Ancient languages say that Miguel Indurain he never urinated, he had an innate ability to retain fluid, so standing up not only relieved his bladder but that of the entire platoon. Whether that quirk was also part of his success in winning the Tour five times will never be known.
But certainly peeing in the french round It is not an easy task. The regulation commands the runner to find a discreet place and if he stops much better. But how is she going to stand, much less seek the shelter of the bushes while he waters the field? It supposes that the platoon is lost on the horizon, tremendous effort hunting and even the risk that a pee costs a Tour de France.
The judges on the hunt
The judges are vigilant. It’s called ‘inappropriate public behaviour’, but what if the road is full of spectators? It’s a drama. There is no hole and they can fall on you 300 euro fine. In the Tour there are people everywhere and much more in the big mountain stages, as happened on Thursday on the route between Briançon and Alpe d’Huez. It was already a headache for those who were driving in front of the peloton. It was impossible to find a ditch without fans and the few rest areas that were on the road were full of cars and motorhomes. And it wasn’t a plan either, like he did a few years ago peter saganknock on the door of one of those caravans, ask permission to use the bathroom and then release some weight, although in the case of the Slovak three-time world champion it was more solid than liquid.
Cyclists have to cover an average of 160 kilometers each day competing in the Tour. It takes about four hours on the bike. And while it is true that you sweat, and a lot, at the same time liters of water are consumed, salts are taken, gels are sorbed and the urge to urinate begins. They look up, look for a space and can’t find it. It may sound ironic, but it is a real headache. In the Alps, flatly, it was impossible to urinate without being seen by the spectators.
more careful
The cyclists, now, are a lot more careful at the time of throwing all the wrappers of energy bars and leftovers that they have not eaten at the provisioning controls. It is forbidden to throw them on the road as was done in the past. There is an area enabled so that they can be launched. The tour employees they will pick up the waste at the last runner. The same thing happens with the drums, although most try to drop them when they see spectators, that is, almost always, fans who go for the bottle as if it were a EuroMillions ticket awarded with the jackpot of the draw.
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Many cyclists practice when they train how to urinate on the bike. Is not easy. You have to keep your balance and on top of that it is difficult to evacuate liquid while sitting on the saddle. Normally, so that a fall does not occur, the teammates grab the bike of the rider who is using an almost imaginary sink on the Tour road. The French television director immediately changes the scene when he discovers a cyclist in the open-air toilets of the Grande Boucle. And, sometimes, there are fights with the judges of the race: they have hunted you as if it were a radar that has released a white flash when it has been exceeded, albeit by a little (in France almost by centimeters per hour) the allowed speed .
That is why no one should be surprised if a cyclist, before getting on the podium, quickly changes his shorts: in this Tour it will not be the first case nor will it be the last with a cyclist relieving himself (liquid or solid) because when he arrives a squeeze, with the race red hot, with the attack of the rivals or in full offensive, you have to make an immediate decision and, obviously, standing placidly on the side of the road, even if it is full of public, is not the best solution.