La Marseillaise

La Marseillaise is a five-part series exploring the city of Marseille and its cycling culture with François Thomazeau.

Lionel Birnie and Simon Gill travel to the south of France in search of winter sunshine, pastis and bouillabaisse. And to cover the opening race of the French season, the Grand Prix La Marseillaise, of course.

François has lived in the city most of his life, moving south from Lille when his father got a job at the city’s communist newspaper, La Marseillaise, which created and still runs the bike race.

Over a long weekend, we meet Dan Martin, whose road to a professional career took an unexpected detour to Marseille when he was an amateur. We discuss the city’s complicated history with France and the Tour de France, explore the links between cycling and the Olympique de Marseille football team and then head into the hills behind the city for the first race of the 2023 French season.

Series: Friends of the Podcast 2023
Part one, Graffiti and pastis. Run time: 32mins
Part two, Pommes et bouillabaisse. Run time: 36mins
Part three, Communism and the press. Run time: 27mins
Part four, A trip to the Vélodrome. Run time: 33mins
Part five, The opener. Run time: 1hr 03mins
Producer: Will Jones