What We Do...

Leadership

Innovation

Team Coaching

Sports Coaching

Executive Coaching

Mediation

Change Management

Article

Le Tour De France

11-08-2009

This unique sporting event has the ability to capture the imagination and interest of people who are otherwise not interested in bikes or in riding them. Its world wide audience is phenomenal. It is hard to imagine another sporting event which could hold people’s interest in such an intense way for 3 weeks.

The History of the Tour

Maybe it has something to do with the history of the tour. It all began in 1904, with a difference of opinion about an allegation of spying by a French soldier. The main sporting journal of the day (L’Auto) was owned by one of the protagonists. His opposite decided to build a rival journal (Le Velo) to put him out of business. The first tour was invented as an advertising promotion and immediately captured the imagination of the French public.

The structure and duration of the tour evolved over the next few decades. Originally, individuals competed for prize money and were effectively self sufficient. They were promoted as heroic figures, the princes of endurance sport. The team idea was the next development and teams were initially by country (or combinations thereof). However, there were well established corporate teams by the 1930’s. This presented problems where team loyalties were greater than national ones (who is paying their wages after all?) As the commercial potential of the tour escalated, pressure came from corporate teams to compete as this entity. The advertising potential was too great to ignore, so, this is the way it went, with corporate teams now the norm. An attempt at return to national teams in the 1980’s was not successful.

The Current Structure of the Tour

The original idea was that the tour followed the borders of France, but its international appeal now sees it starting in and traversing other countries bordering France. The tour is of 3 weeks duration and covers approximately 3,500 kms (this varies from year to year). Each day constitutes one “stage”. There are 2 rest days. The discreet elements of the tour which test riders’ abilities are time trialing (as individual or teams, over a given distance), sprinting (during stages and at their conclusion) and climbing. The terrain of a day stage is usually variable, but with one feature dominant (flat terrain, mountains or intermediate).

Teams comprise 9 riders. There are usually 20 teams in each tour. There is a team leader who is the main contender for the so-called “general classification” ie. the shortest elapsed time for the whole tour. He is usually an elite time trialist and climber. Each team usually has a gifted sprinter to compete for the so-called “points jersey” and also at least one good climber. The other six members of the team are “domestiques” (servants) whose job it is to support the leader and the other specialists. Their role includes carrying drinks and food from the team car, riding to cover possible breakaways from the main field (called the “Peleton”) and providing a wind break and protection for the leader when needed.

Much interest centres on the politics of each team. If the leader’s form isn’t up to scratch his position can be challenged. Where there are 2 high profile riders (as with Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador in the Astana team this year) their rivalry can trump team loyalty. This changes from day to day.

The Appeal of the Tour

The dramas of the tour are played out in full view of the viewing, reading and spectating audience (10,000,000 people alone each year in France).

Intra and inter-team rivalries and politics play an integral part in the media coverage of this event. The feelings are as intense as are the physical demands of this extraordinary endurance event.

The tactics of each stage are analyzed by the experts. Technology allows sophisticated communication with and monitoring of the physiology of, the riders. The riders are in a constant cycle of major endurance effort and then recovery (usually overnight).

The scenic background of the tour is usually stunning. Most media coverage includes a commentary on the historical and cultural features of the region of the day’s stage. There is a pleasing intersection of sport and culture. The long history of the older European countries provides endless fascination as background commentary.

The history of the tour itself spans well over a century and this also brings special interests at various stages during the event. The commentators have an encyclopedic knowledge of this stuff.

Drugs and the Tour

No discussion of the tour could omit this issue. The tour is a multi billion dollar industry. The rewards for success are huge. These are the top 180-200 riders in the world. The temptation to seek some small advantage must be great.

Even last year a whole team was disqualified for a sophisticated blood doping program. The facility for storing urine samples for years counters to some degree the idea of being one step ahead of the detection process.

The Magic Formula

The tour brings together several factors over a 3 week period, which combine to make this a compelling spectacle. The factors are:-

The best riders in the world competing over the most arduous course, for the biggest prize in their sport.

The physical backdrop of some of the most beautiful provincial scenery in Europe.
The spice of the various regional cultures.
The intense intra and inter-team rivalries.
The ongoing battle of wits between the teams for tactical supremacy.
The inevitable sprinkling of controversy which accompanies most tours.
Sophisticated coverage by a well informed media contingent.

Even considering this confluence of factors, the team seems to be more than “the some of the parts”.