You covered Greg LeMond when he was a cyclist, but you also wrote your previous book, “Cycling Atlas North America,” with him. How did that happen?
The publisher, Rizzoli, asked me to do the “Cycling Atlas North America” book. I said I know some places but I need an American expert. Greg was thrilled. So when I called the publisher back, I said, ‘I’ve found someone who knows North America. You may not know him, but he was a cyclist a long time ago.” When I said it was Greg LeMond, they just said “Wow.” So, Greg and I wrote the “Atlas North America” together, 40 years after we first met.
How has cycling changed, especially with travel, during your four decades of playing the sport?
Everything has changed in cycling – in the way people look at bikes, look at cyclists, and we’re just at the dawn of a new era of travel, of bikepacking. It is very new in France. We saw it just before covid. But with Covid, and beyond, there are many people who want to spend a few days alone on a bike, with friends, with children, for sports and for tourism – along the Loire à Vélo for example to see the castles and to discover the best along the way to taste wine. There are so many different types of rides. But right now it’s cycling time.
What do you think of e-bikes?
E-bikes are a fantastic development. I’m a big believer in e-bikes because I see them getting people riding who’ve never ridden a bike before. I think it helps people who are not in good health or too old to ride a bike. It’s a great development here in France.
How have communities and technologies like Strava changed the way people explore the world by bike?
In the early years of Strava, it was considered a way to compare yourself to others. But people have found that you can find the best route with Strava tools. It’s incredible because Strava is a technology, but now it’s also a social media. And if you ask a question to three different people on Strava, two will answer – you’re sure of it – and often all three.
How does this book help cyclists find their next epic rides?
You just need to turn the pages of the book. I try to mix mountains with coasts, plains and lots of low mountains. I was very surprised about all the mountain ranges I didn’t know yet in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Slovenia – there are many landscapes to challenge yourself if you want.
