“I think fairness comes before being selfish. There’s other things to think about than the yellow jersey.”
– Fabian Cancellara
That quote was by one of the top contenders in this year’s Tour de France who dropped out of the race to attend the birth of his second child, saying that he needed to be there for his wife. Above all, he said, he is first a husband and father. Well, in my book, he’s already a winner. And he’s right on all counts even though it must have been an emotional decision in every way for him. But, yes, there definitely ARE other things to think about than winning a yellow jersey or a gold medal or a first place anything.
I’m writing about this famous bicycling race because quite frankly I’m obsessed with it. Along with the Olympics the Tour de France is one of those jaw-dropping sports that leave people like me transfixed and wondering why? Is it worth the holy hell crashes and near-deaths and losses and gut-wrenching misses just seconds from the cross-the-line-win? How does it happen that seemingly perfectly sane (or so it appears from my TV vantage point) athletes are wired to turn into mad peddling machines, starting out major hunks and ending as gaunt stick figures by the time they’ve torn up the mountains and plains, the Pyrenees and Alps—literally an entire tour of France in less than three weeks time!????
I’m exhausted watching this heart-pounding madness since the races just began. But Pete and I can’t stop tuning into it. And I must say that Pete is one patient husband, for millions of reasons, but when it comes to me watching Le Tour with him he’s very kind. Because really I absolutely don’t understand one damned thing about it. Wait. I thought that guy was the winner. What does that mean? How many winners are there?
Nothing makes sense.
I do know that it’s more than a bunch of guys going really fast on bikes until they nearly die. I’m learning that it’s more than one big race and that big clump of undulating bikes is called a “peloton” –not a big clump of bikes. The word “peloton” is French for “ball” or “platoon.” And within that mass of pelotonity (my word not theirs), teammates provide lots of protection to their leaders. They’re providing something called “drafting” to help their leader conserve energy better.
Continue reading “Vive Le Tour de (frankly I don’t get it) France 2012”