The Tour de France, the biggest mega cycling event on the planet, which includes 180 of the world’s best riders from 23 teams, is ongoing right now. Like its predecessor, this year’s competition is 21 days long, with cyclists traversing about 3,300 kilometres through 11 varied terrains in France. The event took a serious hit when Belgian icon Remco Evenepoel dropped out. This came from the 14th day after he admitted to having a hard time with steep, difficult mountain passes just two days prior.
Tadej Pogacar, the two-time reigning champion and No. 1 ranked pro cyclist in the world, shared his sadness at Evenepoel’s withdrawal. Pogacar, the three-time Tour de France champion, lamented the dangers of the sport. Specifically, he highlighted the challenges encountered during the many strenuous and grueling phases of the race. He stated, “I was thinking in the last kilometre about him and yeah, how tough this sport can be – and how much pain it can cause.”
Chief among them, overtaking the Tour de France. It nevertheless still attracts ten million viewers each year, a testament to the race’s continuing appeal. Crashes are the unfortunate norm in this fast paced race. Riders frequently ride as fast as 50-60 km/h, the margins for error are razor thin. As Adam Gill noted, “So obviously, they’re riding consistently at 50 and 60km an hour. You know, the margins of error are so small that it doesn’t take much for someone to touch the brakes and next, 30 or 40 cycles are hitting ground.”
The risks associated with the Tour de France were highlighted when a spectator was struck by a team car earlier in the race. Taken together, these incidents are a devastating and tragic reminder of just how dangerous competitive cycling can be. The incredible speeds that riders are reaching these days only exacerbates this risk. Gill remarked on the advancements in technology that enable cyclists to compete at faster speeds than in previous years: “The speeds that they’re going now are exceptional compared to what they used to a couple years ago.”
Socially, the Tour de France has undergone a transition to an increasingly diverse group of competitors. Follis, herself a competitive cyclist, explained that historically speaking peak performance age for riders was thought to be late twenties to early thirties. Recent years have seen these young riders excelling like no others. According to Gill, “The younger riders are doing a lot better, and that comes down to the science and their preparation for the races.” Advancements in nutrition and science-based training regimens have played a huge role in athletes’ accomplishments.
Pogacar and his Tour rivals remain equally focused on chasing the next win at stake. They cannot overlook the internal punishment that endurance athletics take on their bodies. New studies from Bendigo, Australia suggest that more and more cyclists that show up to cardiology wards have abnormal hearts. Dr. Daniel Wundersitz noted this remarkable phenomenon. He reiterated the immediate need to study the health effects of endurance exercise on cyclists.
