The interview was conducted by Andreas Hausler
... Florian Jöckel on the transience of street art
"In the first year of coronavirus, we painted the Col du Madeleine with a 150-metre-long carpet. Our artworks still look as good as new today, as if we had painted them just yesterday. We may not have created the most beautiful galleries with our works, but we have opened the highest galleries in Europe on the Galibier, the Madeleine and the Col de l'Iséran. That makes us proud."
...about the Tour de France
"We are hardcore fans of road biking, die-hard fans of the Tour de France. This means that we support the largest freely accessible sporting event in the world to the best of our ability. We are not sympathisers of a club, but of the most traditional event of all time: the Tour de France."
...over state power
"Last year, I was arrested for half a day on the Col du Galibier. A very important district councillor, who had nothing to do with the Tour, probably felt betrayed because we hadn't asked him. As a result, I had to travel to Briançon with an escort. I then explained to the judge that our artworks on the streets are not only loved by Tour fans, but also by every professional. 'Listen, dear Mr Richter,' I said. 'With our masterpieces, we are making France look even more beautiful than it already is. That apparently convinced the statesman, at least I was allowed to leave the police station after the hearing."
...on the opinion of the French
"People in France idolise us. This is also due to the fact that we have become more and more skilful. In the beginning, we only painted small lettering and messages, but then we added more and more jerseys and large images such as a traditional Bembel from our home region of Hesse or the Eintracht Frankfurt eagle. They also love our white dove of peace and the Cycling Ultras logo."
...about the coup at Chalet Reynard
"We drove from Frankfurt to Mont Ventoux with a lorry full of biodegradable façade paint and graffiti spray cans. There we then let off steam artistically at the Chalet Reynard. During the race, Chris Froome had a defect on his bike on this exact passage and ran up the mountain like a madman on his click shoes. For us, it was like Christmas, Easter and a birthday all rolled into one. TV stations around the world showed our masterpieces. The paint buckets are our Bengalos."
...on the relationship with the French police
"We painted 'I love Gendarmerie' on the road on the very first day so that the French anti-terrorist unit, which is responsible for security during the tour, would also like us. The picture with the leading commander still hangs in his Office in Paris."
...about the ideas for the paintings
"We develop these on the twelve-hour ride to France. We always have the most important colours on board, i.e. yellow for the yellow jersey, green for the green jersey and red and white for the mountain jersey. We don't even set off without these colours. Now, however, we no longer just have 100 litres of paint on board, but 1000 litres and 200 cans of graffiti spray."
...about commissioned work
"The component manufacturer Shimano asked us if we would like to help them celebrate the 50th anniversary of a shifting group. Hello? Of course! We do! We do! So in 2023, we immortalised the roof of the Tour, the Col du Tourmalet near La Mongie, with a 250-metre-long tribute to Shimano's countless successes on the asphalt. It's beautiful's become."
... about the professional appearance
"After all, we have 'borrowed' barrier cones and all the necessary signs from the roadworks in France, warning triangles, road signs, all original. We put them up and block off one side of the road so that we don't hold up the traffic. When you see us like this, you could get the impression that we are a normal road construction company from Bordeaux."
