I'm glad there is - VII

Each year in July I find myself spending far too much time in front of the television, marveling at the athleticism, skill, and sheer force of will on display at this event. I have to admit I'm not so much of a fan as to seek out coverage of the other cycling events of the season, but Le Tour grabs me every time. Just over 2263 miles in 23 days; sounds impressive, right? But wait: factor out the two rest days, bringing the average miles per day to just under 108. Okay, then, factor out the two time-trial days (not that these are negligible by any means, as they are simply all-out, every-man-for-himself sprints against the clock) of 5.5 and 32.3 miles (that's right, a 32-mile SPRINT) which are themselves as challenging as any other stage. This brings the average mileage on the other 19 days to 117. But wait: Only 9 of these 19 days are on what the organizers call "flat" roads. There are also four stages classified as “medium” mountains, and six classified as “high” mountains. And these are real mountains, friends; we’re talking about the Alps and the Pyrenees here. To make it a bit more difficult, three of the mountain stages end at the summit.

One of these is this years’ Stage 17, the 20th day of the tour, from Pau to the Col du Tourmalet. The ride will cover 108 miles, with four climbs, in this order: one of Category 4, 2 of Category 1, with the final climb to the finish designated as Hors Categorie (above category)*. Summing up, the riders will travel over 100 miles, climbing over three mountain passes and ending at the summit of a fourth.

The winner of the stage will finish in a little over 5 hours.

Think about that. That means averaging over 20 mph, for five hours, in the mountains. Next time you have occasion to be driving in a car at that speed, take a moment to look out the window at the passing scenery, and imagine gaining and maintaining that velocity without the assistance of 4, 6, or 8 cylinders.

And that’s just one day. Other days will include similar topography, varying degrees of road surface integrity (this year two stages will include stretches over cobblestones - not nicely laid brick roads as we still see from time to time in America, but actual stones, with gaps and sharp edges), wind, and rain.

Can there be any doubt that these are some of the world’s most impressive athletes? And don’t talk to me about doping (the riders are tested incessantly) or tiny concealed motors (the media’s favorite topic of controversy this year). Yes, there have been and will be those who try to gain an edge by unethical means, but I really don’t care. Watch these guys, and you will see human beings (you can tell from the blood that comes out of them when they crash, the tears when they are forced to withdraw before the end, and the joy on the face of a stage winner crossing the finish line) competing in a sport watched by few (at least in the US), without nearly the level of financial incentive enjoyed by other professional athletes (most of whom, by the way, would not be able to complete one day of the tour).

So why do they do it? Fame? Yes, you have Lance. You have Contador, and Sastre. Vinokourov. The Schleck brothers. Leipheimer, Hincapie, and Vandevelde. You have racers who have achieved heroic, almost mythic stature in their homelands. Hinault, Merckx, Coppi, Indurain. But I think most of the riders do it simply to be able to say that they can and did. Nothing more complicated than the sense of achievement that comes from testing the limit of your endurance and skill.

And that’s pretty damn cool.

*The categorization of the climbs is somewhat confusing, weighing distance traveled against average grade (a 5% grade is one where five vertical feet are gained for every 100 feet of forward travel). Category 4 is the least difficult, Category 1 the most, and HC beyond even that. It’s not a strictly linear scale, however; a 12% grade may be part of a Cat 2 climb, if it’s short, and a Cat 1 climb may only average 6%, but be 15-20 miles in length. A climb may be designated HC if it is difficult in the measurable extreme, because of overall altitude, or because it comes at the very end of the stage, with the finish line at the summit. Interestingly, the descents don’t factor into the designation, in spite of the fact that the degree of difficulty of traveling 50-60 mph down winding mountain roads is, shall we say, not insignificant.