The women were crouched on the footpath early Monday, their eyes narrowed in concentration. The four of them, retirees, worked quickly, pulling colourful T-shirt shapes from shopping bags and stringing them along the metal railing that lined the street.

Each mock shirt had been crafted of brightly coloured yarn to resemble one of the iconic jerseys of the Tour de France: yellow, green, white and even one with red polka dots. The women have made more than 400 of them since January, and now, with a stage of the famed cycling race set to finish in their town on Friday afternoon, it was finally time to put them on display.