El Diablo

If you've ever watched, or even seen highlight footage of the Tour de France, it's very likely that at some point you've seen "El Diablo", also known as the Tour de France devil.

El Diablo is that crazy guy who shows up at the Tour every year, dressed as a devil, and always manages to get on TV - usually during one or more of the important mountain stages.

A friend of mine recently sent me this link. Apparently "El Diablo" is much more of a character than what is known about him from his Tour cameos. With a striking resemblance to Anthony Hopkins (especially in Instinct), the devil's real name is Dieter “Didi” Senft, and is from Germany. Apparently Didi is also known for designing and building some pretty funky bicycles, including the world’s largest and longest rideable bike: at 25 feet 7 inches long and 12 feet 2 inches high:

You can also visit his homepage. Unfortunately, it's in German, but at least you can check out his photo gallery. He has some pretty wild creations (such as his guitar bike). If you turn on Versus anytime in the next three weeks there's a very good chance you'll get to see him in action.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.