| The Tour de France is the BIG one;
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| | went on to beat all comers in the Tour de
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| it’s the World cup and the Olympics
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| | France.The course.The race starts in a
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| all in one. It has it all, the high
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| | different town every year and every other
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| mountains, the wind swept northern planes
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| | year it starts outside France, the choice
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| and the heat of the south. It also has
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| | of stage towns is a combination of money
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| the world’s media, all the top
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| | and sporting considerations, the towns
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| teams and riders and millions of cycling
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| | will pay for a start or a finish, but
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| mad fans watching. The other “Grand
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| | they need to be near a mountain or a
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| Tours” of Italy and Spain are as
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| | cobbled road or be near other town who
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| exciting, sometimes more so, but they
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| | want to host the Tour. The Towns pay to
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| don’t have the thing the Tour has,
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| | be the centre of interest for a day, the
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| that unique Tour ness, that unique French
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| | Tour also brings in a lot of money in
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| ness.How it started.It all started in
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| | tourism and the Towns collect much more
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| 1903, when the French daily paper,
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| | than they pay and the world will remember
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| L’Auto wanted to sell more than its
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| | the name of the Town, for at least a
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| competitor, Le Vélo, who at that
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| | day.The riders.All the best riders want
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| time was the only paper reporting on
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| | to win the Tour de France, but they cant,
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| cycle racing. It was suggested to the
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| | from the 200 or so starters there is a
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| papers director, Henri Desgrange that
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| | possible five or six riders who can win,
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| they should organise a road bike race all
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| | the rest are either helping their team
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| round France. The first race was 2,428
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| | leaders or sprint or mountain specialists
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| kilometres split into six stages and was
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| | who want to win stages or points or
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| run off at 25.29 kilometres per hour and
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| | mountain jerseys, this keeps the race
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| out of the 60 starters 21 finished and
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| | active and interesting from beginning to
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| the race was lead from start to finish by
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| | end.The BIG Tour.The Tour is the biggest,
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| Maurice Garin.The Heroes.Over the years
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| | but that has its problems, some Towns are
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| there has been a lot of heroes in the
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| | not big enough, hotels etc., the
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| Tour de France, you could say all the
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| | television needs more space, the
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| riders are heroes, to win the race once
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| | journalists need more phone lines and
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| is hard, but to win it five times is
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| | computers, more and more people are
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| phenomenal. Only five men have done this,
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| | following the race and the riders can be
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| and one of these has won it seven times.
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| | forgotten about in all the razzmatazz,
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| French rider Jacques Anquetil was the
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| | but its still the biggest sporting event
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| first to win the race five times, Eddy
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| | in the world, long may in run!Alastair
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| Merckx, Bernard Hinault and then Spaniard
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| | Hamilton is a successful writer who
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| Miguel Indurain all equalled him. Then
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| | offers a truly unique depth of experience
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| the American, Lance Armstrong started to
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| | in competitive cycling, he also
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| win in 1999 and didn’t stop until
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| | contributes adding technical articles on
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| he had won it a record seven times in a
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| | road bikes to some cycling online
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| row. This is all the more amazing as he
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| | magazines. Please, visit to reach
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| is a cancer survivor and was given a 50
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| | further information on bike and cycling
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| 50 chance of life; he beat the cancer and
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| | news.
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