Route to the Tour De France 2022 Part 1
The Tour De France and its place in Cycling by a leadout.
Is the Tour De France the only race of the year?
The Tour de France is not the only race in the cycling season. It is arguably neither the hardest nor the the most important. Yet, it is a popular event not only in the cycling world and but across the whole sporting event.
How popular is the Tour De France?
Each year, about 12 million people line up on the roadside, making it the most popular attractions in France after Disneyland Paris. With 3.5
billion viewers annually, it is the most watched sporting event after the World Cup and the Olympics games.
What are the other races?
However cycling is not all about the Tour de France. A regular cycling season usually starts towards the end of January in Australia and ends in October with the World Championship. A year calendar consists of 3 grand tours (the Tour de France , the giro D’Italia and La Vuelta D’Espana) , multiple one week stage races and an uncountable number of one day races.
Are all races the same?
Stage races such as the Tour de France consists of a combination of different stage type to suit every type of riders. We will be covering more about it in part 2 of the Route to the Tour De France 2022.
Does each cyclist ride for himself?
Cycling is a team sports and teams usually under the name of the brands they are sponsored by, have a squad of riders that they send across all the different races. Performances according to the race level brings a certain amount of UCI points, which accumulate towards a very controversial newly implemented relegation- promotion standings.
So, why is the Tour De France still so hyped?
Despite all the other races, The Tour de France with all its history and beauty remains the most followed. Teams under the pressure of sponsors tend to send their best team for media Coverage. A more vigourous anti doping control combined with a young generation of explosive daring riders has made cycling in my opinion the most attractive sports to watch.
What about the women?
On another note and closely related, women’s cycling has experienced an unprecedented development lately and this year will be marked by the first Tour De France Femmes which will start on the 24th July.
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