Daniel Mangeas

Daniel Mangeas (born 10 April 1949) 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. During his career he commentated on 200 events a year, and tried to never speak for the rest of the day after races, to preserve his voice. Mangeas is from Saint-Martin-de-Landelles in Normandy, he was born in Mortain (Manche). He comes from a cycling family. He saw the Tour de France for the first time at the age of four. He also watched his cousin ride. He worked as a baker for 10 years in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët before being discovered by Albert Bouvet, the deputy director of the Tour de France. Mangeas recounted in an interview with Vélo 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. He 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. He rode ahead of the race in an air-conditioned Chevrolet ("which were pretty rare at the time") to stand in for the main speaker, Pierre Shori.