Cycling in France

Cycling is the National sport in France, like baseball in the USA or Soccer in most countries in the world.

This year the race is over twenty-one stages from second to twenty-fourth July and covers three thousand, five hundred, eighty-four kilometres, that's a bit over two thousand miles (a kilometre is about five eighths of a mile). The various stages pass through every possible type of terrain to give the riders the stiffest possible test.

The tour's been raced every year, except during war years, since 1903 - this year it will be the ninety-second. When it first started, it was just what it's name says, a tour of the Country for cyclists but, over the years, it's become more and more commercial so that now, it's the major national event - a bit like the Superbowl or the World Series. The usual considerations now take over - well one usual consideration - money.

Absolutely everything is subject to sponsorship and the list of sponsors reads like a roll call of major French businesses. Obviously, the cycles themselves are supplied by the machine's makers then there are the tires sponsored separately - and tires are as vital a component of a racing cycle as they are of a Formula One racing car. Now there's the riders garb - his pants, his sweater, his gloves, helmet, protective everything-you-can-think-of, shades, and footwear. That\'d5s not to mention - no - no more, you'll get bored!

The statistics are awesome. The tour has a permanent staff of sixty, it uses twelve hundred hotel rooms in any town there's a stopover and over thirteen thousand people are involved in security.

Nowadays, it isn't restricted to France either. Most tours do cross National borders into neighboring countries like Belgium and Switzerland. On one occasion, it even crossed the English Channel (or La Manche - the sleeve, as the French call it) and there were stages in Great Britain and Ireland. This year, there be a stage in Germany.

The French population go tour crazy every year. Fifteen million of them will travel hundreds of kilometres to watch the tour flash past. That can take up to several minutes and then they drive home again. They particularly like the mountain stages in the Alps and Pyrenees - they've probably got sadistic streaks and like to see the riders suffer

Americans have entered the race regularly over the years and some of them have done quite well. Since nineteen-ninety-three, Lance Armstrong has entered every year and won the event now six times in a row, that's the most wins by any rider ever. He has announced that this is going to be his last tour win or lose, but he's still expected to do pretty well.

So why do they do it? This year the prize pool is three million euros (at about 1.30 bucks to a euro) of which the winner will see four hundred thousand. The real incentive though is the residual - the opportunities for sponsorship and media exposure. Ok it's not like winning the Heavyweight World Title but Lance should never need to worry about money again.