CyclistCycling history in 6 items in the Vandystadt CollectionWith the Eiffel Tower visible through one oval window and Sacr Cur through another, Olivier Vandystadts Parisian pied--terre could be a set from Emily In Paris were it not for the cycling memorabilia hanging from the walls, covering every surface and filling each drawer. Located within a top-floor studio near the Champs-lyses, the tiny bedsit is a shrine to all things vlo.Pascal Poissons pioneeringly aerodynamic blue Gitane from his debut Tour in 1982 is mounted on the curved wall opposite a handmade brazed aluminium Andr Sablire bike from a year later. Below, a yellow Le Coq Sportif skinsuit worn by Bernard Hinault in a post-Tour criterium covers a mannequin bust alongside a Santini offering from the Badgers La Vie Claire teammate Greg LeMond and Sean Kellys white leaders skinsuit from Paris-Nice in 1987.The kitchen surface is littered with Banania tins, St Raphal ashtrays and various cycling ceramics; back editions of Miroir du Cyclisme, Lquipe and frayed Tour programmes are stacked high; Kraftwerk and Yvette Horner LPs take pride of place among other statues, toys, trinkets, trophies and bidons dating back to the 1930s, and an entire peloton of miniature figurines rides across the top of a fridge towards a framed Luis Ocaa yellow jersey, pursued by tiny support cars and a caravane of publicity vehicles.I like to sit here at my desk surrounded by all these mythical items, souvenirs, memories and legendary figures. I feel like theyre with me, that their souls are here too, says Vandystadt, looking over his shoulder at a framed photo of Fausto Coppi handing Gino Bartali a water bottle. Theres inspiration all around me. Sometimes I sleep here but theres not much space. I prefer to use it as a showroom.Incredibly, this collection only started in 2019 when Vandystadt spent 700 on Giuseppe Saronnis Italian national jersey from 1981.Of all my jerseys, this is maybe the most beautiful. And its still one of my most in-demand. A collector offered me 2,000 the other day. Related Posts Made in Japan: Inside the world's most particular cycling culture Tour of Flanders history in 6 items at the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen A history of cycling in 6 objects at the Koers Museum, Flanders Six years on, the 53-year-old estimates he now owns around 1,000 items. Loose familial ties with the celebrated photojournalist Grard Vandystadt who followed many Tours in the 1980s and 90s and an early childhood living in Roubaix provide the fitting backdrop to a life dedicated to cycling, but Vandystadt really caught the bug through an encounter with a certain Irish all-rounder at the 1982 Tour de France in Pau, where he had moved to live with his grandparents.Sean Kelly was my first idol there was no one else before and no one since. I just instantly fell in love with his style as a kid, he recalls. There was no protocol or press cordon back then. I was only 11 but I remember Sean taking the time to talk to me and pose for photos.When hes not hunting for new items, Vandystadt runs a luxury concierge business in Paris one successful enough to keep him in funds to pursue his collection: Every week I buy at least one item.He proudly runs through the colourful array of garments hanging from a rack behind his sofa. They include a Tom Simpson Peugeot jersey, Marc Madiots Renault-Elf jersey from 1983, King Kellys Amarillo jersey from the 1988 Vuelta a Espaa and Francesco Mosers World Champions jersey from 1978.I dont want hundreds of jerseys for the sake of it. Im focussed on legends from the golden age only the crme de la crme, he says. And this jersey belonging to Gary Wiggins.Oliver KnightPreserving cycling historyOn the day Cyclist visits, theres a sports memorabilia auction at Bonhams on the nearby Avenue Hoche. Vandystadt has his eye on a lot of Jacques Anquetil jerseys from each of the Frenchmans teams.Five Anquetil jerseys would be the holy grail you have all his teams but I have to be reasonable. Its a question of priorities, he says, revealing that the top-end estimate is 30,000. I would love an Anquetil jersey, and when the times right I will get one.He also admits to having doubts surrounding the lots authenticity: Five together in such good condition is perhaps too good to be true. Im a stickler for provenance and I have a network of trusted sources.These include one of Merckxs old soigneurs, journalists, fellow collectors, people who were in the loop during the 1970s and 80s, and the grandson of Kellys former mechanic. I check, double check and always try to find archive pictures of a specific jersey Im going to buy. My entire collection is 100% original.In the basement of his building Vandystadt keeps several bikes, as well as wheels, bike parts, framed posters, race placards and his extensive reference library. A leather helmet belonging to Toto Grassin, the French motor-paced champion in 1924, hangs from a peg.Little by little Ive become a historian and expert. Auction houses use me to help identify items in their catalogues. My reckless love for cycling now sees me with a collection that shows no signs of slowing down. Its crazy because I ask myself, Wheres all this going?His immediate plan is to produce an inventory of his collection in the form of a coffee table book.Then I want to buy a big farm and take my collection home to Pau the second most visited place in Tour history and a symbolic city for cyclists all over the world. Opening a free museum there would be a nice wink to that heritage.I dont really own my collection. Im just a guardian for a certain duration, Vandystadt says. I wont be buried with these things. Im just looking after them; Im helping to preserve the history of cycling by transferring it to future generations. By creating a museum I will leave behind a legacy that will reach many people. And its this human touch to my collection that I cherish more than anything.For more on Olivier Vandystadts collection visit biciclissima.comOliver KnightRare Eddy Merckx Molteni TT jersey with white sleeves from 1976Picture The Cannibal in your minds eye and hes either in yellow or the golden rust of Molteni with its black chest band. In 1976 the salami manufacturer was nearing the end of its sponsorship, and the budget was so small that many of Merckxs teammates were not being paid.Because of these financial complications, Eddy agreed to wear the same time-trial jersey for the Giros 28km TT which started at the Molteni headquarters in Arcore, near Milan as well as at the Tour de Romandie, the Six Days in Milan and an event at La Cipale velodrome in Paris, Vandystadt explains.Vandystadt bought this rare silk time-trial jersey from a Belgian collector for 6,500 in 2021 and has since turned down offers of double the money.Theres no way I would sell no, no, no because the white sleeves make it so rare, as well as the rainbow collar and of course the Vittore Gianni logo, which confirms that its the real deal.Shortly after Molteni left the peloton, the salami empire collapsed amid rumours of tax evasion and a scandal involving smuggled meat used to pay the riders outstanding salaries. Despite this ham-fisted withdrawal, Molteni remains synonymous with Merckx, who described the jerseys dark, rich Havana hue as pumpkin brown.Oliver KnightTour de France steel bidon from 1934I could make a lot of money from this single water bottle, Vandystadt says. Someone has already offered me 1,000, but I dont want to sell. First and foremost Im a collector, and as far as Im aware, Im the only person in the world to have an example of this.Made of tin-welded steel and sealed with a cork, the bidon is just over 17cm high and carries an advertisement for Bourcier Frres, a French drinks company with an eye-catching Lion King-style logo that sold anything from Champagne to liqueurs and syrups. One side of the bottle is peddling a Biskra Cristal orangeade, the other a Sorrente Cristal lemonade.At the time, riders placed their bidons in double bottle cages attached to the centre of the handlebars, enhancing their publicity potential.As far as Im aware, this is the first example of advertising on a Tour de France bidon, which makes this piece even rarer, says Vandystadt. Most collectors who have approached me have 1935 and 1936 versions of this bidon, but not this one from 1934, which I bought for 400. I count it as one of my most beautiful objects perhaps even in my top five.Oliver KnightYellow 1937 Tour de France bike with Super Champion derailleurWhen an ill Maurice De Waele won the Tour de France in 1929 thanks to Alcyon, the Team Sky of their era, Henri Desgrange was so miffed that he banned trade teams completely for the next decade. To level the playing field even further, every rider would use the same model of bike with an unbranded yellow frame whose only sponsor was the race-owning newspaper LAuto.Riders were obliged to buy their bikes from the Tour organisers and then sell them back after the race. There were adverts in LAuto where the public could buy a used yellow bike from the Tour after it had been returned, Vandystadt says.By 1935 bike manufacturers had introduced a four-speed derailleur, which the riders used for most races except the Tour, where it had been banned.Desgrange was under pressure from the constructors and riders because of the effectiveness of the Super Champion derailleur, and from the public too, because people wanted the latest gadget that had revolutionised riding, Vandystadt explains.Oliver KnightAfter struggling to sell the quota of yellow bikes in 1936, Desgrange was forced to back down.Its a beautiful story, no?Vandystadt has intentionally kept his rare example of a yellow Tour bike with the derailleur in its original state, complete with original components such as the aluminium rims, brakes and leather saddle. Only the tyres are not from the same era.I know seven or eight people in the world who have similar models, and the majority have chosen to restore them, he says. They have made something old new. But the results are not pretty. I prefer to keep mine as it is because you really believe its from 1937. Its in its own juice. Its a document, a real museum piece that should not be touched.Oliver KnightTour de France board game from 1949You too can ride the Tour de France with the new sensational game that will create all the adventures of the Tour de France, as if you were there.Eat your heart out, Pro Cycling Manager. Tapping into cyclings post-war popularity, this board game operates along the lines of snakes and ladders, with 100 squares outlining the route of the 1949 Tour.The game is dedicated to Henri Desgrange, whose steely visage adorns the front of the rulebook. Sheets of card depict riders from all the national and regional squads you pop them out to use as counters that you move along the board. There are even vehicles from the caravane, as well as cut-outs for Miss Tour de France and the French comedy actor Andr Raimbourg, known as Bourvil, who was very popular at the time.I spoke to a collector who told me that in his 30 years of collecting he had only seen this game three or four times, he says. Its ultra, ultra, ultra, ultra-rare. Its a showpiece item in any cycling memorabilia collection an extraordinary find.Among other board games in Vandystadts collection is a Monopoly-style Eddy Merckx game with a board representing Belgium that comprises key locations from the Classics season.Im buying lots of these board games. I even have an empty game box that is so sought after that its worth 200 despite having nothing inside.Oliver KnightLook KG196 monocoque prototypeThe aerodynamics arms race of the 1990s was given fresh impetus by French manufacturer Look with its first monocoque carbon frame, first integrated fork and first adjustable stem. Making the other bikes in the peloton pedestrian by comparison, the groundbreaking KG196 had all these innovations as well as internal cable routing and the magical Mavic Starfish crankset, with its smooth, bolt-free, futuristic look.You wont see that anywhere else its unique, vouches Vandystadt. The derailleur too is customised by Mavic. Its ultra, ultra-rare. Its mind-blowing.Beyond the industry-leading aerodynamics, the saddle came with exaggerated lumbar support, recalling the quirky Selle Italia saddle that helped Thierry Marie to victory in the prologue of the 1986 Tour. And like that innovation, the KG196 soon attracted the ire of the UCI, for whom cycling was the sport of athletes, not machines. As a result, the bike was promptly banned.What is exceptional about this particular bike is that its a prototype that has come directly from the Mavic factory. It was just for the showroom and it has never been used, so its flawless new old stock in a completely pristine condition. And I love that its entirely made in France.Oliver KnightPolka dot jersey inspiration worn by Henri LemoineIn 1975 Tour de France director Flix Lvitan introduced two new things that have since become part of the races folklore: the final day finish on the Champs-lyses and the polka dot jersey. The inspiration for the now-famous maillot pois described as the measles jersey by its inaugural winner, Lucien Van Impe came from Lvitans memories of watching the Six Jours de Paris track racing event in the Vlodrome dHiver as a teenager. In particular, he remembered a pint-sized pistard called Henri Lemoine, who was given the nickname Petit Pois on account of the red spotty jersey he wore on the track in the 1930s to make him more visible from the stands.A big fan of horseracing, Lemoine himself found his inspiration in the silks worn by some of his favourite English jockeys. Despite Van Impes measles quip, the polka dot jersey became so popular that its chief sponsor, the chocolate manufacturer Poulain, changed its original logo of a blue circle on an orange background to a red spot on a white background.This is the oldest jersey in my collection, says Vandystadt, who also owns Bernard Vallets polka dot jersey from the 1982 Tour de France as a comparison. Its really funky. I love that you can still see the cotton stitches where Lemoines wife sewed on each of the polka dots. Its almost 100 years old but theyre all still attached.The post Cycling history in 6 items in the Vandystadt Collection appeared first on Cyclist.