Tour de France 2020: watch it for views of French countryside alone – the cycling is a sideshow
- This year’s Tour de France should get underway on August 29 and is particularly important for professional teams struggling due to Covid-19
- Viewers can see Nice, the French Riviera, Provence, the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Champs Élysées in all their glory
You don’t have to be a cycling fan to become hooked on the Tour de France. For some, the racing is a sideshow to a three-week grand visual tour of the country. With live coverage of up to eight hours a day (plus highlight programmes) being beamed to almost every corner of the planet, the Tour provides glimpses of France’s most impressive sights and scenery, many of which are rarely seen outside the race coverage.
The Tour de France dates back to 1903 and unlike stadium- or track-based sports, cycling provides a free-to-view spectacle for supporters who wish to cheer along from the roadside. Those who watch from home, though, arguably get a better viewing experience.
Depending on the daily stage and what’s happening in the competition, television coverage switches between in-race motorbike cameras, roadside shots and aerial footage. This breadth of coverage, almost unparalleled in sporting terms, guarantees a global audience that draws sponsors and advertisers, without whom professional cycling would be in financial strife. This year’s Tour represents a particular lifeline for a number of professional teams close to folding due to Covid-19 restrictions.
With the TV coverage showing off the country at its finest, the race has always been something of a goose that lays golden eggs for the French tourism industry. Although this year’s race remains wholly in France, usually the Tour has stages in neighbouring countries, with host towns and regions paying a premium for the privilege. This investment can pay off handsomely, as it did when the “Grand Départ” – the start of the course – was held in Leeds, England, in 2014. The world got to see the Yorkshire Dales from above, bathed in sunshine, which led to a boost in related tourism over the following years.
The 2020 race
The race is scheduled to start in Nice, on the French Riviera, on August 29. Assuming it’s not cancelled at the last minute (the Alpes-Maritimes region, where the race begins, is on red alert because of a rise in Covid-19 infections), over the following three weeks, the Tour will roll around the hills of Provence, scale the remote climbs of the Pyrenees, clamber over the Alps, traverse the volcanic Auvergne region and finish on the Champs Élysées in Paris.
The official website has some superb aerial preview videos of the stages, so you can choose ahead of time which to watch.
In Hong Kong you can follow the action on Eurosport (through myTV Super), or via the new GCN app and race pass (iOS/Android, US$8.99 per month).
How the racing works
For this year’s race, the world’s leading 22 professional cycling teams will each line up with eight riders – assuming none report two or more team members, including non-riders, testing positive for Covid-19, in which case they will be disqualified.
Stronger teams usually have one or two riders who have a realistic chance of topping the overall general classification (GC) standing with the fastest cumulative time over the competition. These are riders of exceptional all-round ability. They can climb, time trial, hold their own on the flat and get through three weeks of racing without faltering. Their teammates work to control the pace, chase breakaways and assist their leaders in any way they can.
The rider with the lowest cumulative riding time at the start of a stage wears the leader’s yellow jersey.
The high mountains are where the race is decided, places where the fractions of seconds between riders on flat stages can turn to insurmountable minutes.
Managing and manipulating the daily outcome is what makes team tactics so fascinating to watch. A smart-thinking weaker racer can triumph over the brute strength of a less experienced but stronger rival by, for instance, forcing him to make a move and expend energy when he can least afford to do so.
Many teams also have a fast-finishing sprinter, explosive riders who can rarely climb well. Their teams will form “lead-out trains” designed to keep the pace high and to shelter their sprinter towards the end of a stage, and then to lead him to the front of the race at the prime moment to sprint for victory.
Puncheurs (all-rounders) are riders who can do a bit of everything, and who will chance their luck on the rolling roads, a place where the sprinters will struggle and the GC riders will be trying to conserve energy. Many of these riders are designated as domestiques (helpers), riders there primarily to work for team leaders.
As well as fighting for prestigious daily stage wins, the more prominent of these riders will contend for the green jersey. This is awarded daily for finishing consistency and is based on points awarded for finishing position in a stage rather than times (there are more flat/rolling stages than mountain finishes on which to rack up these points). The polka dot jersey (King of the Mountains), meanwhile, is awarded daily to the most consistent climber in the mountain stages.
