Tour de France. It’s World War III

//Tour de France. It’s World War III

Tour de France. It’s World War III

To the front we go!

What an oddball set of images. Most all the Tour de France squads being driven around Normandy in World War II era military vehicles.

Yes, it’s honor the fallen soldiers of Omaha and Utah beach at the Tour. A strange mashup of olive drab and optic rainbow lycra colors. Convoy trucks and $10,000 Pinarellos, fallen heroes and real live athletes, battlegrounds and a Grand Depart.

The hilarious sight of World Champion Peter Sagan in bright yellow-green jersey waking from a military truck borders on wacky. Like some sort of carnival ride dreamed up by General Omar Bradley, the supreme commander of Allied Forces and Christian Prudehoome of ASO.

Hey, that’s the script and you just play along. It’s the Tour de France and spectacle is a given. It’s a thematic creative exercise. People love this kinda theater — It’s D day with bikes!

You look at the photos of the little guys from AG2R and it looks like the American GI’s just pulled off a daring mission behind German lines to rescue a few skinny guys in lycra.

Or maybe that FDJ squad is a little suspicious. Might they be Nazi sympathizers? Perhaps the soldiers should take them to an internment camp, get them de-liced and interrogated. This is confusing stuff, really.

Team Sky who used to travel around in brand new Jaguars, look way out of place thrown in the back of a military green and camo truck. No fancy reclining leather seats or shower facilities. Hopefully, they didn’t suffer too much and Sir David Brailsford can rush them back to a more conducive environment.

The photo of the Cofidis squad in the back of the truck was particularly funny. One rider is trying to peer though the thick canvas curtain that covers the truck cab. Is he trying to find the lost Nacer Bouhanni, who managed to punch himself right out of the Tour de France just days before the start?

Where is Bouhanni?

Where is Bouhanni?

As usual, only Peter Sagan truly looks in on the game, rolling with the spectacle and lending a sense of humor and irony to the proceedings. Give that man a medal of honor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By |2019-02-03T15:45:13-08:00June 30th, 2016|Uncategorized|0 Comments

About the Author:

Leave A Comment