The Tour de France seen from the publicity caravan: all butts out

Harnessed to the roof of a float in the publicity caravan, we had visual proof: everyone has their own way of handling happiness. Along the roadside, Tour fans exult, dance, and throw themselves under the goodies, while others... show their asses. On the day of Valentin Paret-Peintre's victory on the legendary Mont Ventoux, Libé took a seat aboard the 10-kilometer-long publicity procession, for a six-hour epic between morning drinks, roadside family meals, and impromptu swimming pools in the back of pickup trucks. Among the 37 brands represented, it was Krys, the sponsor of the white jersey (best rider aged 25 or younger), who carried us for 171 kilometers and endured our timid arm-raising in front of a crowd gone wild and our approximate dancing.

For the 600 caravaneers (recognizable by their unparalleled courage to dance kuduro at 8 a.m. every day for four weeks), the grueling day begins well before the starting line. In the amusement park-like parking lot located in the heart of Montpellier (Hérault), 170 vehicles, refurbished as leeks, melons, cereal boxes, or even dance floors, like ours, teem. While waiting for the big start, the Basic-Fit team decided to play a mölkky with the firefighters. While Krys's team launched the traditional start-of-the-day choreography.

At the first touch of the accelerator, we obviously fly. The victim of this ridiculous lack