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THE TOUR DE FRANCE IN THE ROANNAIS by Brian Franklin
By purefrancenow | July 24, 2008
24th July 2008 This is an historic moment in the lives of all Roannaise, and in the history of the Tour de France!
It has to be recorded for posterity, and, of course, it would be grossly remiss of me not to feature a Purefrancenow Blog on it – even though I have to admit that I do not have much of an inclination towards the event or the sport in general. I can, however, admire the stamina, the energy, the endurance, the ultimate physical challenge that this event requires of the contestants to compete. It is no doubt an incredible demonstration of man's ability to overcome distance, terrain, and time in a race against, not only other men, but himself.
The commitment shown by these cyclists is both beyond my comprehension or experience. I can only be amazed!
The spectacle, the colours, the speed, and the convulsions of the world media are particularly fascinating.
So, on Friday 25th July the Tour de France comes to Roanne with all its vim, verve, and commotion. I will be watching!!
Over 100,000 people are expected to be there at the start – Place des Promenades.
The media and publicty convoys alone, often stretches for 20 kilometres!
Roanne has been celebrating the accolade of being chosen for the start of the 19th stage in the Tour this year for the very first time with all sorts of events, displays, signage, buttings, graphics, etc.
There have been features of famous Roannais cyclists of the past, and the historical accounts of the early days of the Tour de France. – winners, losers, accidents, etc.
The whole town is abuzz with it all – restaurants, bars, shops all have something symbolising the Tour either on their menu or in their window displays – it is almost manic!
But, of course, it still has an underlying French understated and 'laid back' attitude about it all.
Some of the local publicity and newspapers have taken the opportunity to feature comparisons of Roanne's cyclists of 100 years ago with the modern day Tour de France.
The emphasis is on the fact that years ago before the first world war the bicycle was the main form of transport for the working man in Roanne (as in most places in Europe at that time), and that after the factories closed at the end of the day there were thousands of cyclists cluttering up the streets.
There is also much reference to the past, now defunct, bicycle-makers of the region.
25th July 2008 Yes, I'm now back after watching the Tour de France carnival in Roanne. A great occasion, and lots of fun! Even the roundabouts and roadsides are dedicated to the event with painted bicycles of all colours.
The publicity cavalcade is well worth watching, and great for the kids.
The images here give only a glimpse of the event in Roanne, and cannot truly describe the full atmosphere.
The cyclists, themselves, are really only just a small part of the 'fun' aspect of the event. They pass by very quickly within 10 seconds!!
Roanne has invested approx. 500,000 euros in staging this part of the Tour de France. Let's hope it is successful again next year, and may be involved in both finishing and starting a stage in 2009.
Vive le Tour de France!!
Topics: Le Roannais, News, Sport, purefrancenow | No Comments »
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