Le Fric: Family, Power and Money: The Business of the Tour de France

by Alex Duff

The fascinating and unknown story of the Tour de France's ever-changing relationship with money and power - and the enigmatic family behind it all.

It started with a cash drop by an English spy in occupied Paris in 1944. Reserved for Resistance groups during the war, the money reached Émilien Amaury, an advertising executive, who was tasked to help France return to a free press once liberated. He soon launched a newspaper empire that - unbeknown to him - would own the rights to run what would become one of the greatest sporting events in history.

Le Tour, once a struggling commercial phenomenon, began to rise in popularity across much of western Europe in the glum years after the Second World War, lifting the mood of the hungry and despondent French. But with the increased interest in the event, exacerbated by the creation of television and the internet, came several cultural threats to national heritage. Multiple attempts to wrest power and profits from the latest generation of the Amaury family - who still own the race and take tens of millions of euros home in dividends - have followed, but not without a fight.

Fast-paced and fastidiously researched, Le Fric illustrates how moments off the bike at the Tour de France are every bit as gripping as the battle for the yellow jersey.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cycling, Sports, History

336 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Mark White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great information in this one and it's an interesting story but oh, so frustrating to read! The narrative is all over the place with loads of pointless digressions. I found it particularly frustrating when you got a page of some character's background and how he spent his day, then he's got nothing to do with the story and you never hear of him again. And then in the opposite case it tells us, for example, all about a "Lithuanian cyclist" but never names him (and yes it's in the public domain so no secrets to keep). It confuses French and English terms in the most annoying manner (eg. we get "yellow jersey" but then the cyclists wear a "maillot") and muddles measurements (eg. "60mph on 25mm wide tyres"). And finally there's no real conclusion, it just sort of peters out. The book reads like a first draft and would have benefitted from more editorial attention. So unfortunately only 3 stars and that's only for the detailed research that obviously went into it. Strictly for cycling fans curious about the commercial background to Le Tour.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting topic, but I encountered several inaccuracies and overall it could have been executed quite a bit better. Still an interesting read though.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but lacks closure.

[Silviu Popescu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Prost tradusa in romana.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frustrating that nothing has changed with the distribution of profits in cycling.

[Joe Maggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great insight into the business behind cycling’s biggest event. Duff writes engagingly about the Tour’s humble beginnings as a way to sell more newspapers and it is genuinely fascinating to learn about the Tour’s history in this regard as well as how the Aumary family have come to wield so much power in the cycling ecosystem. Of particular interest to me was how the power of the ASO and cycling’s roots as a working class rural sport is what stopped road cycling being subsumed by the disruption of professional sport caused by venture capitalists as seen in, for example, F1. And long may that continue; while the ASO could be seen as tyrants, to me this proves they are more benevolent dictators.

[Nicholas Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sped through this book by Alex Duff and found it absolutely fascinating. It looks at how the Tour was
established, who “owns” it and how and where the money flows as between the owners and the
teams. It’s really interesting to understand how l’Auto / l’Equipe survived the forced post-war ownership changes of newspapers that had collaborated with occupying forces with its ownership of the Tour intact. The book explores the impact of the doping scandals on the business, the reclusive family that still owns the Tour and the exceptionally close relationship between the Tour’s organisers and leading politicians. Well worth a read!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other three star reviews have covered most of the reasons why this book falls short of being 4 or 5 stars. The author doesn’t really know his cycling stuff, nor the fact that Rugby League doesn’t have a goalkeeper, which leads me to my second point, that the author shoots off into other sports irrelevantly. A disjointed read that has just enough subsidiary snippets of cycling folklore to keep you reading.

[Catalin Gheorghe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, thoroughly researched it seems, spanning decades. Focusing on the Amaury family, it puts Le Tour in historical context. Mentions also significant cyclists that marked the eras.

The writing does not flow especially well, but it does not greatly impact the overall work. It was not expected to be a literary masterpiece.

[Rauno Villberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A convoluted tale of fascinating politics - if you're the right kind of nerd.

Thanks to the Escape Collective for promoting it, I'd been thinking about reading it for a longer time but talk of a book club type of thing finally got me to pull the trigger.

[Alex Hulst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geweldig onderwerp waar meer in had gezeten,

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Thought it might just be about the business behind the Tour but also covered a lot of racing history. Read in 2 or 3 sessions.

[Kevin Postlewaite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book on the history and economics of the tour de France

[Stephen Kirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to disagree with other reviews. It’s a really fascinating book on the economics and financial history of Le Tour but it suffers from a lack of cohesion at times in its narrative.

[Asanga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights into the history of the business of the Tour de France and the family ownership behind it all. Second half is hobbled by excessive narrative.

[Eirik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining read about the hidden business and power struggles behind the Tour.

[Jelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Roberta Westwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good

Yes, there was insight into the family that owns the Tour de France, but I can’t say there were all that many revelations in the book. I’d say half of the book is TDF history, which if you’ve read other books on the subject was a bit of a rehash, but fine if the subject is new to you.

I listened to the Audible audiobook.

[carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

french people…