Every July, cycling get's it's own space on mainstream sports Media when Le Tour de France rolls out. This is cyclings centrepiece and even riding the tour (never mind winning a stage or the overall) can be the peak in a professional riders career. Cities across Europe spend millions to get a chance to host "Le Grand Depart", and start towns and villages will break the bank to bring the race to them. The Tour does put on a great show (possibly the greatest show in cycling, and one of the best roadside fan experiences), but quite a bit of the time the show it puts on is not paid back with exciting racing on the road. This can be for many reasons which more qualified people than us have answered many times in the past few seasons. And we are certainly not going to give out (well maybe just a little bit) about the biggest race in the cycling season.
However there is more to bike racing than Le Tour. Currently the Vuelta Espana is offering up some of the most exciting racing of the season. G.C. riders are taking big risks to crack their rivals up until the very last day. Often times a Vuelta stage looks similar to the style of racing in most Irish domestic races (But faster.........much faster.....). Flat out attacking from the gun and continuing throughout the stage. Riders aren't afraid to lose this race, but at the same time they are willing to risk everything to win it (check out Orica Bike Exchange Backstage Pass on Youtube to see great examples of this). The racing is less controlled. Some Riders are tired at this point of the season, motivation may not be as high for the tour, and teams may not be as strong. This creates one brilliant bike race. If you are new to cycling, or are just gaining an interest in cycle sport and road racing, look further than Le Tour and then you will find the best that cycling has to offer. One Day Classics, The Giro, The Vuelta, Paris-Nice etc. are all races where riders are willing to risk it all to win. So, what's the catch? Le Tour is undoubtedly the showpiece of the Cycling Calendar and can make a riders career. However, often Le Tour is almost too important and riders don't (or are unable to) take the chance and risk everything. But (there's always a but) it is Le Tour de France. When Le Tour does throw up an epic day of racing, or a classic G.C. battle, then it is the best race on Earth. Therefore, as a cycling fan, it is a must watch, even if it ends up boring the face off you.
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October 2017
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