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Christian Prudhomme, the emblematic director of the Tour de France, agreed to talk about this “singular” meeting with the pontiff, and about the “spiritual” detours that the Tour’s routes sometimes take.
How the meeting came about
I.MEDIA: This June 29, the Tour sets off from Italy for the first time. A few days before the start in Florence, you went to the Vatican for a meeting with Pope Francis. Why did you make the trip?
Christian Prudhomme: The audience was requested by Dario Nardella, the mayor of Florence [he completed his second term as mayor on June 24, editor’s note]. A few months ago, he asked me if I was planning to come. I replied that, naturally, I’d be honored! Then I forgot about it, and last week the city of Florence suddenly asked us who on our team wanted to come and see the Pope!
Obviously, I changed my schedule to accompany a small delegation of eight people to Rome. Besides Dario Nardella, there were people from the cities of Florence and Turin [cities through which the Tour de France will pass this year, editor’s note], as well as representatives from the Emilia-Romagna region, including Davide Cassani, who was once a formidable racer and was the real kingpin of this Grand Départ.
A solemn moment
Was this the first time you’d met a pope?
Prudhomme: Yes, and it was the same for the whole delegation, except for Dario Nardella. I had a bit of a scare, because I’d naturally come to Rome with a gift: a yellow jersey, one of the few remaining ones signed by Jonas Vingegaard [the last Tour de France winner, editor’s note]. But as I arrived a little early to meet the others at the Vatican gates, I saw them take out of their bag a large yellow jersey worn by Gino Bartali in 1948. And that’s when I realized that I’d left my yellow jersey in my hotel room. Fortunately, I was able to catch a cab in a hurry and retrieve the jersey in time to present it to the Holy Father.
It was a singular visit, without a doubt. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to go back to the Vatican to see the Pope. It was a very solemn moment. We entered on foot, walked through rooms each more beautiful than the last, through very long and impressive corridors, to wait in a first room, then in a second, and finally in a last one where the Pope then arrived, with that smile full of kindness that we know him for. I’d already seen that smile in the media, but seeing it in person really struck me.
The importance of sports and the Tour de France
What did you and the Pope talk about at the meeting?
Prudhomme: We had an informal chat. The Pope said that a generation that doesn’t play sports is a lost generation. People know he likes to talk about sports, although he seems more interested in soccer! He’s undoubtedly well aware of what the Tour de France is, and of its importance as the world’s greatest race.
How did you present the Tour to Pope Francis?
Prudhomme: What I told him was that, in addition to being the biggest cycling competition in the world, or an event that showcases heritage, landscapes, and different climates, it’s above all 3,598 kilometers [2,235 miles] of smiles along the roads of the Tour. It’s something you don’t see so much on television, which magnifies the landscapes but less so the social dimension. People from all walks of life — French, foreign, young, old — all smiling, it’s fascinating. That’s usually what makes the biggest impression on the two guests I take with me in the car on each stage. I explained this to him in French, as I don’t speak Italian.
What was it like after the meeting?
Prudhomme: I really got a lot of messages after that visit. Of course, I sent the photo of the meeting to my family and some friends, including some elected officials. I received a message from Mgr Xavier d’Arodes, national chaplain of Lourdes Cancer Espérance, whom I had met in Lourdes when we did a stage of the Tour in 2022. Another priest I know said to me, “You’ve seen my boss today!”
The Vatican and sports
Cycling has a special place in the Vatican, as it is the first international sports federation that the pontifical state joined, in 2021…
Prudhomme: Yes, I’d talked about it with David Lappartient, whom I’ve known for a long time and who is now president of the International Cycling Union. In fact, he was the first to send me a message with photos of me and the Pope. Clearly, he has networks in the Vatican! I also sent the photo of the yellow jersey given to the Pope by Italian cyclist Alberto Bettiol, who became Italian champion the next day. He told me he now needed a yellow jersey to get to the Vatican! Finally, I sent a photo of myself giving the jersey to the Pope to Colombian Egan Bernal, who was very seriously injured and will be in the Tour this year. He’s very religious, and replied, “What a wonderful gift!
The Vatican has already hosted the start of the Giro. Can we imagine one day a Tour de France starting from the Vatican?
Prudhomme: [He laughs.] I haven’t the slightest idea! But we’ve started twice from the shrine of Lourdes! During the last passage in 2022, the only request we received from the shrine was that we place the sick in front. And that was a no-brainer for me, with my father… [He pauses, visibly moved, as his father was ill, editor’s note]. It’s frightening, but every time I talk about it… My sister, who unfortunately is no longer here either, used to carry the stretchers at Lourdes. [Another interruption.] All this is to tell you that our answer was an immediate yes; obviously, we put the sick in the front.
Sports and faith
As well as being a unique sporting event, the Tour is also a time to contemplate the land and, in particular, the rich religious heritage of the regions it crosses. In Italy, the climb leading up to the San Luca shrine will be the setting for a beautiful finish on the second stage. Is it important for you to bring these places of faith, often well located along the Tour de France routes, to life in a different way?
Prudhomme: Above all, it’s about not forgetting our roots. Looking to the future means knowing where we come from. We live in a society that no longer has any memory, even of what happened three years ago. People with no memory really scare me. This “France of steeples” is not about living the past, quite the opposite. It’s about not forgetting what was done before, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
And today we celebrate...