Near Douai, an enthusiast has been collecting thousands of objects for 15 years

Eric Caron's house, located in Esquerchin (North) overflows with jerseys, medals and magazines on the Tour de France. Meeting with an enthusiast.

From kitchen to the attic, Eric Caron's house overflows with thousands of objects related to the Tour de France, accumulated over the years. While the cycling race starts on Saturday July 5 in Lille (Nord), Franceinfo introduces you to the collection of this passionate in Esquerchin, near Douai.

“We are here in my universe: my 40 square meters set up for the collection dedicated to cycling and the Tour de France “, proudly shows Eric Caron in a room he has been maintaining for fifteen years. Here, thousands of books and objects of all colors are piled up on shelves, on the ground or in boxes. “I have some extraordinary objects like these bronze medals, which are about eight centimeters in diameter, on which we see a magnificent mountain landscape with small runners that climb the pass “, explains the collector, spanning a stack of magazines. These medals were really allocated to cyclists in the 1960s.

Part of this part is dedicated to more than 400 jerseys preciously kept by Éric, among which “Some nuggets”like the jersey of French champion 1965 of the cyclist Henri Anglade. Accustomed to presenting some of his pieces across France, he sometimes receives gifts that join his collection. “I had made an exhibition two years ago in Clermont-Ferrand and the female team Cofidis, which was hosted in the hotel where I made this exhibition, offered me this signed jersey”, he says.

“The biggest haste I have is to be able to make all of this heritage available to the general public through a space, a museum.”

Éric Caron, collector of objects related to the Tour de France

in franceinfo

While he will be retired in a few months, he even plans to do it “A traveling version so that everyone can take advantage of it”. The most important in cycling is sharing, according to Eric who brought his grand-nephew to the fan zone of Lille of the Tour de France a few days ago. “His father sent me a little message saying 'My son told me that it was one of the most beautiful days of his life'”, he says, not without emotion. The collector will start from the stages in Lille, Saturday July 5 and Douai, Sunday July 6.