Tour de France

To many Americans, who are used to football, baseball, and basketball, the Tour de France is that little race on bicycles that Lance Armstrong dominated. Few understand the intricacies and the beauty of the Tour. Too many people are afraid of the Tour because it is not easily relatable to the sports we already know. The differences between the Tour and the big four are what make the Tour great. Given the basic structure of the games of American sports, it should be refreshing to watch something different.First, it must be made clear that the Tour is not NASCAR. The riders of the Tour are among the greatest athletes the human race has ever offered. The Tour is not a sprint, but a twenty-three day odyssey covering 2,200 miles.

It is not just the fact that they are covering that much distance, but the beauty and variety of the landscape which they cover. You haven't seen beauty until you see a long stream of cyclists flowing like an organism on pitch black pavement through verdant fields. After the countryside, they hit the mountains. The climbers attack the Pyrenees like Clydesdales straining to exert every last ounce of energy. However, the ascent is nothing compared to the race down the mountain. The riders careen downhill at breakneck speeds inches away from lethal drops.

There is immense variety between stages and even in each individual stage. Unlike the oblong track of NASCAR, the style of the Tour de France course provides for a unique experience during every stage.

Unlike a prototypical sporting event, there isn't a winner and a loser. In the tour, there are four jerseys to win: yellow (general classification leader), green (sprinter), polka dot (king of the mountain), and white (young rider). The polka dot jersey allows for an exciting moment around the half point. The green jersey is won by the rider who is the best sprinter. The sprint is not like track with clear white lines. There are a few inches in between each rider and there are often macabre scenes when a rider goes off course.

For those who like to watch college football, the white jersey is for you. This is the best rider under 25. It is interesting to watch riders who previously won the white jersey climb to win the yellow - the maillot jaune.

One of the most fabled aspects of the Tour de France is the breakaway. Some of the most exciting races are those in which a rider or a group of riders breaks away from the peloton - the main body of riders. The viewer will often watch as the gap between the breakaway and the peloton reaches its peak and then begins to slip to nothingness. The viewer can see a look of utter despair on the face of a rider looking back to see the peloton swallow him up.

The most entertaining part of the Tour de France can be the fans. If you think Raiders fans are crazy, think again. The courses are scattered with mobile homes in which the fans have been sleeping. They tailgate like you wouldn't believe. Sleeping next to the courses allows them to start drinking as soon as they wake up, which can make for some interesting scenes.

Fans dress in a wide variety of costumes. The typical fan will run along with the riders waving their countries' flags above their heads. A man who dresses up as the devil every year and follows the riders on foot is a fan favorite. Because of the length of the routes, policemen cannot stand along the whole course.

Usually, the peaks of the mountains are the most harrowing areas. Crowds spill onto the road, allowing riders only a few inches between them and the fans. The people of the French countryside also pose entertainment. They will make messages out of bales of hay or, in some cases, themselves.

Unfortunately, steroids have done to cycling what they have done to other sports. Floyd Landis was the worst thing that ever happened to cycling. However, there have been drastic steps taken in order to clean up the sport. Not only did Landis detract from the sport itself, but from Lance Armstrong's legacy. In the course of his career, barring a successful comeback, Armstrong won seven yellow jerseys. Watch him look back at Jan Ullrich then commence to reach another gear, that nobody ever reached before, and there is no way to not admire the athleticism needed to be a successful cyclist. Now, a thirty-seven-year-old cancer survivor with every non-American hoping to prove that he took steroids, his story is irresistible.

The Tour de France is a thing of beauty which could take years and a greater understanding of the intricacies of racing and of the stories behind the riders and their rivalries. However, the scenery, the athleticism, the relationships; make an irresistible combination.