Detour De France is a documentary that follows the 2005 Tour De France through the eyes of three Australians; John Trevorrow, Dennis Donoghue and Bill Schwarzenberg. John is a journalist and ex Pro-Australian rider, Dennis is a radio journalist and Bill is just there to have a good time.
This film offers a fascinating look inside the world’s biggest annual sporting event. The film focuses on three Australians reporting on the world famous cycling event; two are journalists and one is definitely not, but he eats and drinks like one. Ironically, he ends up snagging some of the best interviews of the film.
It touches on the rise of Lance Armstrong and his amazing recovery from life-threatening cancer, how the ‘prologue’ and ‘peloton,’ the ‘break away’ and the nuances of the worlds greatest cycling event. It also takes you through the various countries that the race enters.
All three bring a larrikin humour to their antics, which propels the film from mere reportage to something more akin to attending a sporting event with ‘the boys’; these three characters enable you to get a feel for the real Tour de France.
John Trevorrow - Journalist
John Trevorrow, the experienced Tour De France journalist who in 2005 had covered 10 tours. He is well known among all the riders and, as well as covering the tour for cyclingnews.com and the Geelong Advertiser, he conducted interviews for SBS television in the mornings for their live to air coverage. John is an ex-pro cyclist winning four Australian road titles and competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics and raced for four years as a professional in Europe.
Bill Schwarzenberg - Press Assistant
Bill can be best described as your classic Aussie Larrikin. Bill is not what you call a cycling fanatic, however he was instantly drawn to the mystic of the Tour De France after watching the coverage on SBS. Through various contacts Bill got in contact with John Trevorrow to see if he could become a part of his team to tackle the 2005 tour. After an intense police check John agreed, but little did he know Bill would become a tour legend after his numerous ‘in your face’ style interviews and controversial behavior.
Dennis Donoghue - Radio Journalist
Denis is a radio journalist and the narrator the film. Denis, covering his fifth tour, is your “straight guy” who speaks fluent French. He interviewed various French characters involved in the tour, none more famous than five-time Tour De France winner Bernard Hinault and race director Jean - Marie Leblanc. Denis is a Barrister and was one of the founding members of l ‘Lawyers Guns & Money’ on Melbourne radio.
