Talking the Tour with Graham Watson

The Old Always Contrasts the New at the Tour de France

By now you must have figured out that I have a thing for France.  But it has come as a surprise to many (mostly my French friends!) that I’m crazy about the Tour de France.  How can I not be?  What a wonderful display of French countryside and good looking men!  Of course I also like the international flair of this epic bike race and cycling itself.  (Once I figured out that it’s both a team and an individual sport, I became fascinated with how well the cyclists work together.  Or not.)

Graham and His Basque Driver of Twenty Years

So you can imagine when I was pitched the idea of interviewing Tour veteran Graham Watson on Travel Fun, I jumped at the chance.  Graham, a renowned cycling photographer, has followed the Tour for about three decades.  He’s one of those dudes perched on the back of un moto that careens in and out of the peloton.  He’s one of sixteen Tour photographers that has that privilege.  (There are 150 official Tour photographers in all.)  “Being a photographer on a motorbike at the Tour de France is the best job there is,” Graham admits without a grain of conceit in his ever-so charming British accent.

I was thrilled to be able to chat with him on the phone from London, fresh off the Tour (that ended this past Sunday).  With the exception of any mention of good looking guys, I learned Graham was attracted to the Tour for much the same reasons as those that have made me such a devotee.  “It was the color, excitement, drama and the possibility of discovering France that drew me to the Tour,” Graham admitted.  In 1977, during his first trip to the Gallic land and his first Tour de France, he realized “France wasn’t so bad.”  Indeed the Tour has been a wonderful means for experiencing France for Graham and today he readily acknowledges that he’s a Francophile.  (So much for the Franco-British and British-Franco rivalry!)

A section of La Corniche, between the Col d'Aubisque and the Col du Soulor, in the 1995 Tour de France

Graham shares his passion for France and the Tour de France not only through his photography but also through a newly-released book, “Graham Watson’s Tour de France Travel Guide,” a must-have for Tour enthusiasts whether you’re planning a trip to France or not.  It’s an insider’s guide to the Tour, beautifully presented with lots of How to information, four-color maps, photos by Graham and others, history and anecdotes and more.  

This book provides you with all that you need to happily navigate this exciting sporting event.  It even tells you how to meet the pros, something that I was fortunate enough to do—totally by accident—a number of years ago.  I ended up staying in the same hotel as the U.S. Postal Team one night and actually met Lance on the eve of his legendary Alpe d’Huez win in 2001.  That’s the kind of amazing encounter you can have at the Tour.  “Cycling is a very modest sport,” Graham says.  “The riders do meet and greet the public.  They’re not super stars that hide beyond a stadium.”

Graham has seen the Tour de France evolve from a parochial French event in the late seventies to the big international event that it is today.  His career got off the ground along with the success of cycling greats Greg Lemond, Sean Kelly and Phil Anderson.  Lance Armstrong has certainly given us all the ride of our lives at the Tour.  Isn’t it wonderful though to be debriefed by someone that his been so entrenched in the peloton for so many years?  Thanks Graham for marrying your two passions:  cycling and photography.  And I might add, for choosing to do it in France.

Always an Exciting Finish on the Champs-Elysées

Tips for Attending the Tour de France from Graham Watson

-Target three to four consecutive days (stages) in the Alps or the Pyrenees and then spend about the same amount of time discovering some place else in France.

-Begin planning your trip once the Tour route has been announced mid-October.  Graham feels that the Internet is a great resource for booking hotels.  Know that many rooms are taken first by the Tour, so you have to get on it fast.

-Your best chance for meeting a cyclist is after the finish line when they often have to pedal out of the secured area.

Consult “Graham Watson’s Tour de France Travel Guide” for many more!

For up-to-the-minute news about competitive cycling, check out VeloNews.

More Graham Glory

Thank you to Graham Watson and VeloPress for the use of the above images.