Heart of Cycling - Tour de France 2010

Tour de France 2010 is the most celebrated cycle race in the global sports calendar which will commence on the 3rd of July 2010 as cyclists around the world would steer the French terrains for the 97th title of the Grand Tour.

Cycling has become a popular sport throughout the world since the invention of the bicycle in early 1800s. Shortly after the introduction of bicycles, competitions developed independently in many parts of the world and with its evolution into various forms, different racing formats were organized. Cycling is witnessed today as professional and amateur racing held generally in Europe and particularly in France.

Over the years the sport has played a significant role maintaining a close relationship with the French, although football is their national sport. The term “bicycle” was coined in France and the origin of cycling as a sport was documented in history as a 1200 meter race held nearly 150 years ago in Paris. Offering a new dimension to this amiable relationship, Tour de France was originated in 1903 as a brainchild of the French news paper “L’Auto”.

Tour de France over a century of excellence has become the most talked about cycle racing in the world. Furthermore, it is one of the three most celebrated cycling Grand Tours in the world parallel to Giro d Italia (Italy) and Vuelta a Espana (Spain ) the other two most prestigious Grand tours.

The beauty of the event lies in the scenic backdrop of the Mediterranean and the variety of terrains in counting mountains, undulating land and flat ground, the bunch of cyclists navigate along. Therefore this Grand Tour endows passionate cycling into sightseeing amidst a vital fix of sport.

The origin of Tour de France was unique to the event as it was neither motivated by the passion for the game nor for the sponsorship of the sport, unlike in any other Grand Tournament. This was linked indirectly with the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal, dividing France in the late 1890s and early 1900. “Le Velo” was the first and the largest newspaper in France back then supporting Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer convicted and later exonerated of selling military secretes to Germans. In rivalry to the above newspaper, the Anti Dreyfusards started “L’Auto” a daily sports newspaper now published as “L’Equipe”, a French nationwide newspaper devoted to sports. As “L’Auto” had poor sales initially, it was suggested to hold a 6 day race to increase the copies since long distance cycle racing was a popular means to sell more newspapers. Thus Tour de France was originated in 1903 as a circulation booster.

The inaugural Tour de France held in 1903 commenced and ended in Paris as the cyclists navigated in a counterclockwise direction attracting spectators and media in and around Paris. The pre-race favourite Maurice Garin was the winner of the inaugural Tour de France. Unfortunately, the inaugural champion was stripped off from his title in the second Tour in 1904 along with eight others for cheating.

As the name implies, the event is French by all means. Nevertheless it is not only limited to the French soil but shares the itinerary with the neighboring countries. Keeping with the tradition the ultimate destination of the event has always been Champs Ellysees a prestigious avenue in Paris.

The game is more or less akin to a marathon. It is a strenuous journey to navigate on a sturdy route over a period of twenty one grueling days, provided only two days of rest effectively utilized by the authorities to transport the cyclists from the end of one city to the beginning of another. The overall winner of the day is privileged to be clad in the famous “Yellow Jersey”, also known as the “Maillot Jaune”. The initial stages of the game is said to be rarely exciting for majority of the fans. Nevertheless the finishing line has been an exhilarating experience with scenes of jubilation adding real buzz to the game on reaching the destination unscathed considered a supreme honor.

As Pele’ for Soccer, Bradman for Cricket and Ali for Boxing, Lance Armstrong emulates the greatest sportsman of all-time as the glorious cycling idol. He holds the record for the title of Tour de France for seven consecutive events. The 38 year old cyclist has been an inspiration and role model to all sports lovers as he successfully battled testicular cancer and is in complete remission now.

He was diagnosed in 1996 with stage 3 testicular cancer metastasized to the brain, abdomen and lungs with poor prognosis and underwent extensive surgery and chemotherapy. Armstrong was awarded the “ESPN male athlete of the year” from 2003 to 2006 and the “BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2003”. He was placed 3rd at the Tour de France 2009 with his return to the cycling world 4 years after his retirement.

Tour de France 2010 will kick off on July 3, 2010 in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996. This year it would be the tour for the climbers with most number of climbs in the past few years, accounting to a total of 23 climbs. The 97th Grand Tour is planned to cover approximately 3600km on ground with the participation of 22 teams.

All Sri Lankan cycling enthusiasts could witness some great sport from the 3rd of July to the 25th July as the world renowned cyclists make their way to Paris in glory and triumph for the 97th title of Tour de France 2010.

- Asian Tribune -