Every year the start of the Tour de France is as important as the finish, thousands of people flock to a city to see the start of one of the hardest races in the world. These athletes train year round to compete and are pushing there bodies and minds in the most extreme ways possible. The start of the tour is always a great event and brings together all kinds of people, to witness if only for a second, the start of an epic battle to be crowned the winner and walk away wearing the iconic yellow jersey.
After Bradley Wiggins unexpected victory in 2012 and Chris Froome this year, so may more Brits have turned to watching it and keeping up to date with the Tour. I have personally been to watch the Tour once and what an experience it was, waiting by the road for hours with hundreds of people, seeing the convoy of cars and advertising trucks pass by and throwing goodies at us was amazing. But when the riders start to appear, is when the true passion and love for the tour comes through. Eeveryone waiting in anticipation and after 10 seconds the riders have zoomed by and it’s all over. I have to say that even though you only really get a small glimpse of what the Tour is about by watching it in person, it truly gets you hooked on watching it and keeping up to date with who is competing and contented for the title each year.
This year Cambridge has been given the honour of being one of the opening stages for this historic and prestigious race. The route starting in the centre of town, runs down to Shelford and through to Saffron Walden, before finishing off in central London. I can imagine a large amount of people will make the trip to Cambridge and many more will line the roads along the route hoping to catch a glimpse of the riders.
Keep an eye out for more details on the tours site.
