The 3,500-kilometre, 23-day cycling competition known as the Tour de France has long been considered one of the most prestigious and gruelling athletic events in the world. But, as this excerpt from the celebrated French director Louis Malle’s documentary Vive le Tour (1962) demonstrates, even the most intense competitions have their more comical and lighthearted moments. The entertaining clip traces the clumsy yet pivotal practicalities of grabbing meals and refreshments amid the heat of competition. First, slowing as little as possible, the cyclists nab musettes, personalised bags full of food. Later, they drop into cafés on the route, demanding refreshments – the more calories the better, even if that means some wine, champagne or beer. While the musette tradition continues today, the booze raids have been replaced by sugary energy drinks.
Director: Louis Malle
videoSports and games
Young Palestinians find fleeting moments of freedom at a West Bank skate park
13 minutes
videoPersonality
A ‘little thief’ turned career criminal recounts a life on the wrong side of the law
5 minutes
videoFood and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes
videoSports and games
Havana’s streets become racetracks in this exhilarating portrait of children at play
5 minutes
videoFamily life
The stream-of-consciousness thoughts and memories that emerge while cooking a meal
5 minutes
videoArt
A puppeteer makes sense of an overwhelming world by shrinking it down to size
5 minutes
videoPleasure and pain
The volunteer musicians who perform in the aftermath of violence and tragedy
12 minutes
videoFood and drink
Local tensions simmer amid a potato salad contest at the Czech-Polish border
14 minutes
videoBiology
How the world’s richest reds are derived from an innocuous Mexican insect
5 minutes