You covered Greg LeMond when he was a cyclist, but you furthermore may wrote your previous book, “Cycling Atlas North America,” with him. How did that occur?
The publisher, Rizzoli, asked me to do the book “Cycling Atlas North America.” I said I do know some places but I would like to have an American expert. Greg was enthusiastic. So, once I called back the publisher, I said, “I discovered someone who knows North America. Possibly you don’t know him, but he was a cyclist a protracted time ago.” After I said it was Greg LeMond, they only said “Wow.” So, Greg and I wrote the “Atlas North America” together 40 years after our first meeting.
How has cycling modified, especially with travel, during your 4 a long time covering the game?
All the pieces modified in cycling — in the way in which people take a look at bikes, take a look at cyclists, and we are only in the beginning of a recent era of travel, of bikepacking. It’s very recent in France. We saw it just a little bit bit before Covid. But with Covid, and after, there are numerous individuals who need to spend some days on vacation on their bike alone, with friends, with kids, for sport, and for tourism — along the Loire à Vélo, for instance, to see the castles and to taste the very best wine on the road. There are so many alternative sorts of rides. But immediately, it’s cycling time.
How do you are feeling about e-bikes?
E-bikes are a incredible development. I’m an incredible supporter of e-bikes because I see them bringing people to ride who never cycled. I believe it helps individuals who will not be in good health or too old to cycle. It’s an incredible development here in France.
How have communities and technologies like Strava modified the way in which people explore the world on a bicycle?
In the primary years of Strava, it was considered a approach to compare yourself with others. But people have discovered which you could find the very best route with Strava tools. It’s incredible because Strava is a technology, but it surely’s also a social media now. And, once you ask an issue of three different people on Strava, two of them will answer — you’re sure of that — and infrequently all three.
How will this book help cyclists find their next epic rides?
You simply must turn the pages of the book. I attempt to mix mountains with coasts, plains and numerous low mountains. I used to be very surprised about all of the mountain ranges I didn’t know of before in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovenia — there are numerous landscapes to challenge yourself when you want.
