Le Tour de France Stage 16 - Day 1 of the Pyrenees - Light Your Internal Fire

As we begin the final six days of this year's Le Tour de France, we enter the Pyrenees. These steep, narrow and iconic roads will test the riders and pull them through the wringer to get to the other side and onto the streets of Paris on Sunday. We'll have an individual time trial later in the week, but to get there, there are a few steep mountains to climb and I can hardly wait! Bring it on! 

It'll be a slow beginning with a single sprint line at the 174 km
 mark, but then it shifts into high gear with a steep Cat 2
and two extreme Cat 1 peaks ahead. The finish barely
sets foot into Spain - the only part of this year's race that's
outside the borders of France. 

When we left off on Sunday, the race had ended in the Massif Central - that granite uplift that splits lower France - with the Pyrenees in sight. What a lovely nightmare to have in sight for the second rest day of Le Tour. Today we begin the climb. I love the Pyrenees, they are so different than the sweeping Alps. The Pyrenees are more stark - brasher, younger, and unashamed of being peaks that can make anyone quail. The thought of driving over these roads frightens many. The thought of biking over them with crazy crowds of fans and total mayhem? That's what's truly frightening. 

The Col du Portillon is the final climb for the day,
featuring a steady, tough incline followed by a
wicked, steep down-sweep to the finish line. 

After this year's problems with fans, I know the race directors will be discussing whether or not to extend barriers. But on the narrow roads of the Pyrenees, I'm not sure barriers would be the answer. The fans love the sport so much, they endanger the riders by their enthusiasm. It's a Catch 22 - the riders need the fans, and the fans love the riders, but there needs to be a bit of distance between the two of them. It's a balancing act which comes into question each year, but this year the direct interaction between a fan and a rider resulted in the serious injury and race withdrawal of one of the major riders of the tour - Vincenzo Nibili. 

Here is a photo of Gino Bartali in 1948 while riding in Le
Tour that year. He ended up winning that year in a final
field of 44 riders, beating the next closest rider by almost
27 minutes. Twenty-one riders completed the original
Tour de France in 1903. The race that year featured a
total of six stages, 2428 km and had an average speed of
25.6. To compare, in 2017 there were a total of 21
stages, 3540 km and an average speed of 40.9. Better
bicycles, a longer course, and so very exciting. 

When I think of how Le Tour de France started so many years ago (1903), with just a few riders who, quite literally, fixed their broken bicycles at local blacksmith forges along the route, and I compare those early days to modern days, it's a shock. This small race of men and machines against the grandeur of France has become a world-wide phenomenon that enthralls fans for weeks, and employs hundreds of riders and their support personnel. Yes, great redwoods can indeed grow from a single small seed. 

I'm off and running to the pool once again. Although I enjoy bike riding, for me it's the water that calls enough to me to pull me into the gym every day. I hope you find your passion today - everyone needs something to light their internal fires. Happy Tuesday!