I often get asked: what are those flags on the Tour de France?
Whenever you watch the Tour de France, you see those black and white flags.
It doesn’t matter which stage and in which country the Tour de France is starting or passing by, you see them everywhere.
These flags are the Breton’s flags which represent the Brittany region, Bretagne in French.
Land of Road Racing
Cycling is one of the main sports in Brittany and many professional cyclists come from the region.
Some of the most famous Breton cyclists; are Louison Bobet (three-times Tour de France winner), Lucien Petit-Breton (Two-times Tour de France winner), Bernard Hinault (Five-times Tour de France winner), and Ronan Pensec from the iconic team Z.
Ok, those are the famous riders of the past but participated in Breton’s culture and love for cycling. Now let’s talk about modern times Bretons.
Contemporary Bretons
Two of the UCI pro teams on the Tour de France come from Brittany, Team Arkea – Samsic, and the team B&B Hotel – KTM.
Of course, there are Breton riders among those two teams but also in other teams.
Warren Barguil (Arkea), Franck Bonnamour (B&B), David Gaudu (FDJ), Olivier Le Gac (FDJ), and Valentin Madouas (FDJ) are the Breton on the Tour de France 2022.
Breton people being proud of their region and their culture, raise their regional flag wherever they are to support local teams or riders. It is like a kind of unwritten act of brotherhood.
As a result of this combination, the Breton’s flag is more apparent with road cycling events than the French flag itself.
When you watch the Tour de France, trying to spot the Breton’s flag is like playing “searching Wally”.
Maybe you are interested to get yourself a Breton’s flag like a true cycling fan, Amazon has plenty of different models linked here.
