What is special about the tour De France?

Answer 1

Its a big bike race.

The previous contributor is correct - le Tour de France is indeed a big bike race. However, many people outside of those countries with a large number of cycling fans don't realise just how big a bike race it is. Here's some statistics: Riders' hearts at rest beat far more slowly than those of normal people. 35 beats per minute has been recorded, compared to 60-100 in an average adult. When riding, their hearts can beat far quicker than that of an average person.

Tour riders are so fit that, paradoxically, their health suffers and their life expectancy is around 15 years shorter than that of an average person. In order to be able to take in the huge amounts of oxygen required while riding le Tour, entrants' lungs may become massively enlarged and protrude below the lower edge of the ribcage leaving them susceptible to damage. Their blood is thicker than average, placing further strain on the heart, and the long hours in the saddle can lead to impotence. So why do they do it - the prize fund in 2008 was only 3.2 million euros, not really a high figure by modern standards?

The strain is all too much for many riders - every year, several will drop out of the race due to crashes or simply exhaustion. In 1919, just 10 out of 69 starters finished.

Greg LeMond, three-time Tour winner, recorded an average speed of 54.5kph (34mph) over 24.5km in 1989, the fastest ever. It might not sound much, but you try it. In the 2009 Tour, riders faced 64 climbs. The highest point was 2,473m (8,133 feet) above sea level.

The last rider to complete the race is known as le Lanterne Rouge, the red lantern, either after the red light fitted to the back of a bicycle or from the days when a car carrying a red lantern would follow the end of the tour over each stage. Upon completing the race, le Lanterne is immediately offered lucrative sponsorship deals and can do a lot better for himself than the winner.

In total, 792 tyres will be used. Most riders get through three chains each - they usually last an average cyclist six months to a year.

Tour authorities fight a never-ending battle with performance-enhancing drugs, and everybody expects a scandal to break out at any time - any rider who performs unusually well expects to be accused and to be summoned to appear before doctors for testing. "Belgian Mix" - a combination of cocaine, heroin, painkillers, amphetamines, corticosteroids and caffeine was used by an unknown number of riders during the 1960s and 70s before testing methods improved. Rider Tom Simpson, one of the greatest ever English road racers, died as a result of amphetamine use and sheer exhaustion on Mont Ventoux in 1967

The tour covers around 2,200 miles (3500km) and lasts for three weeks - there are just two rest days, so in total each rider pedals for about 116 miles (184km) every day, not including time trials. They'll burn around 130,000 calories each - equal to 568 Big Mac Hamburgers. Riders eat vast amounts on pasta and rice as a result.

Around 4,500 people are involved and running le Tour, along with another 13,000 gendarmes (French police) and 25,055 security personnel. The teams get through 42,000 bidon (water bottles) during the race.

Le Tour is televised in 178 countries and watched by about 4,000,000. 20,000,000,000 people are thought to have watched it over the years - about one third of the entire world's current population. 15,000,000 will stand at the sides of the roads to watch it live. The race is rarely - if ever - won by simply being the faster rider. Entrants use tactics to intimidate rivals, and each team's top riders are helped by domestiques, riders with no hope of winning who aid them in various ways, leading to all manner of machiavellian internal politics and schemes. All in all, the facts add up to show that le Tour de France is not just a big bike race, it's by far the biggest sporting event in the world. What's not special about it? Vive le Tour!