One of cycling's biggest fans follows the Tour de France
The devil made an appearance during stage 6 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Didi Senft, also known as El Diablo or Didi the Devil, he has become synonymous with the Tour de France. The German man has been following the Tour since 1993. Dressed as the devil, paints the road every morning, takes in the atmosphere while he waits for the peloton and cheers on the racers as they pass.
"The Tour de France is the best thing in cycling. You can be standing in the roadside between people from everywhere and no one speaks the same language and you're unable to communicate, but everyone is having a good time and loves each other," said Senft.
The 62-year-old is a mechanic by trade, and he's gained 17 world records with his bike-related inventions.
Before deciding to follow the pros, Senft competed in cycling as a amateur. It was at the end of one race that he got the idea to dress up like the devil. One km before the finish, there is the 1kmto-go flag, known as the flamme rouge in French or the red rag of the devil in German.
In his role as the devil, Senft has travelled the world to cheer on racers. Destinations have included Australia and Colombia as well as France.
He underwent brain surgery in 2012 and had to miss the Tour for the first time in 19 years. He was bummed to miss the Tour but said that the good part was that he saw things on TV that he never got to see in person.
Didi the Devil said his favorite racer of all time is fellow German Jan Ulrich.
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