Daniel Mangeas, (born 10 April 1949) is a former baker who was the commentator of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

and other important cycle races in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

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between 1974 and 2014. During his career he commentated on 200 events a year, and tried to never speak for the rest of the day after races, to preserve his voice.

Origins

Mangeas is from

Saint-Martin-de-Landelles Saint-Martin-de-Landelles () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët.Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, he was born in

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

(Manche). He comes from a cycling family. He saw the Tour de France for the first time at the age of four. He also watched his cousin ride. He worked as a baker for 10 years in

Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Saint-Martin-de-Landelles and Virey were merged into Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët. It is approxi ...

before being discovered by Albert Bouvet, the deputy director of the Tour de France. Mangeas recounted in an interview with Vélo 101 that he had commentated on table-football games among friends when he was a child, and commented on his first bike race when he was 15 years old.

Tour de France

He continued commentating after finishing his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

at 21, was heard by Albert Bouvet and recruited for the

1974 Tour de France The 1974 Tour de France was the 61st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between 27 June and 21 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . Eddy Merckx was attempting to win his fifth Tour de France in as ...

as deputy speaker. He rode ahead of the race in an air-conditioned

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

("which were pretty rare at the time") to stand in for the main speaker, Pierre Shori. Shori's car broke down on the

Saint-Lary-Soulan Saint-Lary-Soulan (; , ) is a commune of Southwestern France, located in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, Occitania. Geography Saint-Lary is located in Hautes-Pyrénées 80 km south of the ''départements capital Tarbes, next to the L ...

stage and Mangeas had to take over at the finish. Until then he had spoken only at the starts and at

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

s. He said: He became the main speaker two years later, presenting riders at the start of each day's race for two hours, then driving the length of the race and commentating the last at the finish. Mangeas' commentating has been praised for its energy and his knowledge of details about each rider. On the other hand, he is criticised for presenting an over-optimistic view of the sport of cycling.Libération, France; July 1999. Retrieved on 8 November 2008.
"He evokes a dream world of cycling without cheats, where all the riders are good boys. And where all the team doctors are like family doctors in the countryside, in corduroy trousers, with a pipe in their mouth. You can't count on Mangeas to empty the gutters of cycling... The smoke of doping doesn't inconvenience him. For the 28 years that he has held the job, he has seen riders climbing on to his podium. Little guys, big guys, even guys stuffed with corticoids."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangeas, Daniel 1949 births Living people Tour de France journalists French sports broadcasters Cycling announcers French male non-fiction writers