Tour de France

I’ve been following Le Tour de France ever since I can remember. It’s some of the first memories I have of watching sports on tv with my mom and dad. I think the very first rider I rooted for was Claudio Chiappucci..and then a couple of years later the ‘Bjarne Riis years’ started, and Denmark experienced something of a cycling renaissance that has been going strong ever since. Especially in later years our small country has sported quite the number of pro riders. All of our newly found succes though is based upon what happened back in the mid 90s, regardless of drugs and whatnot.

During the last 10 years or so I always have some faves to start out with - simply interesting riders that generally have a tendency to take matters into their own hands. That’s why I absolutely love Pogacar. He won the Tour almost entirely by himself, by sheer will and heart. The fact that he also comes across as a sympathetic guy only adds to my respect for him. Conversely, I have a hard time with the guys that merely sit back and latch onto their team-mates like some human bicycle-trailer…and then at the last minute eats up 20 seconds during the final kilometer of the last mountain.
When cycling gets to be too calculated I distance myself from the individual/team. One thing is good team-work…another thing entirely is what you sometimes get in modern cycling, where this often materialises during stages which are supposed to be a brilliant battle for the top spots in mountanous terrain…and you end up with one team effectively taking charge of everything.
Only remedy? Guys like Pogacar. It used to be the likes of Valverde and Nibali that managed to slice through the mindnumbingly boring control exerted by the bigger teams. I love me a bit of chaos. It often shows the real quality of the riders…which in turn makes it all the more easier to pick out faves.

Also..I’m probably the only 39 year old man in Jutland that doesn’t own a driver’s license. I’ve always used my bike…which is why cycling on tv is very relatable. If you’ve ever tried going up a hill with an increase of over 15%, you know full well what is going down when the race hits the mountains. I can very much imagine the pain.
I’ve always been a bear of a man but have managed to be somewhat nimble when the terrain goes upwards..but then again, I’ve never tried going upwards for several kilometers straight
No wonder most of the top guys look more like concentration camp survivors than actual top athletes. If you met a Tour de France winner on the beach and you had no knowledge of him nor the sport, you’d most likely offer him a cheeseburger or 5.

I think it is fun, but I've watched such "tours" only a couple of times. I like watching sports with very few exceptions and cycling is not one of them.

Scotland's most successful road racing cyclist started life as Robert Miller but has now gender transitioned to become Philippa York. I'm also a cyclist but my body represents cruelty to Lycra with an arse larger than a drug cheat's medicine cabinet. Being taciturn and uncooperative are the only traits I have in common with the King/Queen of the Mountains who finished 4th in the Tour de France 1984.

I like it, not because I am an avid sports fan, far from that, but La Grande Boucle has some added value somehow. There is also some good camerawork to admire, especially in the stages where mountains are involved. And yes, I like wine, preferring red in general over white. So options #7 and #9 for me.

Edited by someone_else - June 26 2021 at 10:56

It was actually an impressive stage win by Alaphilippe. I don't think he's a contender for the overall win, as some of the (French) media think he might, but he will be there again tomorrow, in another uphill stage final for punchers.


Edited by suitkees - June 26 2021 at 13:40

I'm a fan as well. 

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: I hope they have a few less crashes, yesterday was ridiculous