Anyone watch "Peking to Paris" on the ABC last night?

The reason I ask is that when the cars were driving through the Verdun, they passed a number of cyclists, all of whom were riding mixte frames with "upright" handlebars. As far as I can see, these are an ideal commuting bike and probably far better suited to the majority of people who want to do a bit of gentle cycling and/or run a few errands on their bike.

My question based on the above is ..... why isn't this style of bike generally available over here? Or is it, and I've just failed to notice?