Le Tour De France (2015)

** Some of the images in this post contain blood and gore **

It's that time of year again. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And 190 or so men have donned their lyrca, picked up their bikes, and began the most epic sporting event of the year. Le Tour de France!

@chrisfroome au sommet / at the top! #TDF2015

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 14, 2015 at 8:50am PDT

As its the second (and last) rest day of the race, with another week left of biking to do, I thought it was about time for my annual gushing about the event.

The racers have dropped from 198 to around 176. The number of dropouts include two yellow jersey holders, the first (Fabian Cancellara) after he somersaulted over his bike and fractured two vertibrae. The second (Tony Martin) after he crashed and broke his collar bone. Both men finished the stage before the doctors ordered them to abandon the race.

#Teamspirit #TDF2015 @pressesports

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 9, 2015 at 12:23pm PDT

Many men race on through their injuries, however. Indeed, none of the riders can hope to come out of the race unscathed. One rider, Romain Bardet, rode with sun stroke, vomiting every few miles, and the next day came third on the stage. Another, Jean-Christophe Peraud, took off a vast amount of skin, and found himself (heavily bandaged) in the breakaway the next day.

💥😫🚴💪💪💪💪💪💪#bravo #cyclisme #TDF2015 #courage @pressesports

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 17, 2015 at 3:28pm PDT

These men are hard core.

Terrible chute au km 107 / Terrible crash 💥 #TDF2015

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 6, 2015 at 7:50am PDT

The dedication to their sport is why I love it. They put their bodies through torture every single day, and for many the reward of crossing the line on the Champs-Elysee is enough.

The work the domestiques put in (often to their own detriment) in order to get their team leader in the coveted yellow jersey is epic. It is over twice as hard to ride on the front of the pack than on the second wheel, so these men put themselves in front of their main guy in order to save his legs, whilst they work themselves till all they can do is swing off and slide down to the back. It says a lot about the skill of Geraint Thomas that he is in sixth place whilst his team leader is in first - few domestiques can rank so highly after spending an hour protecting Chris Froome up a 6% climb.

Geraint Thomas, quelle que soient les conditions, au service de @chrisfroome / always here for @chrisfroome, what ever is the weather. #TDF2015 @ashleygruber @jeredgruber

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 16, 2015 at 11:21am PDT

They race at speeds averaging 40kmph. Even uphill. The motorbikes can't keep up with them on the  descents.

Its hard not to have respect for those men who race clean and push their bodies to the limits for the love of the sport. When urine was thrown in Chris Froome's face the other day it was hard not to be furious. When Mark Cavendish gave his post-stage-win interview it was hard not to smile with him.

This is a sport that inspires emotion. You only need look at the 10-12 million fans who line the backroads of France to get a glimpse of the race to see that.

La rage de vaincre à l'état pur / Pure determination to win! @markcavendish #TDF2015

A photo posted by Le Tour de France (@letourdefrance) on Jul 10, 2015 at 3:45pm PDT

If any of this has stirred anything in you, I urge you to tune into ITV4 at 7pm, if nothing else than to hear Phil Liggett's dulcet tones.

Why I Love le Tour de France

It’s a funny one this. I don’t have any particular interest in cycling for almost 11 months of the year. I don’t follow the Giro d’Italia, or the Tour of Britain. I don’t mind going for a short cycle ride in the sun, but anything more than 10 miles is pushing it a bit for me, and you can say goodbye if there’s a breath of wind in the air. Yet every summer Tour fever hits, and it hits me hard.

I’ve been an avid fan for the last 5 years or so, so much so that I’m finally contemplating getting the ringtone. Like any sports fan, I’ve got my favourites. Andy Schleck has been my baby ever since he came second to the cheating rat that is Alberto Contador in 2010. I’ve got buckets of time for both Jens Voigt and Tommy Voeckler. Obviously, I’ve got to support the ever charming Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, and Mark Cavendish is so brilliant it’s hard not to be filled with passion for the sport every time Mark Renshaw launches the Manx Missile for the sprint for the line.

However, this year, four days into the three week long slog at the time of writing, I’ve already lost two of my favourites: Cavendish crashed out on stage one with a dislocated shoulder and subsequent ligament detachment, and Schleck didn’t start stage four after ligament damage on his knee following a crash on stage three. This is exactly what makes the sport so thrilling – these are men travelling for upwards of 150km a day, for three weeks straight, frequently travelling at speeds exceeding 30mph (reaching 60mph down the mountains), with only a thin skin of lycra to protect them. If you think about it, when motorcyclists travel at that speed they wear Kevlar and leather. When these boys crash, they feel every bit. In 2011, Johnny Hoogerland was forced off the road into a barbed wire fence, got back on the bike and carried on riding till the end of the stage. He started the next stage with 30 stitches.

These men are hard. They suffer agony every day, forcing their bodies up mountains with 25% gradients after 100’s of kilometres riding. They frequently finish stages with broken collar bones and, a couple of years back, Vinokourov walked on a broken femur after crashing down a hill.

Not only that, but for all the stories of doping, the majority of riders are respectful. In today’s stage (four) one of the lead men encountered a mechanical problem. Rather than racing ahead, Voeckler slowed up and allowed his competitor to catch up before continuing to race. Those team members who are not up for a jersey (yellow (highest placed rider), green (best sprinters), polka-dot (king of the mountains) or white (highest placed young rider)) sacrifice everything for those members of their team who are. It’s been said that Chris Froome could have won the yellow jersey in 2012 had he not been protecting and helping team leader Bradley Wiggins. And when a rider doesn’t respect the conventions of courtesy, they are looked down upon (for further reference, listen to Phill Liggett and Paul Sherwen’s commentary when Contador took the jump on Schleck when the later encountered a mechanical problem which ultimately cost him the tour (although the victory was awarded to him in 2012 when it came out that Contador had been doping).

If all of this hasn’t made you at least curious about the sport, I don’t know what else I can say. If it has wet your appetite, I recommend you tune in to ITV4 at 7pm for the daily highlights show. I can almost guarantee you’ll see a show you won’t forget in a hurry!