The Devil misses the Tour

The Devil sometimes appears at other events, such as the
2011 Koln Marathon

Didi "The Devil" Senft - the 60-year-old German eccentric, inventor and devil who has haunted the roadsides of the Tour since the early 1990s - is not at the race this year after undergoing an operation to drain fluid from his brain.

Didi has become as much a part of the race as the riders themselves since he first appeared in 1993 and follows the Tour in a minivan sponsored by the LUK carparts company. While not liked by all the riders (one notable fan is Andy Scleck), Didi is almost universally popular among spectators and many people around the world tune it to race footage in order to try to spot him.

Get well soon, Didi.