Brest has been on the French cyclist's map for many years before this year's Tour de France. Paris-Brest-Paris or the PBP as it is known, is reckoned to be the oldest bicycling event that is still in existence.
It was originally a 1200km bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back again but since 1931 it has become two independent long distance bicycle tours. One is called randonnée (also called Brevet) and is held every four years, while the other event is known as an audax and is held every five years. Union des Audax françaises organises the audax and the Brevet is organised by the Audax Club Parisien.
There is a ninety hour time limit for the event, and the clock runs continuously. The riders are expected to be pretty self-sufficient, buying supplies on route and many riders sleep as little as possible during the event, sometimes catching only a few minutes of sleep by the side of the road before continuing.
Wabeck has produced this compilation of video and stills, that give a good impression of the atmosphere surrounding the 2007 Paris-Brest-Paris randonnée.
