THACKLEY TRUMPIT JUNE 2014 ALEX'S CORNER

Alex’s Corner

on Le Tour

This year marks the 101st Tour de France, and also sees it  return to England for the first time in more than 5 years. One of the largest sporting events on the planet, it is expected that around 4 million people in England will be at the side of the route, cheering on their favourites. Even better then, that for the majority of its stay in England, the Tour will be in God’s home county of Yorkshire; the first time ever the tour has come to the north of the country.
The tour will consist of 21 stages, the first three of which will be in England, and 2 of these will be in Yorkshire, and see the riders covering almost 400km in 2 days. Stage 1 will be on the 5th of July and is 191km, beginning in Leeds and ending in Harrogate. If you do intend to go watch the tour on this day, some of the local places it will be going through include Leeds, Otley, Ilkley and Skipton, although transport will be especially busy with people from all over the country attending the event, so if you are interested, the earlier you arrive anywhere on the route, the more likely you are to get a good view. Stage 2 is on the 6th of July, and travels from York to Sheffield. It is approximately 198km long. Sheffield, Huddersfield and Keighley are all on the route for this stage, but again, arrive early no matter where you aim to watch it, as it will   undoubtedly be extremely busy. I think one of the best  moments of these two stages will be the sprint finish into Harrogate to end the 1st Stage, it should be some spectacle!
Over the last few years British cycling has come along in leaps and bounds, with success in the London Olympics, and Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome winning the Tour de France over the last two years. This has culminated in a much greater interest in cycling over the last year or so, and has also increased the expectancy that it can be won again by British riders. Team Sky will be the ones to watch this year should you be supporting British riders, and can be identified by their black and light blue kit. Hopefully we will see them do well once again.
A few further points which may be of interest. There will be lorries throwing out ‘goodies’ about two hours before the  Peloton (the main body of riders) reaches each destination, so this is another reason to be there early. Also, the trains into the region are only allowing two bicycles as per normal business. Obviously if anyone intends on cycling anywhere at this sort of time, and plans transporting their bike on a train, it will be extremely unlikely that this will end successfully, so be aware that this is the case. All in all though, the event should be enjoyable with the right preparation, and I hope everyone is looking forward to it with as much anticipation as I am.