Close to the Finish Line
The exhibition “Tour de France” in Spilimbergo, Italy, features legendary images by photographers of the Magnum Agency, capturing the heat of the race, quieter moments and the public's emotions.
As the Tour de France 2024 comes to an end in Nice, France, after its start in Italy, photography travels back in history throughout the 20th century. The exhibition remembers champions like Gino Bartali, Eddy Merckx, Marco Pantani, and the people who supported them in the streets as they raced through sweat and mud.
Finish line on the Champs Élysées, Paris, 1978. © Richard Kalvar/Magnum Photos
Tour de France, July, 1939. © Robert Capa/International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
Cyclists resting between laps, Tour de France 1935. © Robert Capa/ International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
A refreshment break for the cyclists and their maintenance team, Tour de France 1935. © Robert Capa/ International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
The spectacular sequence of images presents the Tour as a race against one’s own limits as much as an event that brings joy to a wide community of enthusiasts. The exhibition opens with a little-known series of photographs taken by Robert Capa in 1939, when he was commissioned by the magazine “Match” to cover that year's Tour de France.
The pumped legs of Lance Armstrong after a training ride through the Hollywood hills, California, USA, 2004. © Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos
A crowd gathers in front of Mr. Pierre Cloarec's bicycle shop. The owner of the shop is racing in the Tour de France, Pleyben, Brittany, France, July 1939. © Robert Capa/ International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos
Tour de France 1982. © Harry Gruyaert/Magnum Photos
The exhibition “Tour de France”, is on view at CRAF’s Palazzo Tadea in Spilimbergo, Italy, until September 29.
