1923: The Mystery of Lot 212 and a Tour de France Obsession

This is the story of one man falling head‑first into a full‑blown cycling obsession. When Tour de France commentator Ned Boulting bought an old reel of Pathé news film from a London auction, he had no idea what he was getting into. All he knew was that it showed something from the Tour… sometime… long ago.

Once restored, the mystery deepened. The film turned out to be just 2.5 minutes of grainy footage from Stage 4 of the 1923 Tour de France—half a dozen short clips, including a lone rider crossing a bridge. Most people would shrug and move on. Ned did the opposite.

He became obsessed. Frame by frame, face by face, building by building, he dug into every detail until he squeezed every drop of meaning from the tiny strip of film. That curiosity sent him spiralling into a journey that’s part travelogue, part history hunt, part detective story.

Along the way, he uncovers the world of cycling and the state of France just five years after WWI—an era of rebuilding, grit and extraordinary endurance. What starts as a simple auction‑house purchase becomes a deep dive into the past, the Tour, and the stories hidden in a few seconds of silent film.

If you love cycling history, mysteries, or just a brilliantly told obsession, this is a ride worth taking.