July 18, 2005

REPORT FROM THE TOUR DE FRANCE

I am back in the States as of last night. I wanted to provide you with some insight to the trip I had the last 10 days to France. I have a group of friends that I have ridden bikes with for many years. We have gone together on 7 or 8 “Ride the Rockies” trips which stretch through the mountains of Colorado averaging 60-80 miles per day. We are Team Merkin. We have not been on a bike tour for a number of years so this trip to France was kind of a reunion tour. You know, like an old rock and roll band that doesn’t yet know it is all but washed up. Actually, the boys trained hard and, for the most part, we are very strong riders.

The trip was organized by Trek Travel, who is associated with Trek bicycles. This is, of course, the bike Lance Armstrong rides. Consequently, Trek had some pretty good inroads as far as positions to watch the Tour, etc.

 Our first 3 days were more or less warm ups for bigger things to come. We rode 60+ mile trips through the wine country out of Beaune. Then, we rode to Lake Annecy, and climbed the Col de Folclaz,  which is a category 1 climb. The Tour did not climb this Col this year but it was featured on last year’s tour route. Incredibly steep for the last 3 or 4 Kilometers but not a particularly long climb. The downhill was absolutely kick ass with some stretches that let us exceed 45 miles per hour. The Alps are just fantastic. I kept expecting the Von Trapps to come around a corner and sing to the tune of all the cowbells. We cooled down with a swim in Lake Annecy.

 Finally on our fourth day we rode over 2 categorized climbs and ended up in Beauford where the Tour riders were coming through. We climbed the hill out of town for 7 kilometers to find a good viewing spot. The crowds were on fire. This is like a moving Superbowl. I did not realize that there is a caravan that precedes the Tour riders by about an hour. This is a Parade of custom cars and trucks with dancing girls, stereos, etc. They throw out souvenirs and all matter of trash and trinkets. After the riders passed, we biked to Albertville to view the Tour’s finish on TV at a bar.

 Day 5 we climbed the Col de la Madeline which is an “out of category” climb that was 25 kilometers long. At the mountains top we watched the racers scream by as we yelled “Allez! Allez!”. 

 Day 6 the Tour passed through Digne-lesBains and then circled up in the hills around town and finished back in town. This gave us an opportunity for 2 good views. It just doesn’t get much better.

Tour de France History

Pursuit of the Yellow Jersey, or the Tour de France. The greatest bicycle tour of modern times. The original concept of a race through the country, broken into stages and based on cumulative time, has remained intact, since 1903.

The Idea: modeled after a six-day track race, Tour de France cyclists would leave the confines of a velodrome and instead loop around the entire country of France.

The Outcome: one of the greatest sporting events of the year

Tour de France - History

In 1903, the first Tour-a 2,428-kilometer affair split into six stages seemed far fetched at best, little more than a marketing coup for their sports newspaper L'Auto. The 1903 event saw 60 riders traveling 2,500 kilometers during 19 days on the basic cycle machinery of the day, with no convenient breaks for sleep. Competitors were expected to ride through the night. The 1904 Tour was almost the last one with the cheating that went on. In 1905, the stages were shortened in an effort to cut down on the long night stages. The Ballon d'Alsace was added, becoming the first major climb of the event. In 1910 the tour goes through the Pyrenees for the first time. The Tour was not held from 1915-18 because of the First World War. With the return of the Tour in 1919, the yellow jersey is used to identify the overall leader. The color yellow is chosen because it's the same color as the newspaper l'Auto, the race sponsor. Eugene Christophe of France is the first rider to ever wear the yellow jersey on July 18, 1919. In 1930 the race is reformatted with competitors organized into national teams and the Tour is opened to other advertisers. It's also the year of the first live radio broadcasts. In 1937 the use of three-speed derailleurs is allowed. No Tour during the war years of 1940-46. In 1952 and 1953 , two of the most famous climbs of the tour, the Ventoux and the Alpe-d'Huez at 1,912 meters (6272.89 feet) and 1,860 meters (6,102.288 feet) respectively, are added to the tour. In 1953, France's Louison Bobet's marks the tour's 50th anniversary with the first of three consecutive wins. In 1961 the Tour returns to sponsored teams. In 1975 the Tour de France finishes along the Champs Elysees for the first time. In 1986 Greg LeMond becomes the first American to win the tour. In 1997 Uzbekistan's Dshamolidin Abdushparov becomes the first rider to be disqualified from the tour for taking banned substances.