1. Daniel Mangeas, was born on 10 April 1949 and is a former baker who was the commentator of the Tour de France and other important cycle races in France and Belgium between 1974 and 2014.
10 Facts About Daniel Mangeas
1. 2.
Daniel Mangeas saw the Tour de France for the first time at the age of four.
3.
Daniel Mangeas worked as a baker for 10 years in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouet before being discovered by Albert Bouvet, the deputy director of the Tour de France.
4.
Daniel Mangeas recounted in an interview with Velo 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.
5.
Daniel Mangeas continued commentating after finishing his national service at 21, was heard by Albert Bouvet and recruited for the 1974 Tour de France as deputy speaker.
6.
Daniel Mangeas rode ahead of the race in an air-conditioned Chevrolet to stand in for the main speaker, Pierre Shori.
7.
Shori's car broke down on the Saint-Lary-Soulan stage and Daniel Mangeas had to take over at the finish.
8.
Daniel Mangeas 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 50 kilometres at the finish.
9.
Daniel Mangeas is a talking cycling encyclopedia, never using notes, working entirely through improvisation.
10.
Daniel Mangeas' commentating has been praised for its energy and his knowledge of details about each rider.