When Paris raced and the Eagle landed

July 20, 1969, produced two triumphs that hardly seem to fit together at first glance: In Paris, Belgian rider Eddy Merckx completed his first Tour de France as the dominant winner. Almost simultaneously, the Eagle lunar module carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin touched down on the Moon. Below, wheels rolled over the cobblestones of the Cipale; above, a fragile craft hovered over an unfamiliar, dusty plain. France found itself in the midst of this double spectacle of human ambition.In the afternoon, Merckx reached the Velodrome de la Cipale in ...