verdoux 13 July 1972

  • Frozen in time

W hen Eddy Merckx won the stage to Ventoux in 1970, he reached the summit and gasped, "No, it's impossible!" Soon after, he collapsed and had to be given oxygen. The Tour and the great Belgian returned to the "Bald Mountain" two years later - it was a brutally hot day, similar to the one in 1967 when Tom Simpson collapsed and died on the upper slopes, and he was protecting his lead in the race from his great rival Luis Ocaña and French veteran Raymond Poulidor. The 2009 Tour retraces their tyre tracks on 25 July.

1. Luis Ocaña

A strong time-triallist and formidable climber, Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía was never the most blessed of riders. At the 1971 Tour, he built up a lead of seven minutes over the supposedly unbeatable Eddy Merckx before the pair went head to head on Col de Menté in the Pyrenees. The weather was, as a French journalist wrote, "cataclysmic", and on the descent Merckx plunged suicidally down and crashed into a low wall; the Belgian was back on his bike quickly but Ocaña collided into two spectators who had been on the road helping Merckx. He was then hit by three riders, as he struggled to release his cleats from the toe clips, and forced to retire from the race. The following year, when this photo was taken, he attacked Merckx relentlessly without success, before falling badly and pulling out due to bronchitis. He won the Tour in 1973 (when Merckx was absent) and in 1977 retired to run his vineyard. His health problems continued, however, and with his wine business in difficulties, he killed himself in 1994, aged 48.

2. Eddy Merckx

Edouard Merckx did not need encouragement to crush his rivals - his nickname was "The Cannibal" after all - but, following his controversial victory the year before, he took particular pleasure in beating Ocaña in 1972. "Ocaña talks too much," he said before the race. "I've won the Tour three times; in three rides, he's dropped out twice. He should keep his voice down." Merckx won that edition by more than 10 minutes to claim his fourth Tour (and he would win a record-equalling fifth in 1974). This feat is even more impressive because, following a serious crash in 1969, he experienced continual and chronic back pain when he was riding: "Some days I would weep on my bike," he admitted later. Merckx retired in 1978 and opened a bike factory in his hometown of Meise, which is still successful today. Now aged 64, he is also a regular pundit on Belgian TV. There were no hard feelings with Ocaña, and it is said that Merckx asked a Belgian distributor to place a large order with the Spaniard's vineyard.

3. Raymond Poulidor

Decades before Tim Henman, there was Raymond Poulidor. Born in 1936 in central France, "Poupou" (a playful term, like "poppet") competed in 14 Tours until 1976, finishing second three times and third on five occasions (hence his alternate nickname: l'eternal second). He had the misfortune of overlapping with two cycling greats - Jacques Anquetil (who admitted he would prefer to lose than Poulidor win) and Merckx, both of whom won five Tours - and never wore the yellow jersey for a single day. Not that this bothers Poulidor, who became hugely popular (L'Equipe called it "Poupoularite"). It was said that Anquetil represented the modernising side of the country, while he stood for rural, provincial values. He also inspired the Poulidor Complex, a term coined by Le Figaro to describe the French view of their country as hard working, but always second. "My name has passed into everyday language," he said. "It's my greatest victory." Poulidor lives near Limoges and drives an advertising vehicle on the Tour.

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Enter the Slipstream Tackles the Tour de France

tour de france 1972 film

Avid cyclists and casual fans of the sport like myself look forward to the Tour de France every year. Few events can match it for its grueling hills, complex tactics, extraordinary scenery, rabid fandom,  and epic feats of glory—or, at times, harsh, crashing agony. This year marking its 120th anniversary, it’s without doubt one of the world’s most fêted events, the most prestigious in its sport and recognized as the world’s biggest annual sporting event. What’s it take to win—or even compete? Up close and personal, the new documentary Enter the Slipstream , available now on streaming, embeds a filmmaker within the Education First (EF) Cycling Team as they navigate a turbulent, COVID-impacted 2020 season, getting a first-hand look at the guts, grime, brains, and blood of the Tour de France.

The 23-day, 21-stage race, contested by 22 teams from across the world, each with up to nine riders, takes its 200-some riders over 2,000 miles across France (and sometimes beyond: this year’s Tour, for instance, kicks off in Bilbao July 1) at average speeds of 25 mph and up to 70 mph. The teams are usually comprised of a lead rider and the domestiques who work to support him, in addition to an owner-manager and the support staff of mechanics and physios.

Education First, recognizable for their bright pink kits and Cannondale bikes, is now the oldest professional cycling team in the U.S., first as a junior development squad and then, in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal, as a professional team dedicated to repudiating the sport’s doping culture. Over the course of the last decade, Jonathan “JV” Vaughters, a former pro and teammate of  Armstrong’s, has built a squad committed to competing at the highest level and drug free.

The year 2020 began with great promise for the team as they swept the top three spots at the season’s major race, Tour Colombia, and it was with great optimism that EF descended on France, with their top rider, Rigoberto “Rigo” Urán, the Colombian superstar, returning to form after a catastrophic injury.

A group of Team EF riders practice on stationary bikes.

In addition to their star rider, EF’s supporting cast is strong with Rigo’s two acolyte-countrymen, Dani Martinez and Sergio Higuita, fellow riders who would both would sacrifice themselves to place Rigo on the podium. Two U.S. riders play key roles: the cagey veteran TeJay van Garderen, a nine-year Tour de France vet with two young daughters across the Atlantic, and the up-and-coming superstar Neilson Powless, the first Native American to compete in the Tour, just signed to EF after a strong rookie season for Jumbo-Visma.

Enter the Slipstream accompanies Vaughters and the EF team from Colombia to Spain and then France, where the Tour takes them from the Cote-d’Azur through 3,000 kilometers of French countryside all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. While the riders, collectively and individually, face their own victories and heartbreaks, from on-course failures to strong finishes, from crises of confidence to heinous acts of unsportsmanlike conduct, Vaughters has another pressing matter: the team’s finances, in danger of collapsing at the most complicated of moments. The mission he’s worked ceaselessly to support for more than a decade now seems so precarious it’s impacting his health.

An aerial view of Tour de France competitors racing across the countryside.

And then, of course, there is COVID, shutting down the streets of Paris and every major city in the spring of 2020, threatening even to cancel the race the cyclists have trained for. Fortunately, with some considerable trepidation and precaution, the race goes on, the riders facing down their fears and Vaughters keeping a brave face in front of financial distress.

For as complex an undertaking as the Tour itself may be, imagine for a second the work needed to capture it. Skilled camera operators need to know every nook and cranny of the race’s 2000-mile route and have the gear and access to capture every single moment: one never knows when or where, exactly, the precise moment the race is won or lost might occur. Then there are the restrictions of COVID: in the case of Enter the Slipstream , the documentary team was told point-blank they would not have access to the event, even after six months of intensive planning.

Given that directive, it’s a wonder the documentary exists at all.

Director Ted Youngs refused to yield the project either to COVID or the Tour’s organizers, embedding a camera operator inside the team as they traveled, using a second team to document the race and its fanfare from the ground more broadly. Embedded with the team, cinematographer Samantha André captures the human emotion and intimate moments in the team and owner’s lives with her revealing interviews and candid conversations. The overall presentation may seem a bit, shall we say, pedestrian in its approach—not quite able to capture the intensity of the racers’ daring and a bit overdependent on talk-to, lower-thirds, static-camera interviews—but there’s no shortage of surprising revelations and keen insights.

More, though, than a simple sports documentary tracing the travails and triumphs of those who compete, Enter the Slipstream examines the fragility of such endeavors: the economics of a multinational sport vulnerable to a sudden coronavirus outbreak, the moments that ignite or conclude a long and joyous career, the unsolvable tensions between the solitude of cycling and the teamwork the Tour demands. Come July, when another 22 teams and 2,000 riders descend on Bilbao for the start of the 2023 Tour, EF will be back in the hunt, once again, for its first Tour trophy, and millions will be watching. Until then, Enter the Slipstream makes for an excellent behind-the-scenes look at all the thousands of moving parts it takes for a team to tackle sport’s most enduring, grueling competition.

The Tour de France cycling documentary Enter The Slipstream, directed by Ted Youngs and produced by Versus, is available from Monument Releasing on all major digital platforms including  Apple, Amazon, inDemand and Vimeo. Run Time: 88 min.

tour de france 1972 film

Written by J Paul Johnson

J Paul Johnson is Publisher of Film Obsessive. A professor emeritus of film studies and an avid cinephile, collector, and curator, his interests range from classical Hollywood melodrama and genre films to world and independent cinemas and documentary.

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  • Date: 23 July 1972
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  1. 1972 Tour de France

    The 1972 Tour de France was the 59th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours.It took place from 1 to 22 July, with 20 stages covering a distance of 3,846 km (2,390 mi). After riding strongly in the first two weeks of the race and being the closest GC contender to Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña crashed, in the Pyrenees, leaving Merckx to battle Cyrille Guimard for the win.

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