| The Tour de France is the BIG one; it’s | | | | beat all comers in the Tour de France.The |
| the World cup and the Olympics all in one. It has it | | | | course.The race starts in a different town every |
| all, the high mountains, the wind swept northern | | | | year and every other year it starts outside |
| planes and the heat of the south. It also has the | | | | France, the choice of stage towns is a |
| world’s media, all the top teams and riders | | | | combination of money and sporting considerations, |
| and millions of cycling mad fans watching. The | | | | the towns will pay for a start or a finish, but they |
| other “Grand Tours” of Italy and | | | | need to be near a mountain or a cobbled road or |
| Spain are as exciting, sometimes more so, but | | | | be near other town who want to host the Tour. |
| they don’t have the thing the Tour has, | | | | The Towns pay to be the centre of interest for |
| that unique Tour ness, that unique French | | | | a day, the Tour also brings in a lot of money in |
| ness.How it started.It all started in 1903, when the | | | | tourism and the Towns collect much more than |
| French daily paper, L’Auto wanted to sell | | | | they pay and the world will remember the name |
| more than its competitor, Le Vélo, who at | | | | of the Town, for at least a day.The riders.All the |
| that time was the only paper reporting on cycle | | | | best riders want to win the Tour de France, but |
| racing. It was suggested to the papers director, | | | | they cant, from the 200 or so starters there is a |
| Henri Desgrange that they should organise a road | | | | possible five or six riders who can win, the rest |
| bike race all round France. The first race was | | | | are either helping their team leaders or sprint or |
| 2,428 kilometres split into six stages and was run | | | | mountain specialists who want to win stages or |
| off at 25.29 kilometres per hour and out of the | | | | points or mountain jerseys, this keeps the race |
| 60 starters 21 finished and the race was lead | | | | active and interesting from beginning to end.The |
| from start to finish by Maurice Garin.The | | | | BIG Tour.The Tour is the biggest, but that has its |
| Heroes.Over the years there has been a lot of | | | | problems, some Towns are not big enough, hotels |
| heroes in the Tour de France, you could say all | | | | etc., the television needs more space, the |
| the riders are heroes, to win the race once is | | | | journalists need more phone lines and computers, |
| hard, but to win it five times is phenomenal. Only | | | | more and more people are following the race and |
| five men have done this, and one of these has | | | | the riders can be forgotten about in all the |
| won it seven times. French rider Jacques Anquetil | | | | razzmatazz, but its still the biggest sporting event |
| was the first to win the race five times, Eddy | | | | in the world, long may in run!Alastair Hamilton is a |
| Merckx, Bernard Hinault and then Spaniard Miguel | | | | successful writer who offers a truly unique depth |
| Indurain all equalled him. Then the American, Lance | | | | of experience in competitive cycling, he also |
| Armstrong started to win in 1999 and | | | | contributes adding technical articles on road bikes |
| didn’t stop until he had won it a record | | | | to some cycling online magazines. Please, visit to |
| seven times in a row. This is all the more amazing | | | | reach further information on bike and cycling |
| as he is a cancer survivor and was given a 50/50 | | | | news. |
| chance of life; he beat the cancer and went on to | | | | |