1959 Tour de France

On July 14, 1959, a helicopter was used for the first time to provide television coverage of the Tour de France.  Wobbly live images were broadcast to nine different countries.  The Franco-German broadcaster ARTE has been digging out old television treasures and here is a preview of their program of the Tour from fifty-four years ago.  Although covered by journalists since its inception in 1903, from this date the Tour moved from being a national event to one reaching across borders and eventually around the world.

There is a DVD of the complete program available.  Narration is available in either German or French but just looking at the black-and-white images is rewarding