Sporting prowess, heroic riders, and big business: Despite doping rumors, the Tour de France, which will be held this year from July 6 through 28, remains a major spectacle enjoyed worldwide. The Tour de France is a paradox. Created in France in 1903, it has long embodied an authentically French competition in its portrayal of a country, a culture, rural...
Out of 176 riders, only 5 Americans were on the starting line of the Tour de France this year. The U.K., Poland, and Denmark each had as many riders. By comparison, Belgium had 19 riders and France 35. The United States never really recovered from the Lance Armstrong scandal, writes New York Times reporter Ian Austen. On the Tour, his name is...
Part sporting epic, part media extravaganza, part assertion of national identity, the Tour de France cycle race will depart from Noirmoutier-en-l'île in the Vendée region on Saturday, July 7. What makes this barnstorming annual event so compelling? Held every July, the Tour de France — literally "tour of France" — is an epic, 2,200-mile cycle race lasting 23 days. It is...
This year’s Tour de France, which began on July 1, drew scandal once again when veteran Portuguese cyclist Andre Cardoso was suspended after testing positive for a prohibited drug, one also used by Lance Armstrong when he won the seven Tour titles that were taken away when his cheating was discovered in 2012. But cheating has actually been a part...
