Travel Destinations

For most Americans, the initial images that come to mind when one mentions sports are group athletics on a field. Football, baseball, and basketball are the holy trinity of sporting events States-side, but to Europeans, older and more traditional activities reign supreme.

Those in the United States might not understand the appeal of the race, but getting to know The Tour de France means starting to get excited about watching people on bicycles, too. For most amateur athletes, even a vague understanding of how fit one has to be to even consider making it to the end, let alone winning, is enough to give the race a little bit of time in between other television programming.

The biggest mistake that people make when thinking about The Tour de France is thinking the race just lasts for a couple of days, or is actually not that long, but is spread out time-wise. In reality, the race is thousands of miles long, usually lasts for 21 days of continuous riding, and has been known not just to span France, but the surrounding countries, too. Riders have to navigate some of the steepest and most dangerous roads in France, and must be in peak physical shape to even think about doing a good job.

One of the most exciting parts of The Tour de France is the fact that, every year, the route changes. In actuality, the distance for the race can vary a great deal, with the shortest clocking in around 1,500 miles, and the longest somewhere around 3,570 miles. Riders never know quite what they’re going to get, and neither do the fans, who line small mountain passes as well as city streets, ecstatic to cheer their favorites on.

But not just anyone can qualify–or survive–a ride in The Tour de France. Riders planning on tackling The Tour de France have to be in peak physical shape, because the race is one of the most demanding sporting events in the entire world of sports, not just bicycle racing. With very little time to rest and recuperate, and literally hundreds of miles of biking up and down mountain roads ahead of them, riders have to train for months and months to get anywhere ready to compete.

The Tour de France is known for the toll it takes on both the body and the mind, to say nothing of the bicycle itself. Add to that the fact that it’s possible to never win a single portion of the race, but still triumph at the end, and no wonder riders are exhausted and disoriented for much of the experience, unsure of exactly where they stand in the rank. That only makes it more fun for the fans, who crowd the streets to shout encouraging words to the riders at every turn.

While Europe has long praised the race, worked itself into a fervor over the conclusion, and pointedly supported riders the way that long-term Red Sox fans root for their home team in baseball, America has gotten on board in recent years since they became one of the big winners. Ever since one of their own started pummeling the Europeans, interest in the race, and in cycling in general, has grown.

Who managed to change American opinion on The Tour de France? A single rider, Lance Armstrong, who managed to win The Tour de France not once, not twice, not three times, but SEVEN times, in a row. He managed to come back from a devastating cancer diagnosis to triumph in the race, and led to a lot of bicycling-related patriotism for those Americans who might not have even been interested in the race in the first place.

But whether it’s cheering for an obscure 20-something who might just have his lucky day, poring over old film footage of racers making their way up the mountains in grainy black and white, or getting excited for Lance Armstrong and wondering if an American will ever do that well again, there’s no denying the appeal of The Tour de France.

Damian Papworth, a keen cyclist knows how important hydration is in the sport, at all levels. As such, he created the Cycling Water Bottle website, offering free advice on bicycle water bottles