“Les Effaceurs”
A translated article about the staff who erase graffiti on the roads of the Tour de France. Translated from the original French by me, first published in Rouleur magazine and then online.
With hi-vis jackets on their shoulders, two men trace long lines on the tarmac, drawing lines and adding furtive features in a matter of seconds. Intrigued spectators come for a closer look, hands behind their backs. Just like that, a white penis has metamorphosed into a jolly butterfly. But Patrick Dancoisne and Joël Gautriand have no time to step back, appreciate their works of art or chat to the curious onlookers. They jump back into their van and shoot off in a cloud of dust.
Busy with other jobs, a young ‘man in blue’ - dressed like all the employees of Tour contractor Doublet - sounds a warning to them from behind his hood: “Boys, you’re gonna see a lot of cocks.” Indeed they are. As the van begins its descent, the penis in all its myriad forms springs up as far as the eye can see. Every hundred metres or so, sometimes flying in formation, there are male genitalia. For each one, the Eraser Men hop out in the middle of the road and grab their paint pots.
Best case scenario: genitalia are artfully transformed into butterflies or bears. If time is pressing, several random brush strokes are enough to at least render it unrecognisably penile. Meanwhile the word ‘EPO’ becomes less obvious as ‘EPQ’. Syringes - often accompanying the names of riders - are redrawn as ladders.