Literaturbericht zur neuesten Historiographie der Tour de France – und zu Raymond Poulidors Tod

Abstract

This review essay aims to present an overview of recent publications on the Tour de France. The death of Raymond Poulidor in November 2019 underlined the impact of the race on French culture and society. The numerous reactions to his death allow us first of all to return to the dominant historiography of the Tour de France interpreting it in the tradition launched by Georges Vigarello. Recent historiography, however, allows us to move away from this classical interpretation by proposing studies focusing on the economic and political aspects of the Tour. The development of the Tour has been determined in the past decades mainly by three phenomena: globalization, professionalization and monetisation by the worldwide media coverage. Following the departure of the Tour 2017 in Düsseldorf, this sporting, cultural and commercial event also seems likely to become a German research object.