Tour de France

So, another year, and another Tour de France has completed, with Carlos Sastre as the winner for the first time – the third consecutive Spaniard to win.

I’m not an avid cyclist by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve been a fan of the Tour de France for many, many years. I don’t even really know why – it’s just something where I find the sheer achievement of each and every rider in the competition to be absolutely fantastic.

Seeing the stages (and particularly the climbs) that the riders do, knowing that they’re riding on average 166kilometres (about 103 miles) per day for 21 days, and seeing the way they still can sprint to a finish at the end of that immense day’s mileage, that’s just truly impressive.

So I don’t quite know why I’m such a fan, but every year, I’ll be watching the Tour de France, regardless. And will consistently be in awe of these guys who complete – or even compete in – such a fantastically exhausting event.