![]() The 108th version of the Tour de France (TDF) is now in the history books and as usual, it was filled with memorable moments. Whether you root for the overall winner of the Yellow jersey, winners of the other specialty jerseys, such as the White, Green, or Polka Dot, riders of a particular nationality, such as Americans, Columbians, Slovenians, or French, or the records broken, such as the number of stage wins, there was plenty to keep us interested this year in the world’s greatest cycling event. ![]() The route of the second week of the 2021 Tour de France (TDF) included 3 days uphill in the alps, downhill descents, hot temperatures, and cross winds. As we entered the second week, only 4 teams out of 19 had won a stage, putting pressure on the other teams to win something for their sponsors and the record books, and they did—after week two 8 teams have realized their dreams and won stages. The average speed of the peloton is around 40 mph, with speeds of up to 65 mph on the downhills. ![]() I get it. It is hard to watch a 5 hour bike race. The scenery in the Tour de France (TDF) may be nice but it is, frankly, boring to watch a group of men just riding bikes unless there are crashes and no one wants people to get hurt. That is why I recommend people "follow" as opposed to "watch" the Tour de France. And there are lots of ways to follow, maybe watch the last 15 minutes of each day's race, or have it streaming in the background while you do something else, listen to the commentary at the end of each stage, listen to a daily recap or preview podcast or read updates on Youtube, and online in Velo News or Cycling News. But the most interesting aspect of the Tour de France is not the spin of each wheel, the architecture in the small towns, or the statistics, but the human stories. In the first week of the 2021 Tour De France there were four great stories. |
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