I'm excited! no really...
On July 7 in London, 189 dudes will don the lycra and pedal their bikes around a 7.9km course with the aim of winning the first race - the Prologue - of the 2007 Tour de France. Over the following 20 days of competition, they will ride 3,542kms in 21 teams of 9, averaging just over 175kms per day.
With €3.2 million to be won, €450,000 of which go the the overall winner, it's a serious business. The French love it and after Lance Armstrong, so do the Yanks. The Germans, Italians, Spanish all have national cycling heroes. Riding a bike in the Tour de France is a big deal - but hardly anyone in Australia bothers to flick it a glance.
It doesn't help that the stages shown live on SBS start at around 10:30 or 11:00 at night our time (it's not their fault we're on the other side of the world), and it's not the sort of sport that will suck you in with it's flashy acrobatics as you casually surf the late night TV dials. But for those who have learnt to love the Tour, it's a wonderful three weeks of drama and heroics.
Over the next little while I intend to get all Toury on yo asses. If you know nothing about it, well, you should - it's one of the great sporting events, one of the great spectacles.
Learning to love the Tour is like learning to love Test cricket. Things don't happen quickly, it's all about the building tension, the deepening tactics and the moments of brilliance that can change the course of the whole event. Like this...
2003. Lance Armstrong attempts to win his fifth Tour de France in a row. It's the 15th stage - 159kms of mountains including two hors category climbs (the steepest hills in the race): the Col du Tourmalet after 124kms; and the Luz-Ardiden at the finish.
At the top of the Col du Tourmalet, with 35kms to go, the race is led by a lonely figure, Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman. Four minutes behind him are the main contenders, Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and four others.
As the following group hits the start of the final climb about 10kms from the finish line, Mayo attacks. Armstrong is up out of his seat hanging onto his wheel in a flash. A duel develops up the steep slope and Jan Ullrich gets onto the back. Then in a famous moment, Armstrong's handlebar catches a bag held by a spectator and he crashes heavily, bringing Mayo down with him.
Ullrich, avoiding the carnage is suddenly ahead of his two main rivals in a small group with only Chavanel to chase down. After four years of Armstrong dominance, the path to Ullrich's first win in the Tour de France lies open. Then something extraordinary happens. Ullrich and his fellow riders slow down the pace and wait for Armstrong to catch up.
Legend has it that a few years earlier, Armstrong and Ullrich had been involved in a close race and Ullrich had suffered a puncture. Armstrong, instead of exploiting his luck, held back and allowed Ullrich to catch up before resuming the race. Jump forward to 2003 and Ullrich, it is thought, is repaying the favour.
Within minutes Armstrong and Mayo are back to the leaders. The pace increases again but Mayo and Armstrong move immediately, breaking the resolve of the pack and leaving Ullrich floundering. There is a brief moment during the break when Armstrong turns his head over his shoulder, catches Mayo's eye and then blows him away, powering ahead in an extraordinary display of endurance and strength.
With 4kms to the line, Armstrong approaches and overtakes the gallant Chavanel, patting him on the back as he does so to console him and acknowledge his effort. Armstrong wins the stage by 40 seconds ahead of Mayo and Ullrich (who fought back valiantly) and goes onto win the Tour for the fifth time. Chavanel finishes the stage in 10th place.
This is the sort of stuff legends are made of. Despite the rumours of drugs, the Tour de France remains one of the great bastions of sportsmanship, while the sheer endurance required simply to complete a Tour is phenomenal.
Watch it.
Well if that hasn't got you interested, stay tuned. There's a lot to know about how the whole thing operates and the more you know, the more interesting it becomes. Needless to say it's not just about who can get to the finish line the quickest.
If you're one of my readers who's just not that into sport, don't dismiss the Tour - it's as much a cultural event as it a sporting contest - and you never know, you just might learn to love it like I did.
With €3.2 million to be won, €450,000 of which go the the overall winner, it's a serious business. The French love it and after Lance Armstrong, so do the Yanks. The Germans, Italians, Spanish all have national cycling heroes. Riding a bike in the Tour de France is a big deal - but hardly anyone in Australia bothers to flick it a glance.
It doesn't help that the stages shown live on SBS start at around 10:30 or 11:00 at night our time (it's not their fault we're on the other side of the world), and it's not the sort of sport that will suck you in with it's flashy acrobatics as you casually surf the late night TV dials. But for those who have learnt to love the Tour, it's a wonderful three weeks of drama and heroics.
Over the next little while I intend to get all Toury on yo asses. If you know nothing about it, well, you should - it's one of the great sporting events, one of the great spectacles.
Learning to love the Tour is like learning to love Test cricket. Things don't happen quickly, it's all about the building tension, the deepening tactics and the moments of brilliance that can change the course of the whole event. Like this...
2003. Lance Armstrong attempts to win his fifth Tour de France in a row. It's the 15th stage - 159kms of mountains including two hors category climbs (the steepest hills in the race): the Col du Tourmalet after 124kms; and the Luz-Ardiden at the finish.
At the top of the Col du Tourmalet, with 35kms to go, the race is led by a lonely figure, Sylvain Chavanel, a Frenchman. Four minutes behind him are the main contenders, Armstrong, Jan Ullrich, Iban Mayo and four others.
As the following group hits the start of the final climb about 10kms from the finish line, Mayo attacks. Armstrong is up out of his seat hanging onto his wheel in a flash. A duel develops up the steep slope and Jan Ullrich gets onto the back. Then in a famous moment, Armstrong's handlebar catches a bag held by a spectator and he crashes heavily, bringing Mayo down with him.
Ullrich, avoiding the carnage is suddenly ahead of his two main rivals in a small group with only Chavanel to chase down. After four years of Armstrong dominance, the path to Ullrich's first win in the Tour de France lies open. Then something extraordinary happens. Ullrich and his fellow riders slow down the pace and wait for Armstrong to catch up.
Legend has it that a few years earlier, Armstrong and Ullrich had been involved in a close race and Ullrich had suffered a puncture. Armstrong, instead of exploiting his luck, held back and allowed Ullrich to catch up before resuming the race. Jump forward to 2003 and Ullrich, it is thought, is repaying the favour.
Within minutes Armstrong and Mayo are back to the leaders. The pace increases again but Mayo and Armstrong move immediately, breaking the resolve of the pack and leaving Ullrich floundering. There is a brief moment during the break when Armstrong turns his head over his shoulder, catches Mayo's eye and then blows him away, powering ahead in an extraordinary display of endurance and strength.
With 4kms to the line, Armstrong approaches and overtakes the gallant Chavanel, patting him on the back as he does so to console him and acknowledge his effort. Armstrong wins the stage by 40 seconds ahead of Mayo and Ullrich (who fought back valiantly) and goes onto win the Tour for the fifth time. Chavanel finishes the stage in 10th place.
This is the sort of stuff legends are made of. Despite the rumours of drugs, the Tour de France remains one of the great bastions of sportsmanship, while the sheer endurance required simply to complete a Tour is phenomenal.
Watch it.
Well if that hasn't got you interested, stay tuned. There's a lot to know about how the whole thing operates and the more you know, the more interesting it becomes. Needless to say it's not just about who can get to the finish line the quickest.
If you're one of my readers who's just not that into sport, don't dismiss the Tour - it's as much a cultural event as it a sporting contest - and you never know, you just might learn to love it like I did.
I just read your post. This is great. You have tapped into one of the few sports I genuinely know more about than almost anyone else I know. I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things tour and have been watching it since I was about nine. Bring it to me Tomboy.
ReplyDeleteBetter moment for me was on the Mont Ventoux when Armstrong came tearing up the hill at the end of the stage (A guy ACTUALLY died on this stage in the sixties of exhaustion!) only to lose by a few seconds to Richard Virenque who looked close to death at the end of it. He is a hero.
And we think Ben Cousins does alot of drugs. four words: "Festina" "Telecom" "Floyd Landis"
Oh thank god.
ReplyDeleteI was beginning to think my post had utterly failed to get anyone excited - met as it was by tumbleweeds and crickets chirping.
Well Hugh, even if it's just you and me spouting the glories of "Le Tour" in our own little private blog forum, so be it. Grumpy disinterested readers be damned!
"Then something extraordinary happens..."
ReplyDeleteI actually choked up when I read that, Mot. Had a little sob. And yes, I know I'm the world's biggest sports sook, and have been known to tear up during a 3-second TV sports update, but honour in sport just gets me every time. I can't even look at a photo of John Landy without getting a trembly chin.
I know I'm a week late with this comment, but if the TDF is going to provide moments like that, then I'm going out to buy me a telly.