Meeting Jean Bobet

Archive: First released in 2018

One of the classic cycling books is Tomorrow, We Ride (Demain, On Roule), by Jean Bobet, a memoir of Jean’s own career and that of his brother, the great Louison Bobet, France’s first three-time Tour de France winner.

The Bobet brothers competed in what many believe is cycling’s golden era, the 1950s, when the sport was graced by Fausto Coppi, Hugo Koblet, Ferdi Kübler, Charly Gaul, Jacques Anquetil – and of course Louison Bobet.

Jean Bobet is one of the last surviving links with that era and earlier this year Richard Moore went to his home in Rennes to interview him. A student of English literature and Ernest Hemingway, Jean spoke in a mix of English and French, recalling great races and misadventures of the 50s, why he thinks this period was also the greatest in the history of British cycling, and insisting that there is no difference between Anquetil and Lance Armstrong.

To go with this special episode we asked cycling artist and friend of the podcast Rudi Nadler to create an image of the Bobets in their pomp. He responded by producing two stunning illustrations, one of the two brothers, Jean and Louison, the other one showing Louison Bobet in full flight.

Run time: 1hr 05mins