When cyclists went for the bar break

Athletes of the modern day are finely tuned instruments designed to achieve maximum superhuman outputs. Forget the celebrated “flawed” sportsman or woman of the past who would turn up to their allotted event having been on a bender the days before and then completely crush the competition, sports science has come too far to allow for such behaviour. Behind these modern-day human-machines are now teams of scientists, nutritionists and masseuses catering to their every need, analysing all their metrics, their diets, their sleep patterns and any other human function that can be analysed through data or under the microscope. In theory, the modern-day athlete lives on strictly personalised plans they adhere to which is designed to get the best out of their abilities, and some more, reducing injuries and anticipating and preventing future ones. Gaining any advantage no matter how small is always something that has mattered in cycling, be it drilling tiny holes into bike frames or shoes to reduce weight or even making anything more aerodynamic… including socks. None more so has sports and science become such an art than in cycling, the term “marginal gains” began to excite football circles in the last few months following Dave Brailsford arriving at Manchester United, but this was something that had already been and gone in cycling, following Team Sky’s successes in the late-00s and early 2010’s. The sport is now littered with a scientific focus across the top levels.

Which is why the concept of the Café Raids during the 1950s-60s Tour de France and Giro d’Italia races is so brilliantly ludicrous when looked back on today. Yes, the top athletes of their day would raid local café’s and bars mid-race. Alcohol was something cyclists would drink during races from the inception of the sport. Safer to drink than water from roadside wells, but also supposedly very good at numbing pain and muscle discomfort, but it was also during a time where the amount of fluid cyclists could receive was controlled. According to 1962’s ‘Vive le Tour’ the “drinking raid” was “one of the most important moments of the Tour” – in short riders would fly off their bikes when approaching a bar or café, shoving anyone and anything out of their way before ransacking the bar of all it’s drinks: red wine, champagne, beer and sometimes water but only “if there’s nothing better.” They would then vanish as quickly as they entered, back pockets bulging with glinting glass bottles and silver foiled champagne bottles poking out of the top. The need was simple, all that riding in the heat means a lot of fluid and weight lost in the body that needed to be recouped “so you have to drink and drink” as the 1962 doc would tell us.

Not technically considered theft, as even though the riders made off without paying, the Tour organisers would receive a hefty bill to cover the costs at the end of the race. The proprietor of the bar would also be left with a story he'd only be happy to retell for many years to come. It’s hard to imagine that the alcohol made the riders faster or improved their performance, quite the opposite would be true. The organisers of the Tour have put an end to the Café Raids thanks to a better understanding of the importance of hydration. These days electrolyte drinks, power bars and gels have replaced the need for cyclists to binge on champagne, as well as teams of chefs and nutritionists following the riders throughout the stages of the Tour. But could there be more fitting imagery for its time than slickly uniformed Tour de France riders in the 1960s raiding bars for wine and Champagne?