‘Stage 14’ reads on the sign. The kid who shows it goes with sports pants and t-shirt. He smiles at all the cars that come his way. He looks for the miracle, because he knows that he is a pioneer. When one thought that he had seen it all, the Tour surprises him again. The hitchhikers have arrived, those who move by car from one stage to another, look for a free seat in a vehicle, without using the Blablacar, enjoy the runners and the hot Alps, which debut this Saturday as a preview of the final fireworks of the test, long and lasting, just over a week in full swing, because the Paris stage, even if it’s just a walk up to the last lap on the Champs-Elysées, also counts.
Be careful, all cyclists say that the cobblestones of the famous avenue in Paris are not easy to overcome. It is not that they are the Paris-Roubaix, far from it, but they tickle the legs. And more after 20 previous stages.
of course in english
The hitchhiker kid doesn’t write ‘étape’, which is how he should do it on a French road, but it seems that the French, more and more, have forgotten that they have a beautiful Romance language. The Tour already seems to run more on British soil than on French soil.
A few years ago, French was the official language of the International Cycling Union, the UCI, the federation that controls cycling worldwide. Come on! You will not speak to a leader of the Tour in another language that was not his. Now, first it’s in English and they almost seem to have a hard time translating it into French. But the same thing happens when one sits at a restaurant table, especially if the establishment is in a more or less large city or seeks an international touch. It even gives the impression that it is difficult for them to speak their language with a foreigner.
rural france
In rural France they maintain their own style and if you find the owner of a restaurant or a ‘chambre d’hôtes’ speaking to you in a language other than French, something is wrong. At least the ‘chambres d’hôtes’ have not yet been renamed and have been baptized ‘Bed and breakfast’, which amounts to the same thing, Bed and breakfast, the essence of an old tourism that still survives in France in the face of the scourge of hotel chains and tourist apartments, the salvation to be able to sleep near the departures or arrivals of the Tour. The teams and the entire backbone of the race spend the night in larger establishments and with large parking areas so that each team has plenty of room to leave the cars with a car park that has more vehicles than twice the number of cyclists signed up for the Grande Boucle.
In the peloton it happens the same; before one was spoken kind of esperanto, a cycling language made up of short words that came from three languages, Spanish, French and Italian. English was neither there nor expected. Everything started to change Lance Armstrong, who existed and won seven Tours, although they only appear in the paintings where the seven yellow jerseys hang in the living room of his Texas ranch. The successes of Miguel Indurain They almost seem like the prehistory of an increasingly globalized career with new clients fighting for victory. The French are missing in action, no Italians to show off, with Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel selling the Belgian and Dutch furniture. At least the Spanish breathe in positions of honor in the general and even win stages… awesome. Let’s see if he hitchhiker He is happy this Saturday, because there is no doubt that someone will have picked him up and driven him to the foot of the Joux Plaine.