The Main Logo
Arts & Culture

A Tour de France stage at Centre du Vélo 82

Sharing an espresso with a pillar of Quebec cycling culture.

Jean Bourbeau @ URBANIA

Jean Bourbeau @ URBANIA

January 14, 2025- Read time: 7 min
A Tour de France stage at Centre du Vélo 82

This story originally appeared in URBANIA, an online magazine based in Quebec focused on pop culture and society.

“I’ve got a special coffee you can’t find just anywhere,” murmurs Elio Fratangelo with a wink. With a practiced discretion, he pours some Sambuca into a steaming espresso. “This isn’t just a bike shop—it’s more of a bike bar,” he adds, opening a tin of butter cookies.

On the TV at Centre du Vélo 82, a cavernous basement in the eastern part of Rosemont, the Tour de France riders push ahead in a tight peloton, 141 kilometres left before reaching the finish line in Dijon. It’s a sprinter’s stage, promising drama only in the final kilometres. For now, we’ve got time to spare.

Member-only story

Unlock Montreal’s stories. Join The Main community.

Read this story free.

Enter your email to unlock your first article and get The Bulletin — our weekly roundup of food, art, and local culture.

  • 5 free articles per month
  • Save your favourite places & guides
  • Weekly newsletter The Bulletin
  • Stay connected to Montreal culture

Become an Insider.

Join a community that supports independent Montreal stories and celebrates the people shaping its culture.

Subscribe
  • Unlimited access to all stories
  • Exclusive features & local insights
  • Special offers and event invites
  • 10% off in our shop
  • Support local storytelling

Already a member? Sign in

The Bulletin: Dance so hard that your body heat melts the snow [Issue #111]

Previous

The Bulletin: Dance so hard that your body heat melts the snow [Issue #111]

Next

Pastoral detours: A guide to road-tripping through the Eastern Townships of Quebec

Pastoral detours: A guide to road-tripping through the Eastern Townships of Quebec

Related articles

Everyone dunks on Griffintown. Here's what they're missing.
The Main

Everyone dunks on Griffintown. Here's what they're missing.

Griffintown's become Montreal's favourite punching bag for anti-development sentiment, but its messy, diverse rebirth is actually turning into something good.

Things to do in Montreal this November
The Main

Things to do in Montreal this November

The best things to do in Montreal during November bring enough festivals, holiday markets, and cultural programming to make you forget the cold.

When rubbing shoulders with death is your full-time gig
Salomé Maari @ URBANIA

When rubbing shoulders with death is your full-time gig

"In my first months working in funeral services, I immediately realized it was going to profoundly change my perception of life."

How Mile-Ex launched (and lost) Montreal's warehouse pop explosion
Max Honigmann

How Mile-Ex launched (and lost) Montreal's warehouse pop explosion

From 2006 to 2016, Mile-Ex's DIY spaces launched Grimes, Mac DeMarco, TOPS, and one of Montreal's most productive music scenes. Then it was all killed off.

Radical proximity is the antidote to digital exhaustion
Prachi Khandekar

Radical proximity is the antidote to digital exhaustion

A new wave of gatherings in Montreal—dinners with strangers, life drawing, and apartment galleries—is bringing back the risk and reward of unscripted human contact.

If you want to understand Montreal's dance scene, start with Ferias
J.P. Karwacki

If you want to understand Montreal's dance scene, start with Ferias

Guthrie Drake and Alina Byrne built their dance community on borrowed time, clandestine spaces, and the belief that range matters more than genre.