Between them they easily exceed 1000 grands prix covered as journalists. Johnny Rives, Jean-Louis Moncet and Alain Pernot, key figures in the media dealing with Formula 1, have joined forces to write the most beautiful work devoted to the discipline this year. The great book of F1 is a monumental book, as much in its dimensions and its weight of several kilos as in its content, of infinite richness. 80 years of sound and fury brought together in this album of nearly 300 pages thumbed through with eyes wide open. Eight decades of exploits, joys and tears, technical developments with the eyes of these men in the field. All the legends of the circuit are discovered over the seasons as the cars evolve, always more elaborate if not more beautiful. We particularly appreciated the insights into the legendary races which forged the myth of F1. The 2023 Bible of the queen of motorsport competitions.
Antoine Grenapin, to whom we already owe remarkable works on competitive sailing and in particular Vendée Globe, the adventurers of the great South (with Dino Meo), went to collect around fifty testimonies from personalities coming from different backgrounds but who all have a special relationship with the oceans. Alongside the “professionals” of the sea (Charles Caudrelier, Michel Desjoyeaux, Maud Fontenoy, Titouan Lamazou, Isabelle Autissier and Charline Picon…), we discover the passion of the former basketball player Boris Diaw, the singer Laurent Voulzy, of the former Bleu Bixente Lizarazu, the actors Charles Berling or François Damiens, Nicolas Hulot or even the meteorologist Louis Bodin who was Florence Arthaud’s router in particular. Other speakers are less known to the general public (Sébastien Martinot, former commander of the Charles de Gaulle, the starred chef Christopher Coutanceau or Tifen Yvon, an oyster farmer). Each look has its own vision, sometimes surprising, always enriching because man’s relationship with the sea and its infinite perspectives is complex. A book of great originality.
How many medals will Les Bleus get at the home Olympics next summer? 107 as explained by the National Sports Agency in a study on the potential of the French delegation, 33 as in Tokyo during the last edition? While waiting for the hoped-for harvest from the organizing country, Stéphane Gachet has compiled all the French podiums in a remarkable historian’s work. 1266 athletes honored in this little Bible of France at the Olympic Games since 1896, first modern edition in Athens. From Alexandre Tufferi who won silver in the triple jump to Earvin Ngapeth who climbed to the highest step in Japan in volleyball, all the champions have the right to a biography and sometimes a photo in a 600-page book. We peck at the medals going from one edition to another, sometimes surprised by the disciplines highlighted, like in motorboating with Ernest Thubron’s gold medal in 1908. Quite a story! Summer Paralympic medalists have not been forgotten: since 1960, around 400 have won a medal.
The cover photo is a dream: a rugby stadium set on the edge of a coast with a cove in the background. A heavenly setting to dive into the fray. We are in New South Wales, at Haven Oval in Terrigal. After the exceptional world tour of football stadiums, Ryan Hemrann invites us on a journey across the globe to discover the most beautiful rugby stadiums. A travel passport that takes the reader to the most improbable places, such as Anchorage (United States) with a terrain planted at the foot of the mountains where any opener can imagine attempting a drop. Or in Bridgnorth, England, on the way to a regularly flooded stadium. How can you not dream of setting foot on the sacred grounds of the Rugby School overlooked by a magnificent chapel, in Rugby, where this sport was born? An intoxicating odyssey and a feast for the eyes.
The 2023 Grande Boucle was undoubtedly one of the most spectacular of the 21st century with a showdown at the top between the cold machine Jonas Vingegaard and the tireless fuse lighter Tadej Pogacar. With the traditional Official Book of the Tour de France, we relive step by step the succulent edition started in the Basque Country and completed on the Champs Élysées. A classic which also allows a dive into the Women’s Tour and the victory of Demi Vollering.
French champions like you’ve never seen them. The Sport a du coeur association has managed to bring together a host of great sports figures in a book. Everyone agreed to pose under the lens of the Harcourt studio, portraying themselves in their favorite sport or more simply with a favorite object that is dear to them. Martin Fourcade’s hat, Zinédine Zidane’s crampons, a vest that smells like Bermuda from Franck Cammas… All the treasures were offered by the champions to the association which will raise funds during a sale . The book is a delight for the eyes with original or daring photos in addition to bearing the inimitable touch of the Harcourt studio. And, last but not least, each portrait has the right to its podcast which can be listened to using a flashcode.
There will inevitably remain a taste of unfinished business for the No. 1 sporting event in France in 2023. It is indeed the tireless and rough Springboks who raise their arms on the cover of the Rugby World Cup Guestbook and not Antoine Dupont and his teammates. The wound is not closed for the Blues and for all French lovers of the Oval. Despite everything, let’s not deny our pleasure at the idea of reliving the competition almost day by day from the pen of David Reyrat, head of the rugby section at Le Figaro for more than two decades. From the opening ceremony, to the journey of the Blues and other strong nations until the cruel elimination of the XV of France by the “Boks” for a miserable point (29-28) in the quarter-final, all the highlights of the World Cup are dissected and finely analyzed, supported by magnificent illustrations.
The sporting year ends with its exploits, its failures, its joys but also its sorrows. Let’s already look forward to the one that is coming with, in our sights at the end of July, the Paris Olympic Games. Alain Lunzenficher draws portraits of 100 champions who have marked the history of sport. Some well known to the general public like Nadia Comaneci, Ian Thorpe, Marie-José Pérec, Alain Mimoun, others less so, but all leave behind them a unique story.
He is back, Rafael Nadal will return to the courts at the start of 2024 for what will probably be his last season. All the more reason to enjoy this exceptional champion again and again. Baptiste Blanchet anticipates the final bow of the king of clay at Roland-Garros by probably signing the best work dedicated to “Rafa”. The Spaniard is followed, season by season, throughout his exploits but also through some hiccups and disappointments, injuries and comebacks. The statistics compiled at the end of the book are dizzying, at the height of the immense champion that is the Spaniard.
Best French freestyler in history, Kevin Rolland put away his skis on March 4 after a final of the Halfpipe World Championships. Louis Garnier, photographer who has accompanied the champion for two decades, has written a reference work on the kid from La Plagne, victim of a terrible accident four years ago. A fall of twelve meters while he was in the middle of a world record attempt. Falling into a coma for three days, Kevin Rolland suffered a fractured pelvis, fractured ribs and very serious injuries to other organs. Despite this terrible twist of fate, the Olympic medalist (bronze in Sochi) found the strength and motivation to return to the highest level. A great lesson in resilience and at the end of this career, a story book that can be read as much as it is looked at with exceptional photos.
Emmanuel Moine and Guillaume Nédélec take us for a balloon ride with, on the program, an overview of the Formula 1 planet with eighty snapshots of this fabulous discipline. 80 selected moments that marked the history of motor racing: exploits, disappointments, rivalries but also crashes that forged driver legends. Each story is accompanied by often iconic photos engraved in the collective memory. A success.
It’s difficult to bring together a better tandem to retrace the history of MotoGP which celebrated its 1000th Grand Prix last March, in France and on the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. Michel Turco has been writing the daily newspaper L’Équipe for many years while Thomas Morsellino is quite simply the official statistician of the discipline. The book begins with an interview with one of the legends of motorcycling, Valentino Rossi. We revisit the history of the Grands Prix with meticulous attention to detail. The two authors focus on ten legendary routes including two French circuits: Le Mans and Paul Ricard, alongside legendary sites like the Isle of Man or Suzuka. Fifteen legendary motorcycles are also scrutinized. We also liked the unusual statistics and the portraits of the ten greatest champions.
Between reality and fiction. Stéphane Barbé, who has followed motorsport news for forty years at L’Équipe, has written a book on the history of the manufacturer Vaillante. Because in 1957, Jean Graton not only created the famous comic strip racing driver. With his hero, the screenwriter-designer invented a prestigious brand of the same name, Vaillante. It is the entire epic of this now mythical entity that the author invites us to relive. A brand larger than life since the company has its design office, its prototypes, a factory and even its resellers! Iconic models, testimonials from circuit legends like Jacky Ickx or Alain Prost, unpublished archive images… Vaillante is a wonderful tribute to the creative imagination of Jean Graton but also an ode to the success of the French automobile industry, even if it’s virtual!
Cast off, leave everything to go on an adventure on a trek. Sylvain Bazin takes his reader by the hand and invites him on a journey by offering more than 200 ideas for trips around the world. Finland, Austria, France of course, the United States, Chad or even Bhutan and many others: so many dream destinations for those who have decided to push the doors of travel by shaking up their habits. Each place has its text, synthetic, to present the treasures to be discovered, its figures (number of kilometers, duration of the trek, altitude difference and highest point) but also a sublime illustration. A great starting point for any self-respecting walker.
