ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Sports

A wave from the Tour

Author : Craig McGinty
IT takes hours of map reading and meticulous attention to detail to ensure a successful Tour de France, and that’s just the spectators.
I had prepared and planned out a route that would land me close to the end of stage 11 of the Tour, a 164km trip for the cyclists from Saint Flour to Figeac.
But thousands of other people had the same idea so it was a slow crawl through the streets of Figeac, in the Lot, before I found myself about 7km from the end of the race.
The village of Saint Jean Mirabel had come out in force with good luck messages and flags set up beside the route, and even a giant poster suspended between three tractors.
Then as the leader approached, with helicopters buzzing in the air, the cheers from the spectators began to grow.
A small figure, hunched over his bicycle suddenly came into view at the top of the road, dwarfed by the police motorcycles, television cameras and official cars beside him.
And before my camera could focus he was gliding by in a bubble of complete concentration, his machine silently cutting through the wind.
Then the crowd caught its breath, preparing for the arrival of the pursuing pack, or peloton.
But before they arrived there was a battle for second and third place taking place as the two men shot past in a blur of orange, blue and white.
Five minutes later the peloton appeared at the top of the road with police sirens blaring and another helicopter hovering close by in the clear, blue sky.
This was a much nosier affair with the fans screaming for their favourites and the rush of air like a passing truck, full of the sounds of gear changes and rubber on road.
If the leading cyclists are like small fish, darting off through the rocks, the peloton is an all-consuming wave that crashes down on the leaders who falter.
And like a wave it is not always clear on whom it is going to fall as over 100 cyclists pour down the road you need to keep away from the edge as some briefly go astray.
But as the pack heads off up the road, the crowds further on are hit by the wave with cheers and car horns echoing in the distance.
Then as the last few cyclists ride by, still working hard to stay in the race, the Tour comes to a close, but what of the beginning?
The build-up to the passing of the Tour starts earlier in the day and takes place on the grass verges and in the fields that border the route.
Villages prepare fetes, amateur cyclists ride up and down the route to see what the pros will face and children get ready for the caravane.
An hour before the race actually arrives the sponsors’ cavalcade drives past with their crazy cars, disco music and freebies.
Here you see coffee pots, inflatable ducks and even a giant, furry lion parading past throwing sweets, magazines and toys at the feet of the children stood beside the road.
The fans scream and shout hoping to pick up some goodies as parents duck and dive out of the way of stray packets of coffee, which fly past their heads.
Since the Tour started in 1903 it has become one of the world’s major sporting events and can lay claim to possessing the largest number of spectators.
And it is the fans that make the Tour such a spectacle, as they stretch out along more than 3,500km of tarmac, shouting and screaming encouragement as the wave passes by.
But today the fishes out ran the wave and a breakaway by local rider, David Moncoutie proved strong enough to give the Frenchman his first-ever stage win.

About the Author

For more articles by Craig McGinty on living in France including tips on buying a home, the legal process and more, visit his website and live life the French way.
http://www.thisfrenchlife.com

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. The Rich History of the National Finals Rodeo
  2. Hockey Jerseys - One Jersey Many Uses
  3. Basketball Jerseys - Trendier Sports Gear
  4. Throwback Jerseys - Treading Down the Memory Lane
  5. Enter the Enticing World of Sports Jerseys
  6. Cat Litter on Mount Shasta
  7. A Noble And Grand Idea
  8. A Sharper Linebacker
  9. From There To Here: The Offseason So Far. Part One
  10. Snowmobile safety
  11. Give Me A Break, Any Break
  12. Was Eriksson Tricked or Not?
  13. Expectations for the Next Olympic Team
  14. Fantasy Football Information: On Draft Day, Don’t Forget the Curry
  15. The Perfect Putter
  16. Truths about Putting
  17. Power Personified
  18. Youth Sports Specialization: Beware These 4 Dangers!
  19. Tips On How To Buy A Snow Sled
  20. Stop Debating it -- LeBron James is the Best Basketball Player on the Planet!
  21. Where to Race Your Pocket Bike
  22. The Origin of Pocket Bikes
  23. What Exactly Are Pocket Bikes?
  24. Pocket Rocket Mini Bike - For Thrill Seekers
  25. 17 Deadly Mistakes That Keep You Losing At Billiards
More related feeds
S new wave service Russia tour in any case will
Rain never put dampener on sizzling Euro. Cycling stands at a crossroads on eve of Tour de France. Bullying only takes Russia so far. Valverde wins opening stage of Tour de France. MOSCOW, July Xinhua Five hundred children from China. ...

Big day for 2008 Mosquito Tour competitors in Zarautz..
17 July, 2008 : - - There were lots of kids from all the Basque contry and also kids from France. At the end of the registration, 60 Chicos and Chicas in 4 categories : - Chicas ( Girls ) under 16 - Chicos ( Boys ) under 12, under 14, ...

ASP Int seeking proposals for new Dream Tour licenses
15 July, 2008 : - - Coolangatta -- ASP International is excited to announce a unique opportunity for parties interested in aligning themselves with the 'Dream Tour.' This is a call to action for all those eager to secure one of a ...

Give Le Tour le Timeout
But even one of his colleagues, Patrice Clerc, who heads Tour organizer ASO, acknowledges that the mess will require more than a few sponges. “You can’t believe that a wave of a magic wand can change the world of cycling.” ...

Slater Scalps Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Fourth ASP Victory This ...
... going to be a piece of crap and it turns into a good wave or you stand up on a wave that looks good and it turns into a piece of crap. That’s the nature of the game.” The next event on the 2008 ASP World Tour remains undisclosed. ...

Nova Scotia
According to Wikipedia, a tidal bore (or just bore, or eagre) is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the ...

Tour de Starbucks Closures
This live map I created of the first batch of Starbucks closures represents an interesting cross-section of the subprime-struck, plus a swath of middle America. View Larger Map. [via Consumerist]

Opening Day of the Honda US Open of Surfing
One of them is local Huntington Beach surfer Tim Reyes, currently ranked number 14 on the ASP World Tour. Another is current ASP World Tour number 19: Ventura’s Dane Reynolds. I often witnessed them shred the waves in many local ...

Flynn Novak Wins Macy’s E-Series Comp At Firing Ala Moana
Saving the best for the very last day of the nine-day holding period, Bowls turned on and pumped out waves with machine-like consistency. Wave face heights of six- to eight-feet stacked up before barreling and walling off all the way ...

Finds: Grab your board and hit the water
Flowrider Utah in Ogden is hosting the National Wave Loch Flow Tour, with events for flowboarders, kneeboarders, body boarders and drop knee riders, on July 24 beginning at 10 am.

 


 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved