Vive le Tour

There is no better way to cure a little too much Saturday night than with a muffin, a coffee, and the Tour de France.  Every July, ad space quickly saturates with Lance Armstrong endorsements, outdoor magazines carry the requisite Lance Armstrong biopics, and even casual cyclists feel the inspiration to dust off their wheels and go for a spin.  What is not always appreciated is the gorgeous scenery of France throughout the television broadcast, the aerial views of French farms decorated with "Vive le Tour" or cows painted with the maillot jaune, and fans like le Tourtoufel, who dresses up like the devil and every year chases the cyclists up the most treacherous climbs.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see the final stage of the Tour de France in person, as the cyclists made their annual entrance into Paris up and down the Champs Elysees.  We found ourselves wedged next to a crowd of Spaniards, whose Carlos Sastre had already ensure himself a victory.

Of course, to get any sort of view we were standing in the sun for a solid six hours.  Thank god for crepe stands, and for the delightful (and very French) pre-race parade.

Nothing excites a crowd of cycling fans like a man dressed like a dancing beer.

Once the cyclists arrived, of course, I was amazed at the speed, and the noise.  They passed us a total of twelve times, up and down the Champs Elysees, but they passed by so quickly in a flash of brightly-colored jerseys, it was hard to even get a photo.

I did, however, manage to take the following video.  Seeing the motorcycles and cars careen into view, then seeing the cyclists flying by at the same high speeds, really highlighted how fast and tactical the sport of cycling can be.

 

Afterwards, we staggered off for our mandatory (delicious) French meal, but not before watching George Hincapie (who, with Lance still in retirement, was the top American that year) and the winner of the polka-dotted King of the Mountains jersey wave to the fans on their team victory lap.

It's a very European sport in a lot of ways, but my Indian readers will be happy to know, they have a lot more in common with these cyclists than they might think.  For instance?  It's very important to avoid cows on the road.  That's something we can all agree on.