The Sporting Day: Le Tour de France

There are few more exhilarating sporting contests in the world than the Tour de France. There are certainly few tougher. In both a physical and a mental sense. Three weeks of riding and riding and riding. Through dangerously narrow streets and on cobble-stoned roads. Over massive mountains and in tight packs. For extraordinarily long distances, day after day.

Cycling certainly isn’t a sport that tends to capture the Australian sporting imagination. That is, until the Tour de France when sporting fans across the nation lose plenty of sleep watching a sporting event essentially foreign to them. But it is worth it as the Tour is a wonderful display of endurance, explosiveness, mental hardiness, physical toughness, tactical brilliance, controversy, scenic beauty and downright pure competition. The Tour is one of those few events that can really suck you in, like a football World Cup or an Ashes series.

The Tour de France has a century old history that is as rich as the local cuisine. Champions like Lance Armstrong, Miguel Indurain, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Greg Le Mond- through their incredible deeds in winning the general classification- have taken the race to the world. Tragic deaths, drug controversies and the sheer popularity of the race in a country not known as committed supporters of sport has also added to the aura.

After the controversy of 2006, where many pre-race favourites withdrew under the cloud cover of drug use and the eventual winner, Floyd Landis, placed under investigation for alleged in-race drug use, Tour directors will be hoping that the 2007 edition of the race will be clean and controversy free.

The 2007 Tour has already began and has already enthralled and fascinated despite being another week away from the mountains. CSC rider Fabian Cancellara won the Prologue in brilliant fashion and while wearing the yellow sprinted to victory in stage three. The brilliant team efforts of Predictor-Lotto to drag Robbie McEwen to victory in stage one. The shock of Gert Steegmans out-sprinting more lauded Quick Step teammate Tom Boonen to win stage two in his native Belgium. The action has captured the soul.

For Australia, the Tour to date has been up and down. Green jersey favourite and sprint champion Robbie McEwen recorded one of the most amazing stage wins ever when overcoming a crash and a puncture to claim stage one with a withering burst. But fellow Australian Stuart O’Grady was not so lucky, taking a nasty fall in the Prologue when leading the time-trial style opener. Robbie is certainly Australia’s number one rider but when it comes to yellow jersey chances, Cadel Evans leads the way. A true climber, Evans will be at home in the Pyrenees and the Alps and will make his title claims there.

Don’t expect too many upsets in the minor jerseys. Robbie McEwen looks on track for the sprinter's green jersey with his only legitimate threat being arch-rival Tom Boonen. In the race for the 'King of the Mountains' polka dot jersey, Michael Rasmussen will make it three in a row if he can stay on his bike in the time trials. But don’t expect the favourites to run away with the general classification yellow jersey. The two race favourites, Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloden, both race for Astana and this may see them both beat if the team struggles to make an early decision on who to support. The winner could be down the board in betting markets and the best value certainly appears to be AG2R rider Christophe Moreau. Moreau is around the 50/1 mark and has been in hot form. Don’t be surprised to see him there or thereabouts.

Though cycling may not be the cup of tea for all, it is a brilliant event, through amazing countryside, that can be completely enthralling when given a chance.

© 2007 Punting Ace.com