Life around Tour de France – Stage 0
Sports Travel / Tourism
This is a guest post by Mr.Q, a quizmaster by profession..
All roads lead to Monaco!!
A few years back when I read Alexander Frater “Chasing the Monsoon” – a travelogue of an Englishman written in the late 80’s about how he waited for such a long time to follow the Monsoon from the beginning at Kanyakumari to its end in North & East India over a period of a whole year, it was an enchanting journey for me as a reader. I still vouch for the book as an excellent read and a must for all those who have a dream.
LIVE television in the last decade or so has revolutionized our lives and has bought News & Sports – National & International to our couches. So much so that today you can name any sport and we will be able to gather a handful of faithfuls in any Indian city. Formula 1 racing, Tennis Grand Slams, NBA basketball, English, Spanish, German & Italian Football Leagues, Rugby Union Matches, Bullfighting & Rodeo tournaments, Bowling Championships,…etc. all have very dedicated fan following. And over the last 8 years yours truly has also championed a sport & a tour – The Tour de France. Called by some knowledgeable persons as “the toughest sporting event on planet earth”, a race which no amount of preparation can guarantee a winning spot, only your determination & will power with loads of talent & luck can!!
From July 2000, when I first saw Lance Armstrong defend his crown with his US Postal team and win his 2nd tour title till 2008, I have followed the tour de France on LIVE television for the full 21 days in the month of July. I have seen the glories of Lance Armstrong defending his title – 7 consecutive times, the sight of Floyd Landis winning & then being disqualified for doping, Alberto Contador winning the race by a mere 23 seconds only to find that his team was itself disqualified for doping the next year, and Carlos Sastre winning against all odds in 2008.
And now its that time of the year – come July & the whole of France & the cycle aficionados from across the world come down to one venue for this is the Holy Grail of this sport. Yes, its Tour de France TIME!!
Every year, the tour kicks of from a neighboring country (for which they bid for the rights – 2 years in advance!!) and this year the Tour rolls out from Monaco. And yours truly as a faithful follower is on his way from Paris & even in the train, which is a special train for today as all the regular ones are full, the talk is all about will Lance Armstrong be able to do the impossible – win the Tour for an 8th time!!
We were staying with a friend in Paris, who himself was a cyclist in his school days & who dreamt of riding for a French team in the Tour when he grew up, and he recounts how difficult the sport itself is and the extreme levels of fitness which each of the 189 cyclists who start of the Tour needs to have. Personally, he feels that a Frenchman winning the title itself is remote & maybe not possible in the next few years, but that there are two or three young riders who need to be watched out for.
The first stage of the race is a time trial on the streets of Monaco – the same streets where the F1 race is also held. Its an individual race where each cyclist will be on his own with no team support & the cyclist with the least time will win the right to wear the Yellow Jersey – the maillot jaune, to become the leader of the tour.
So as we go through July, I will try and bring to you the sights & smells of this Tour as it happens from around France, Switzerland, Spain & Monaco. The stories around the race, the people who make it happen & the food & wines that surround this annual extravaganza. And as I follow the Tour & chase a dream of mine, I hope you too will live it through this Tour Dairy…
Au revoir…