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Tour De France - Support Your Cycling Heroes

Posted on January 1, 2008 - Filed Under Recreation and Sports


The Tour de France is coming to England, so how are you going to welcome the two wheeled invasion in our nation’s capital?

For the first time in the Tour’s 104-year history, London will host the opening stages of the world’s greatest annual sporting event. The historic cycling competition spawns heroes of sporting endurance that far surpass the normal coverage given to the two wheeled sport; could the British public be set to witness the birth of a new one?

The Tour de France festival opens on Friday 6th July with the presentation of the Tour riders to the public at Trafalgar Square. The Opening Ceremony is free to the public, and is an ideal chance to get to see the riders in their Team Colours before the hard work begins.

As a casual observer of cycling (and an especially casual participant in it) this huge event coming to London has got even the laziest sports fans excited, causing many to think of ways to jump on the bandwagon and join in the fun.

Last weekend British Cycling magazine hosted a 120-mile ride from Greenwich to Canterbury, taking in some of the route the Tour riders will battle it out on only seven days later. World Track Champion cyclist Victoria Pendleton opened the ride at 6am on Sunday, with Ian Wright and several members of the London 2012 Olympic Committee joining up to 5,000 other riders to take on the route.

Ms Pendleton, who took the gold in the women’s sprint at the World Track Cycling Championships this year, said of the organised ride; “It’s a fantastic occasion to see so many people on bikes.

“I would encourage people to enjoy the day, encourage each other on the climbs and demonstrate how wonderful our sport is.”

If that sounds like something you would have enjoyed, there are plenty of other events and ideas to help you celebrate the Tour coming to London.

Carnivals and festivals are taking place across the country in the week ahead of the opening celebrations, with French markets, street performers and stunt bike shows across the London Boroughs. Why not attend and enjoy the carnival atmosphere that follows this famous race?

Whilst the fans enjoy the build up, don’t forget the Tour de France is a serious business for those involved, with fortunes and legends made to be made in the historic race.

The Tour de France is made up of individual athletes who participate for sponsored teams, wearing distinctive colours and patterns to differentiate from rivals. The 2007 tour is made up of 20 stages, with racers competing for each stage. The overall winner is the rider who completes the Tour in the least amount of time.

It is widely acknowledged that a good team strategy is one of the most important things in success on the Tour, and many fans opt to support the team of their favourite racer.

So what are your options?

There’s good news if you’re looking to cheer on a Brit this weekend. The latest reports indicate Britain will be represented in the Tour by up to six cyclists, including Scot David Millar and Londoner Bradley Wiggins. This gives any patriot out there the excuse to don their England wigs or Union Jacks to roar on their countrymen.

Alternatively, pick a team to support. Check out the latest news and information and pick a team, grab some face paint in their team colours and head down to trackside this weekend to show your support.

After all, ‘le Tour’ is coming to England. This really is an event not to be missed.

John Staff is a Free lance Journalist with a passion for Sport, Music and Travel.

He has written for a variety of publications, and most recently helped develop and promote Party Domain, one of the UK’s leading online fancy dress stores.

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