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Road Paint
The Grand Tours of cycling conjure up many things. Like sunshine, air-horns, motorcades, screaming fans, inflatable giraffes and glorious mountain passes. Each summer, the roads along which these races travel become decorated with a spectrum of names, messages, slogans and images as a declaration of support, disdain and love.
To have your 12 by 12 foot daubing of "ALLEZ ANDY" or “FORZA PELIZOTTI!” (the Italians, of course, giving us the term ‘graffiti’) on the tarmac of Ventoux captured on camera by a Eurosport helicopter is an accolade any cycling fanatic or pirate artist could wish for. Even a small message of “HAVE IT NEVILLE” to your brother-in-law on the 12th hairpin of Alpe d’Huez is a valuable token of faith and a small reminder that everyone can ride and conquer in the greatest arenas of the sport.
These colourful letters and shapes we see along the mountain passes of Europe written with cans, brushes and rollers add to the personal nature of the sport (which other sporting event allows you to scream encouragement down the neck of your hero as they climb?). It is an enduring icon of road racing and an artform in itself.
Graffiti, Geoff Waugh’s entry in this year’s Rouleur Annual, pays tribute to this fanatical vandalism, with an introduction by Johnny Green.
© Geoff Waugh & Rouleur
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Kommentare
Lawrence Title
7th January 2010 03:38am
Great posting and I love Geoff Waugh’s photos of the road paint in the Rouleur 2009 Annual. I never really regarded these things as vandalism, but I guess they ARE.
Of course, coming across these road paintings on a ride always thrills me when you realize who had recently rode on the same route and pushes you to go a bit harder and not just enjoy the scenery at a 'tourist' pace. For example, early September I was riding the Costa Brava loop out and back from Girona and when I came across paintings like these, I suddenly remembered that this road was part of the 09 Tour going in the opposite direction:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4229279777_8c05353587_o.jpg
And then personally watching the Cinque Terre Time Trial at this year's Giro, I found this road painting a bit upsetting (even though I'm a Canadian -- not a Yankee -- I suddenly felt unwelcome). It was around the time I saw this on the road, that I had a tifosi throw a water bottle at me as I was taking pictures and apparently obscuring his view !!:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3552906101_33fb86a0b1_o.jpg
Joe Hall
7th January 2010 09:50am
Thanks for your comments and pictures, Lawrence. You are spot on about the kick you get from seeing the names of the pros written on the road. This is something that again road cycling offers and other sports don't: to be able to ride the same routes as the pros is fantastic.
I'm sorry you felt a bit unwelcome in Italy but you must know "Go home Yankee" could have been written by anyone and, believe it or not, quite a few people in Europe (!) dislike Mellow Johnny… and not just because he's North American. As for the water bottle incident, I would just put that down to sheer minded Italian fanatacism!
Gavin Campbell
7th January 2010 01:52pm
Great post Monsieur Hall.
"Even a small message of “HAVE IT NEVILLE” to your brother-in-law on the 12th hairpin of Alpe d’Huez is a valuable token of faith and a small reminder that everyone can ride and conquer in the greatest arenas of the sport."
Perfect.
Joe Hall
8th January 2010 04:35pm
Thanks, Gavin.
I actually think that "HAVE IT NEVILLE" was something I saw on our ride up Alpe d'Huez. The road graffiti features pretty heavily on this particular Col - perhaps the most touristic climb in Europe - the further you climb the weirder the messages seem to get!