Tour de France is over but the community continues

Posted by BrowneEyeMedia on Jul 27, 2010 in Pro Cycling Races, Versus | 0 comments

Another Tour de France is in the books and I’ll spare you the controversial chain-gate and jersey-gate stories. I’m also not going to wax philosophical about Lance Armstrong’s last Tour de France and the future of cycling. Hell, I’m not even going to bother talking about the whole doping investigation and subpoena reports brewing like a witch’s cauldron. Those subjects have been written to death by me and countless others. Instead let’s talk about something else.

The Tour de France is the most watched annual sporting event on the planet. The only other sporting events that surpass the Grande Boucle is the World Cup and the Olympics (as you know they are contested every four years). Like those other events it creates a sense of community among the participants as well as the viewers. The racers rolled off the prologue ramp in Rotterdam with clear rivals. As the race progressed favorites fell away and new ones were created. Most were on other squads, but some were the enemy within. But by the end of the Tour those rivals on the road are forgotten and what remains is the realization of a physical accomplishment that a very small percentage of the population could ever hope to complete.

It’s not just the racers who create a sense of community. Fans support their team or rider through thick and thin and cross borders to just get a chance to see them in person. If you’re in the States getting up close and personal with the Tour requires more planning than for our European brethren. Other than the obvious language barriers that can pop up there are the costs of following this traveling sporting event. To see more than one stage of the Tour requires planning and travel companions who won’t mentally drive you over the edge.

Read the full post at Versus.com.

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