Mysteries in the Archives

1959: The Tour de France (2x7)

Air date: Jul 16, 2011

Investigation into the evolution of audiovisual techniques for filming the Tour de France, with a focus on the 1959 edition of the race, when on July 14, for the first time, French television used a helicopter to film and broadcast live images of a mountain stage of the Tour de France. Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Jose Riviere and Charlie Gaul filmed like never before! In July 1959, the Tour de France was already half a century old. According to the organization, the cycle race attracts over ten million spectators to the sidelines of France and its neighboring countries every summer. Since 1903, the reporters and cameramen of the newsreels and those of French television have reported the Tour in a masterly manner.