ABSTRACT
In 1960 the Tour made a detour to pass through the village of Colombey-les-deux-Eglises where General de Gaulle (then President of the new Fifth Republic) had his private home. Although the Tour that year was won by the Italian Nencini, as the riders cruised past the crowds containing the President, one national myth — de Gaulle — encountered another, the Tour de France. 1 Whether or not the Tour de France is a properly 'international' sporting event, or still remains in some ways a 'national' competition, despite the presence of riders from many countries, it often appears that in the Tour, French heroes are defined more by reference to France and other French riders than to foreigners. This chapter outlines the nature of the status of a number of French champions whose careers have been inseparable from the story of the Tour de France in the post-war era. In so doing, it approaches the 'heroic' status of riders from a number of perspectives, including the 'reality' of their sporting achievements and behaviour, the nature of their media presentations, and their cultural significance in different periods of French post-war society.
